- News>
- World
US planning long-term military relations with future Iraq govt
New York, Apr 20: The United States is planning a long-term military relationship with the emerging government of Iraq, one that would grant the Pentagon access to military bases and project American influence into the heart of the unsettled region.
New York, Apr 20: The United States is planning a long-term military relationship with the emerging government of Iraq, one that would grant the Pentagon access to military bases and project American influence into the heart of the unsettled region.
Four bases in Iraq that could be used in the future: one
at the international airport just outside Baghdad; another at
Tallil, near Nasiriya in the south; the third at an isolated
airstrip called H-1 in the western desert, along the old oil
pipeline that runs to Jordan; and the last at the Bashur air
field in the Kurdish north, American military officials, said
in interviews with the 'New York Times.'
The military is already using these bases to support operations against the remnants of the old government, to deliver supplies and relief aid and for reconnaissance patrols. But as the invasion force withdraws in the months ahead and turns over control to a new Iraqi government, Pentagon officials expect to gain access to the bases in the event of some future crisis.
Whether that can be arranged depends on relations between Washington and whoever takes control in Baghdad. If the ties are close enough, the military relationship could become one of the most striking developments in a strategic revolution now playing out across the Middle East and southwest Asia, from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, The Times said.
A military foothold in Iraq would be felt across the border in Syria, and, in combination with the continuing US presence in Afghanistan, it would virtually surround Iran with a new web of American influence, the paper said. Bureau Report
The military is already using these bases to support operations against the remnants of the old government, to deliver supplies and relief aid and for reconnaissance patrols. But as the invasion force withdraws in the months ahead and turns over control to a new Iraqi government, Pentagon officials expect to gain access to the bases in the event of some future crisis.
Whether that can be arranged depends on relations between Washington and whoever takes control in Baghdad. If the ties are close enough, the military relationship could become one of the most striking developments in a strategic revolution now playing out across the Middle East and southwest Asia, from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, The Times said.
A military foothold in Iraq would be felt across the border in Syria, and, in combination with the continuing US presence in Afghanistan, it would virtually surround Iran with a new web of American influence, the paper said. Bureau Report