Deutsche Presse-Agentur November 25, 2002
U.S. preparing air base in Qatar for war with Iraq
On a dust-blown swathe of desert land on the outskirts of the Qatari capital Doha, the United States is preparing the al-Udeid air base as the command and control headquarters for a possible war with Iraq.
Baghdad's decision last week to allow U.N. weapons inspectors to return has eased fears of an imminent war, but the United States is still expected to continue beefing up forces in the region.
A key part of the plan to bolster forces will go into motion next month, when the U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for military operations in the region, will move a staff of up to 1,000 people to al-Udeid from its headquarters in Florida.
U.S. Army General Tommy Franks, who would be in command of any war with Iraq, is due to arrive at the head of the team to test command and control facilities at the base where some 5,000 U.S. troops and numerous aircraft are stationed, mainly for missions to Afghanistan. Faced with the threat of an attack by the United States, which insists that Iraq must disarm all weapons of mass destruction, Baghdad agreed last week to allow U.N. weapons inspectors to return for the first time since they left in 1998.
Under a U.N. resolution hammered out by the United States and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, Iraq could face war if it hinders the work of the inspectors, who will begin work on November 27.
The United States has said it is not optimistic that Iraq will disarm without the use of force. Washington's interest in al-Udeid has fuelled speculation that the United States is looking to move its regional command headquarters from the Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia, which has been reluctant to allow an attack on Iraq from its territory.
In contrast, the tiny energy-rich emirate of Qatar, which has some 200,000 natives and more than 400,000 foreign workers, has said it would allow the use of its territory for a U.S. attack on Iraq.
At a time when old allies like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are facing increasing internal pressures from militant groups about hosting more U.S. troops and bases on their soil, Qatar is a natural new ally.
"I don't see any tension. Ordinary life goes on," said Qatari analyst Mohammed al-Misfer. "Qatar is a very safe place and it has no enemies," he said.
Privately, ordinary Qataris do admit to being worried. "If there is a war with Iraq, Qatar will suffer first because of the al-Udeid base," said a banker, who did not wish to be identified by name.
"We are worried, but what can we do?" she said. During the holy month of Ramadan, when Moslems begin fasting at dawn and eat only after dark, families and friends gather in homes or in tents constructed outside homes or in open fields especially for Ramadan.
Most of the talk is about war and what will happen to Qatar if the U.S. attacks Iraq. "I was in the market yesterday and shopkeepers told me to stock up on food and other essentials because the government wants to close the border with Saudi Arabia in order to increase security for the American forces in Qatar," said the banker.
"I don't know if that is true, but these are the kinds of rumours and worries that we live with every day," she said. Nearly 10,000 U.S. Army soldiers are stationed in Kuwait and more than 4,000 in Bahrain, the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. Several thousand are in Saudi Arabia and in Oman.
But al-Udeid is emerging as the key facility in the region. The base, about 30 kilometres outside Doha, is a hive of activity, with war planes flying in and out round the clock.
But that activity is hidden from the eyes of ordinary Qataris by rows of concrete slabs, barbed wire and a large empty perimeter that separates the heart of the facility from the main entrance.
A U.S. flag fluttering in the distance is visible from outside, the sole indication of what is happening inside the unmarked air base.
A 4,500-metre runway is the longest in the region, where even the largest air force tanker and transport planes can land and take off.
Air Force Red Horse, squadrons of civil engineers who can rapidly build or repair runways, roads, bunkers and other facilities, are stationed at the base.
Commercial satellite images available on the Internet (www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/al-udeid-imagery.htm) show a tent city and huge air-conditioned warehouses at the heart of the air base, surrounded by miles of security fences.
Satellite photos also show hardened bunkers that can withstand aerial bombing and new hangars and runways.
Copyright 2002 Deutsche Presse-Agentur
