Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

Bulgaria agrees to give US access to three military bases:report


Pls see:
U.S.reportedly wants 3 new Turkish bases
#msg-10716743

-Am


WASHINGTON, April 24 (AFP) Apr 24, 2006
Bulgaria has agreed to open three military bases to permanent use by 2,500 US troops who would be available for combat in the Middle East and other nearby regions, The Washington Times reported Monday.

Citing unnamed US and Bulgarian officials, the newspaper said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will seal the deal when she visits the country this week.

Rice, who leaves on a trip to the Balkans Monday, is expected to sign a broad defense-cooperation agreement with the new NATO ally that would authorize the stationing of foreign forces on its soil for the first time in its 1,325-year history, according to the report.

The final draft of the agreement, which was seen by The Times, allows the United States to deploy troops from the bases for missions in third countries without the specific permission of the Bulgarian authorities, the paper said.

"One of the key issues anywhere is our ability to use our soldiers where we need them," the report quotes a senior US official as saying. "Otherwise, we would be tying ourselves. The old model was that we had forces in Europe because we thought we'd fight in Europe."

The possibility that US troops would use a country with a large Muslim minority as a base for an attack on a Muslim nation, such as Iran or Syria, has provoked vocal opposition in Bulgaria, The Times said.

A nationalist party represented in parliament plans to stage massive protests against the agreement during Rice's visit, according to the report.

http://www.spacewar.com/2006/060424045731.3ebcimao.html