WASHINGTON — The United States military plans to widen its already extensive access to ports
and military bases in the United Arab Emirates which it considers one of its most reliable military allies in the region.
"The military-to-military relationship with the United Arab Emirates is
superb," Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said.
"In everything that we have asked and work with them on, they have proven to
be very, very solid partners."
Pace told a Pentagon briefing on Feb. 21 that the UAE has accommodated
U.S. Navy aircraft carriers that patrol the Gulf region. Later, officials
said, the UAE's Jebel Ali port was regarded as the safest in the Gulf
region.
"They've got great seaports that are capable of handling, and do, our
aircraft carriers," Pace said. "They've got airfields that they allow us to
use, and their air space, their logistics support. They've got a
world-class air-to-air training facility that they let us use and cooperate
with them in
the training of our pilots."
In 2002, officials said, the UAE became a leading Middle East partner of
the United States. They cited the UAE's $6.4 billion purchase of 80 F-16E/F
multi-role fighters, designed to transform Abu Dhabi into the leading air
power in the Gulf.
The Pentagon expects to benefit from the deployment of the Block 60
F-16s in Abu Dhabi's air force. Officials said the U.S. Air Force intends to
acquire increasing access to the newly-expanded Al Dhafra air base in
Sharjah, the home of the UAE's F-16 fleet.
Al Dhafra already houses U.S. Air Force U-2 spy airplanes, KC-10 air
refueling aircraft and Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles. In June 2005, a
U-2 crashed in the UAE.
Officials said one option was that Al Dhafra be employed for the U.S.
Air Force's F-16 fleet. They said the base could house and maintain U.S.
F-16s in a joint project with the UAE.
"We have a port there [in the UAE] where they help us," Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said. "They have an airfield. We share
intelligence and we have a partnership that has been very, very helpful to
the things we do in that part of the world."
The Pentagon has highlighted military cooperation with Abu Dhabi as part
of the Bush administration's effort to justify its approval of UAE
operations of major American ports.
The state-owned Dubai-based DP World intends to acquire a British firm that
operates the ports of Florida, Louisiana Maryland, New York, New Jersey and
Pennsylvania.
President George Bush has threatened to veto legislation designed to
block DP World's operations in the United States. Such legislation has been
supported by several key Republican senators, including Senate Majority
Leader Bill Frist.
Rumsfeld said the Pentagon reviewed and supported DP World's bid to
operate the American ports. Rumsfeld said the lead agency in the approval
process was the Homeland Security Department.
"I'm told that nothing changes with respect to security under the
contract, that the Coast Guard is in charge of security, not the
corporation," Rumsfeld said. "The Coast Guard, of course, has the
responsibility for the ports, and they should be the ones who would describe
how it would be handled and why it is acceptable, because they signed off on
it."