 Eric
Mueller comments: THIS is a translation of a story from
the Jordanian Daily "al-Arab al-Yawm" of
November 19. The newspaper's Baghdad
correspondent has learned that US
"Pro-Consul" L. Paul Bremer brought
back from Washington to Baghdad not only a
timetable for handing over power to Iraqis
(of course, those hand picked in
Washington: such is Bush's version of
"democracy") but also a secret arrangement
that would give the US and Britain six
permanent bases in Iraq, strategically
located so that the United States can
project their power throughout the whole
region. Arabist Eric Mueller
is this website's expert on Middle Eastern
affairs. |
al-Arab
al-YawmAmman, Jordan, Wednesday, 19 November
2003. Al-Arab Al-Yawm's
correspondent Ahmad Sabri reports from
Baghdad that sources close to the Interim Governing
Council of Iraq have told al-Arab al-Yawm in
Baghdad that the new US strategy in Iraq which
Paul Bremer brought back to the Council
members from Washington has not yet been revealed
in its entirety. The reliable sources say that there are clauses
in the agreement that are to remain secret until an
appropriate time comes for their publication. The sources revealed that the most important of
these secret clauses in the document -- which the
Council announced after meeting Bremer at the
beginning of this week -- provide for the
establishment of at least six military bases in
different parts of Iraq in which American forces
will be concentrated on a permanent basis in order
to guarantee a continued American and British
presence in accordance with the strategy that
brought their fleets to these hot waters in the
first place. The sources say that a
number of strategic positions have been chosen
with precision in various parts of Iraq to be
the locations of American and British bases
during the second phase of the Anglo-American
occupation of Iraq. The sources revealed the names of these bases
and the planned positions for permanent deployment.
They are: - Al-Habbaniyah Airbase
[website note: already
an RAF airbase for much of the last
century] near the city of
al-Fallujah, 65km west of Baghdad,
- Ash-Sha'biyah Airbase in Basra, 600km south
of Baghdad,
- 'Ali ibn Abi Taleb Airbase on the outskirts
of the city of an-Nasiriyah, 400km south of
Baghdad,
- al-Walid Airbase about 330km north west of
Baghdad,
- al-Ghazlani Camp in the city of Mosul, 400km
north of Baghdad, and
- A permanent deployment of forces in the east
of Iraq in what is known as the Hamrin mountain
range that extends from Diyala Provice, 60km
east of Baghdad, and borders on Iran and extends
to the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, 260km north of
Baghdad.
The sources explained the choice of these
locations for permanent Anglo-American deployment
by saying that they cover most of the territory of
Iraq, and are linked to the Iraqi borders in all
four directions, giving them strategic importance
in defining the future course of the "new" Iraq.
The choice of these locations is also linked to the
aim of deterring neighbors of Iraq who might
attempt to threaten Iraqi territory in the
future. Observers say that the choice of these positions
discloses the American perspective regarding the
future of the country. This perspective is that
they must, through their presence in Iraq, control
the keys to movement in virtually all directions
while maintaining a high level of flexibility of
action throughout the Arab region as a whole. This
geographical deployment will, without doubt, secure
those objectives of the occupation forces. In
addition, the plan provides for reliance on air
bases of the utmost importance in Iraq -- a new
focal point for American strategy in the Middle
East region.
ALTHOUGH the American administration is still
afraid openly to announce these planned measures
that provide for a permanent military deployment in
Iraq, leaks in the press indicate that a number of
intelligence organizations traveled through Iraqi
territory and did field surveys in great detail
noting the strong and weak points of dozens of
military positions and airbases scattered
throughout the country. According to these leaks, American military and
intelligence specialists settled their sights on
the six locations and bases mentioned above. In order for these deployments to be permanent
and not subject to any possible political upheavals
in Iraq, (acccording to the secret provisions in
the agreement between Bremer and the Interim
Governing Council) the expanded Governing Council
and the government based on that council will at
the middle of next year call on the United States
and Britain to keep a portion of their forces in
Iraq to preserve what has come to be known as
security and stability in Iraq. According to corresponding sources, the subject
of American and British forces remaining
permanently in Iraq has aroused two opposing
responses from within the current so-called
Governing Council. - The first rejects the idea of an American
withdrawal on the grounds that the security and
political situation are not suitable for a
withdrawal at the present time. Ahmad
Chelebi, the President of the Iraqi National
Congress, is the chief proponent of this
position.
- Others on the council demand that the
American forces accelerate their departure from
Iraq and hand control of the country's security
over to Iraqi individuals, now that the
Americans and British have successfully
completed their basic task. Muhsin 'Abd
al-Hamid, the General Secretary of the Iraqi
Islamic Group, 'Adnan al-Bajah Ji,
President of the Group of Independent Democrats,
and Jalal at-Talibani, leader of the
Kurdistani National Union are in favor of this
position.
Some Iraqi sources expect that the Interim Iraqi
Government, which is expected to be declared next
June, will request, immediately after taking
office, some as yet undetermined countries to send
military forces to Iraq to take over tasks being
done by the American forces now. Some Iraqi officials and also some American
quarters believe that the request will be presented
to a number of Arab and Islamic countries, other
than the countries that neighbor Iraq (due to the
intense opposition that the Kurdish parties in the
Council would evince to any such invitation going
to Turkey, while the Sunni Islamic circles are
expected to oppose the entry of any Iranian forces
into Iraq, out of fear that they would strengthen
the activities of the Shiites who are pushing to
take over some mosques and Sunni religious
institutions in the country, marginalizing the
highly skilled and experienced Sunnis.) |
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