Bush is going after Iran and Syria, in my opinion.
-Am
Washington is planning to shift an estimated 72 F-16 jet fighters from their bases in Germany to Incirlik air base in southern Turkey, The New York Times reported on Friday.
Sunday, June 06 2004 @ 10:55 PM Central Daylight Time Contributed by: Admin
The planned transfer would move the aircraft closer to the volatile Middle East region, the newspaper said but added that the shift from the base in Spangdahlem, Germany, would be carried out only if Turkey gives the United States broad latitude for using them, something that some officials see as unlikely.
The report followed a series of statements by Turkish officials hinting at U.S. requests for broader rights pertaining to the use of Incirlik. A defense cooperation agreement between Turkey and the United States allows deployment of up to 48 jet fighters in the southern base, but Washington pulled out most of its aircraft there after Turkey refused last year to allow U.S. troops to use its territory to open a northern front on Iraq.
Turkish authorities have said Washington had certain requests and added that they were still under discussion. But they made it clear that there was not much willingness to expand the cooperation to a level that goes beyond the framework drawn up by the existing defense cooperation agreement.
In Ankara, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said on Friday that the United States had not conveyed any new requests. "There is no new request, no new situation," Gul told reporters outside the Foreign Ministry when asked to comment on the Times report.
The planned shift to Incirlik is part of a Pentagon plan to undertake an array of changes in its European-based forces, in the most significant rearrangement of the American military around the world since the beginning of the Cold War.
Pentagon policy-makers quoted by The New York Times said the aim was to afford maximum flexibility in sending forces to the Middle East, Central Asia and other potential battlegrounds.
Officials said they expected the major decisions on the realignment to be made in a month or two.
Under the Pentagon plan, two U.S. Army divisions would be withdrawn from Germany, with the First Armored and First Infantry divisions returning to the United States. A brigade equipped with Stryker light armored vehicles would be deployed in Germany.
A typical division consists of three brigades and can number 20,000 troops if logistical units are included, though these two divisions have only two brigades each in Germany, with the other brigade in the United States.
The Navy's headquarters in Europe would be transferred from Britain to Italy. Administration officials are also discussing plans to remove some F-15 fighters from Britain and to withdraw the handful of F-15 fighters that are normally deployed in Iceland, though final decisions have not been made.
The US Ambassador however hinted that his administration might request new arrangements be drawn up about Incirlik Air Force Base.
The New York Times recently reported that Washington hopes to shift its squadron of 72 F-16s currently deployed in Germany to Incirlik.
This would be a threat to Iran and Syria.
This does not address the issue of the establishment of three new sea bases in the Black Sea. #msg-3208349
Any new bases in the Black Sea coupled with the recent confiscation of British military vessels in the Shatt-al-Arab waterway and the justifiable suspicion of U.S. involvement in the three island dispute could indicate an objective or military strategy to take control of the waterways. #msg-31366
-Am
US May Demand more Rights at Incirlik
US Ambassador to Ankara Eric Edelman disclosed on Friday that talks with Turkey about the changes Washington envisages in order to realize the US's global military strategy continue.
Edelman indicated that establishing a new US military base in Turkey is not on the agenda and there have been no US demands in that direction. The US Ambassador however hinted that his administration might request new arrangements be drawn up about Incirlik Air Force Base.
"This could be required," said Edelman about possible revisions of the Strategic and Economic Cooperation Agreement between the US and Turkey. He defended that the 1980s, when the Agreement was signed, were different times than today.
According to the current agreement the US can only have 48 fighter jets at Incirlik and the base can only be used within the framework of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The New York Times recently reported that Washington hopes to shift its squadron of 72 F-16s currently deployed in Germany to Incirlik.
In other news, the Ambassador said that the US package regarding the isolation of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) would probably not be determined prior to US President George W. Bush's visit to Turkey. He said Bush will arrive in Ankara on the evening of June 26 and will travel to Istanbul for the NATO summit on June 27. Edelman added that Bush will meet with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Ahmet Necdet Sezer.
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