Tyreds Tale
05-13-2006, 11:16 AM
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - The U.S. military is preparing for the day when air power from bases along the Persian Gulf will help ensure that friendly governments in Iraq and Afghanistan survive without American ground troops, a senior U.S. general said.
"We'll be in the region for the foreseeable future,'' said U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Allen G. Peck, deputy air commander of U.S. Central Command, which oversees the region. "Our intention would be to stay as long as the host nations will have us.''
Agreements have been struck recently with Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates for long-term use of their bases...
A capable Iraqi air force is years away and Iraqi infantry need the back-up and surveillance provided by U.S. warplanes, Peck said. The bases also could help rush soldiers into Iraq in a crisis. The Pentagon has been keeping thousands of troops in reserve in Kuwait, on Iraq's southern border.
..
The Bush administration declines to say it won't seek to keep bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the U.S. military is spending almost $1 billion this year for base construction in Iraq alone. The base at Balad, for example, has been expanded to host F-16 fighter and C-130 transport squadrons.
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The Air Force operates refueling, cargo and surveillance flights from large bases in Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE, while maintaining runway access and warehoused supplies in Oman and Saudi Arabia.
The plan Peck described would have the Air Force eventually consolidate most of its Iraq operations in the Persian Gulf bases.
Afghanistan's military also could be backed up from Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic ...
The U.S. base at Incirlik, Turkey, could also enter into the equation. For now, the Turkish government, a NATO ally, allows the U.S. military to operate only cargo, refueling and passenger flights to support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the U.S. has based fighter jets there in the past.
...President Bush also has said the counterinsurgency mission in Iraq will continue at least through the end of his term in January 2009.
http://www.startribune.com/587/story/430627.html
"We'll be in the region for the foreseeable future,'' said U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Allen G. Peck, deputy air commander of U.S. Central Command, which oversees the region. "Our intention would be to stay as long as the host nations will have us.''
Agreements have been struck recently with Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates for long-term use of their bases...
A capable Iraqi air force is years away and Iraqi infantry need the back-up and surveillance provided by U.S. warplanes, Peck said. The bases also could help rush soldiers into Iraq in a crisis. The Pentagon has been keeping thousands of troops in reserve in Kuwait, on Iraq's southern border.
..
The Bush administration declines to say it won't seek to keep bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the U.S. military is spending almost $1 billion this year for base construction in Iraq alone. The base at Balad, for example, has been expanded to host F-16 fighter and C-130 transport squadrons.
..
The Air Force operates refueling, cargo and surveillance flights from large bases in Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE, while maintaining runway access and warehoused supplies in Oman and Saudi Arabia.
The plan Peck described would have the Air Force eventually consolidate most of its Iraq operations in the Persian Gulf bases.
Afghanistan's military also could be backed up from Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic ...
The U.S. base at Incirlik, Turkey, could also enter into the equation. For now, the Turkish government, a NATO ally, allows the U.S. military to operate only cargo, refueling and passenger flights to support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the U.S. has based fighter jets there in the past.
...President Bush also has said the counterinsurgency mission in Iraq will continue at least through the end of his term in January 2009.
http://www.startribune.com/587/story/430627.html