Subject: Camp Bondsteel: Permament Staging Post For Out-Of-Area
Operations?
Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2001 02:37:15 -0700 (PDT)
From: Rick Rozoff <r_rozoff@...>
To: r_rozoff@...
The Budapest Sun
There are unconfirmed reports in Kosovo that the US
government is seeking a lease of up to 75
years....Although at present it has only helicopter
facilities, sufficient real estate remains unused to
build runways large enough for B-52 bombers, which
could make Bondsteel a forward staging post for US
out-of-area operations in the Middle East.
April 26, 2001 - Volume IX, Issue 17
US forces get settled in Kosovo
By Neil Barnett
The US government is negotiating to secure a more
permanent status for Camp Bondsteel, its main base in
Kosovo. Currently the legal status of the property is
unclear due to the destruction of property records in
the war.
The negotiations may provide further evidence of a
long-term US commitment to the Balkans despite George
W Bush�s election rhetoric.
According to Major James Marshall, a US Army
spokesman, "We want UNMIK (the UN interim government)
to re-establish property ownership titles.
At present there is a temporary arrangement under the
Military Technical Agreement between the UN and
Yugoslavia."
There are unconfirmed reports in Kosovo that the US
government is seeking a lease of up to 75 years,
although Marshall refused to comment on possible
future contracts.
The 900-acre (360,000 sqm) base is located near
Urosevac, 25km south of the provincial capital
Pristina. It acts as the headquarters of the US
contingent and logistics base for the US-led sector of
the province. Some 4,800 troops are accommodated in
Bondsteel.
The size and apparent permanence of Camp Bondsteel has
been a source of speculation in Kosovo for some time.
Although at present it has only helicopter facilities,
sufficient real estate remains unused to build runways
large enough for B-52 bombers, which could make
Bondsteel a forward staging post for US out-of-area
operations in the Middle East. "About 55-60% of the
camp is developed," leaving around 150,000 sqm so far
unused, Marshall said. The camp has a command center,
a hospital, two education centers, three fitness
centers, three dining halls, a cinema and two chapels.
It generates its own electricity and purifies two
million liters of drinking water per day. Outside the
camp�s Burger King restaurant, American soldiers sun
themselves while listening to Britney Spears and
Eminem.
Evidence of an apparent long-term commitment to Kosovo
sits oddly with a growing US reluctance to perform the
occasionally hazardous task of peacekeeping.
The US Army in Kosovo has been criticized recently for
its obsession with "force protection" (ie prevention
of US casualties) at the expense of the peacekeeping
mission. In February, Britain�s 1st Princess of Wales�
Royal Regiment (1PWRR) was rushed into the US sector
to secure the Presevo Valley border area after an
upsurge in activity by ethnic Albanian rebels in
southern Serbia.
Then in late March, as fighting between ethnic
Albanian rebels and government forces erupted in
northern Macedonia, the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment (2RTR)
was sent into the border area to prevent cross-border
activity by insurgents.
In both cases, it was mainly US reluctance to deal
with dangerous situations that necessitated British
intervention in the US sector. The difference in
approaches between US troops and others is clear in
Kosovo. British troops patrol on foot, wearing berets
and no body armor, allowing them to interact with the
local population and win their confidence.
The American soldiers, by contrast, seldom venture out
of their Humvee 4x4s, and travel in convoys, with
helmeted and flack-jacketed soldiers training
roof-mounted machine guns on the surrounding area.
Privately, some KFOR officers are concerned that over
time, as the Kosovar Albanian�s delight at NATO�s
intervention wears off, the US approach will cause a
deterioration of relations between KFOR and the local
population.
Bush said during his election campaign that he would
review the US commitment to the Balkans and seek to
hand a greater share of European peacekeeping to
Europe. But US Secretary of State Colin Powell
recently said that there was no exit date for US
forces in Bosnia or Kosovo.
---
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dell'ex Coordinamento Nazionale "La Jugoslavia Vivra'",
oggi "Comitato Promotore dell'Assemblea Antimperialista":
> http://www.tuttinlotta.org
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opinioni delle realta' che compongono questa struttura, ma
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Operations?
Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2001 02:37:15 -0700 (PDT)
From: Rick Rozoff <r_rozoff@...>
To: r_rozoff@...
The Budapest Sun
There are unconfirmed reports in Kosovo that the US
government is seeking a lease of up to 75
years....Although at present it has only helicopter
facilities, sufficient real estate remains unused to
build runways large enough for B-52 bombers, which
could make Bondsteel a forward staging post for US
out-of-area operations in the Middle East.
