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Iraq
Iran: US air base being built near Iranian border
2008-08-26
(AKI) - The United States has reportedly begun constructing a new military base in Iraq's Kurdistan region not far from the Iranian border.

According to the state-owned Press TV, the Kurdistan Regional Government has allocated 700 hectares of land near Iran's border for the construction of a large US-financed airport.

The airport is to be built in a town called Halabja situated about 11 kilometres from the Iranian border in the northern Iraqi province of Sulaimaniyah, the Press TV website said on Monday.

The site said there was speculation that the US wanted to establish an airbase close to the Iranian border for its forces.

Iraqi Political Analyst Masud Abdulkhaliq says the construction of a civilian airport near the border raises many doubts, because of its size and location. "The airport is very large and Halabja is a small town. It doesn't need to build a big airport like this in an area that is near the border," Abdulkhaliq told Press TV.
Posted by:Fred

#18  Kind of reminds me of Denang, except you have PKK instead of VC.
Posted by: JitterBug   2008-08-26 20:21  

#17  I know nothing about what I'm thinking... but, could this be used as the jumping off point to keep Afghan supplied? Just in case......
Posted by: Sherry   2008-08-26 19:17  

#16  Too bad they don't have a port.

No port, not much oil, and Turks, Iranians, and their fellow Iraqis would mostly like to erase them. Yep, good place for the US to stick around. At least we're likely to be welcome.
Posted by: AzCat   2008-08-26 16:33  

#15  A U.S. base in Kurdistan would make the Kurds a lot more comfortable dealing with the rest of Iraq. I think the weather is nicer than the rest of the country, too.
Posted by: trailing wife    2008-08-26 14:41  

#14  Too bad they don't have a port.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2008-08-26 14:31  

#13  Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems from what I've seen since we started operations in Iraq that we would be foolish to have bases anyplace in Iraq OUTSIDE of Kurdistan. If Yon and Totten are to be believed, those folks LOVE us and really want us to stay. I don't think you can say that about much of the rest of Iraq, and certainly not to the same extent.
Posted by: Jolutch Mussolini7800   2008-08-26 13:30  

#12  
in a town called Halabja


site of Saddam's chemical attack against the Kurds
Posted by: lotp   2008-08-26 12:45  

#11  It also gives the Iranians something to watch while more intersting activities are conducted elsewhere in the region.
Posted by: AzCat   2008-08-26 11:47  

#10  All kinds of uses. Remember just off the bat that US bases have 100 foot towers giving us an observation view of 50 miles in all directions. From an airbase in that location, we could launch a fleet of Reaper UAVs.

It also makes a good landing site for any damaged aircraft, or just those that need, ahem, rapid refueling and rearmament.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2008-08-26 10:51  

#9  Rob (#7) - land is too expensive in CONUS for additional golf courses. :)
Posted by: GORT    2008-08-26 10:44  

#8  Maybe it's for small radioactivity-monitoring planes to monitor the rubble yet-to-come.
Posted by: Darrell   2008-08-26 10:41  

#7  Why would we build near the border? That just makes security more difficult and doesn't add anything to our capabilities.

I mean, fer crissake, we fly bombers out of the continental US to hit targets in Iraq and Afghanistan -- why would we need to snuggle up to the Iranian border?!
Posted by: Rob Crawford   2008-08-26 10:34  

#6  Beached aircraft carriers? Most likely a support and observation location, too easy to target for surface to surface missile targeting. Our carriers in the Gulf are just about as close with delivery ordnance, and a moving target.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2008-08-26 09:23  

#5  I thought the same theater of operations was near Iran...
Posted by: DarthVader   2008-08-26 08:44  

#4  Someone should tell them it's no where near the Iranian border, it's almost in the geographic center of Kurdistan.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2008-08-26 06:19  

#3  Subtlety doesn't seem to work.
Posted by: gorb   2008-08-26 03:03  

#2  Well that is under 7 minutes from Tehran on afterburner but we're not that obvious. Or are we?
Posted by: Halliburton Global Logistics   2008-08-26 02:48  

#1  TOPIX > GEORGIAN CONFLICT MAY CAUSE US TO RETHINK ITS GLOBAL STRATEGY + ISRAEL REPEATS WARNING IT WILL NOT ACCEPT A NUCLEAR IRAN.

*BIGNEWS NETWORK > JIHAD AND GENTLE RESISTANCE IN THE WILD WEST [China + UIGHURS].
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2008-08-26 02:40  

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