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African Port May Become U.S. Base
One of the largest ports on the Red Sea stands eerily idle, its huge cranes motionless in the oppressive heat. Yet this sleepy town on the southern tip of Eritrea could become a base for U.S. troops in the war on terrorism and Saddam Hussein.A nice empty port facility, how handy. Gen. Tommy Franks, head of U.S. Central Command, or CentCom, visited Eritrea in March, and the then defense minister, Sehat Ephrem, said his government would happily host a U.S. base. And on Oct. 29 Franks said the United States has ``security relationships or engagement opportunities'' in many Horn of Africa countries, including Eritrea. Assab -- before the war a busy port that served Ethiopia -- would doubtless be useful to the United States as it increases its military presence in an unstable region cited as a possible terrorist haven. Unstable is a understatement. More than 1,500 U.S. Marines have been exercising in neighboring Djibouti, and some 800 U.S. troops, including special forces, are based at Le Monier camp in Djibouti town as part of the task force for the Horn. The task force will be bolstered by some 300 troops, mainly Marines and Navy, when the Mount Whitney arrives, Maj. Mitchell said. But Djibouti authorities insist their country cannot be used for attacks in Yemen. Massachusetts-sized Djibouti is also a base for 2,850 French troops, and is reaching saturation point, the sources said. Another advantage for Eritrea, No French! Posted by: Steve 2002-11-19 |
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