April 26, 2001 - Volume IX, Issue 17
US forces get settled in Kosovo
By Neil Barnett
The US government is negotiating to secure a more
permanent status for Camp Bondsteel, its main base in
Kosovo. Currently the legal status of the property is
unclear due to the destruction of property records in
the war.
The negotiations may provide further evidence of a
long-term US commitment to the Balkans despite George
W Bush�s election rhetoric.
According to Major James Marshall, a US Army
spokesman, "We want UNMIK (the UN interim government)
to re-establish property ownership titles.
At present there is a temporary arrangement under the
Military Technical Agreement between the UN and
Yugoslavia."
There are unconfirmed reports in Kosovo that the US
government is seeking a lease of up to 75 years,
although Marshall refused to comment on possible
future contracts.
The 900-acre (360,000 sqm) base is located near
Urosevac, 25km south of the provincial capital
Pristina. It acts as the headquarters of the US
contingent and logistics base for the US-led sector of
the province. Some 4,800 troops are accommodated in
Bondsteel.
The size and apparent permanence of Camp Bondsteel has
been a source of speculation in Kosovo for some time.
Although at present it has only helicopter facilities,
sufficient real estate remains unused to build runways
large enough for B-52 bombers, which could make
Bondsteel a forward staging post for US out-of-area
operations in the Middle East. "About 55-60% of the
camp is developed," leaving around 150,000 sqm so far
unused, Marshall said. The camp has a command center,
a hospital, two education centers, three fitness
centers, three dining halls, a cinema and two chapels.
It generates its own electricity and purifies two
million liters of drinking water per day. Outside the
camp�s Burger King restaurant, American soldiers sun
themselves while listening to Britney Spears and
Eminem.
Evidence of an apparent long-term commitment to Kosovo
sits oddly with a growing US reluctance to perform the
occasionally hazardous task of peacekeeping.
The US Army in Kosovo has been criticized recently for
its obsession with "force protection" (ie prevention
of US casualties) at the expense of the peacekeeping
mission. In February, Britain�s 1st Princess of Wales�
Royal Regiment (1PWRR) was rushed into the US sector
to secure the Presevo Valley border area after an
upsurge in activity by ethnic Albanian rebels in
southern Serbia.
Then in late March, as fighting between ethnic
Albanian rebels and government forces erupted in
northern Macedonia, the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment (2RTR)
was sent into the border area to prevent cross-border
activity by insurgents.
In both cases, it was mainly US reluctance to deal
with dangerous situations that necessitated British
intervention in the US sector. The difference in
approaches between US troops and others is clear in
Kosovo. British troops patrol on foot, wearing berets
and no body armor, allowing them to interact with the
local population and win their confidence.
The American soldiers, by contrast, seldom venture out
of their Humvee 4x4s, and travel in convoys, with
helmeted and flack-jacketed soldiers training
roof-mounted machine guns on the surrounding area.
Privately, some KFOR officers are concerned that over
time, as the Kosovar Albanian�s delight at NATO�s
intervention wears off, the US approach will cause a
deterioration of relations between KFOR and the local
population.
Bush said during his election campaign that he would
review the US commitment to the Balkans and seek to
hand a greater share of European peacekeeping to
Europe. But US Secretary of State Colin Powell
recently said that there was no exit date for US
forces in Bosnia or Kosovo.
---
Questa lista e' provvisoriamente curata da componenti
dell'ex Coordinamento Nazionale "La Jugoslavia Vivra'",
oggi "Comitato Promotore dell'Assemblea Antimperialista":
> http://www.tuttinlotta.org
I documenti distribuiti non rispecchiano necessariamente le
opinioni delle realta' che compongono questa struttura, ma
vengono fatti circolare per il loro contenuto informativo al
solo scopo di segnalazione e commento ("for fair use only").
Per iscriversi al bollettino: <jugoinfo-subscribe@...>
Per cancellarsi: <jugoinfo-unsubscribe@...>
Per inviare materiali e commenti: <jugocoord@...>
Archivio:
> http://www.domeus.it/circles/jugoinfo
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/messages
Sito WEB (non aggiornato):
> http://digilander.iol.it/lajugoslaviavivra
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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un forum web personale,
una mailing list personale, ...?
Gratis sotto
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Se vuoi cancellarti da questo gruppo, clicca qui: http://www.domeus.it/info/unsubscribe