did the u.s. invade iraq to get out of saudi...?...:
14 `ENDURING BASES' SET IN IRAQ
Christine Spolar, Chicago Tribune, 3/23/04
Last year, as troops poured over the Kuwait border to invade Iraq (news -
web sites), the U.S. military set up at least 120 forward operating bases.
Then came hundreds of expeditionary and temporary bases that were to last
between six months and a year for tactical operations while providing
soldiers with such comforts as e-mail and Internet access.
Now U.S. engineers are focusing on constructing 14 "enduring bases,"
long-term encampments for the thousands of American troops expected to
serve in Iraq for at least two years. The bases also would be key outposts
for Bush administration policy advisers.
As the U.S. scales back its military presence in Saudi Arabia, Iraq
provides an option for an administration eager to maintain a robust
military presence in the Middle East and intent on a muscular approach to
seeding democracy in the region. The number of U.S. military personnel in
Iraq, between 105,000 and 110,000, is expected to remain unchanged through
2006, according to military planners.
"Is this a swap for the Saudi bases?" asked Army Brig. Gen. Robert Pollman,
chief engineer for base construction in Iraq. "I don't know. present
operation, not in terms of America's global strategic base. But this makes
sense. It makes a lot of logical sense."
Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, deputy chief of operations for the coalition in
Iraq, said the military engineers are trying to prepare for any eventuality...
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Posted by shereen at March 24, 2004 08:56 PM