The U.S. military has obtained agreement to maintain
forward operating bases in at least two North African states.
Officials said that in 2004 U.S. European Command received final
approval from Morocco and Tunisia to maintain forward bases. They said the
bases would be lightly manned and employed in rapid-response and other
emergency missions
in North Africa.
'We know what is there, and we know what to bring when we come," Eucom
chief Gen. James Jones said. "We can go from a zero presence to an operating
base very quickly."
Jones, a marine corps officer and NATO commander in Europe, said the
bases in North Africa and other areas of the Middle East mark what he termed
a radical change in the U.S. military footprint. Eucom is responsible for
Europe, Israel and parts of North Africa.
"Checking the spread of radical fundamentalism in the largely ungoverned
spaces in Northern and Central Africa will require patience and sustained
effort," Jones told the Senate Armed Services Committee on March 1. "Our
goal is to assist nations of the region in building and sustaining effective
and responsive governments and to develop security structures responsive to
emerging democratic governments. Our success depends on maintaining
relevant, focused, and complementary security cooperation, tailored to the
social, economic, and military realities in both Europe and Africa."
Officials said Eucom has also increased military cooperation with
several North
African states through the National Guard State Partnership Program. Since
2003, Eucom has teamed the Moroccan security force with the Utah National
Guard and the Tunisian force with the Wyoming Guard.
Eucom plans to maintain three types of bases in its area of command. The
first would be main operating bases that contain U.S. troops, such as
Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and U.S. Naval Station Rota, Spain.
The second category was termed forward-operating sites. Jones termed
these facilities "light-switch operations," whereby the bases would be ready
for American troops and operations. He included the Turkish air force base
at Incerlik in this category.
Over the last 18 months, officials said, the U.S. military has obtained
permission from several countries for forward-operating sites. In addition
to Morocco, Tunisia, Bulgaria and Romania have also granted approval.
The third type of U.S. basing arrangement was termed cooperative
security site, which could include a fueling agreement or rapid-deployment
facilities. Officials said North African states have also agreed to such an
arrangement, but would not elaborate.
"These will be an inventory of geographical locations that if we need
them, it will be pre-agreed with host nations that we can have access to
these bases," Jones said.
