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| Europe |
| Romania Removes Top General From Key Post |
| 2005-05-29 |
| BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - Romania's defense minister has removed a top general from a key post for telling reporters that the United States would set up military bases near the Black Sea, the Defense Ministry said Saturday. Brigade Gen. Valeriu Nicut lost his job as head of the military's strategic planning department after saying at an international conference in Bucharest on Wednesday that the U.S. would take over the Kogalniceanu air base near Constanta and have access to a nearby port. Romania, an ally that has joined the U.S. in Iraq, has been in talks with Washington over hosting U.S. military bases and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld visited the Kogalniceanu base last year. On Saturday, Romanian Defense Minister Teodor Atanasiu said he had removed Nicut from his position because the officer "made unauthorized statements to the media and because we've reached no agreement with the United States." Nicut remains in the military and will be given other responsibilities, the ministry said. Atanasiu said earlier this month the two countries were negotiating financing for the bases and determining each side's obligations. As many as 3,500 U.S. troops were stationed here from February to March 2003 as the United States prepared to invade Iraq. The U.S. Air Force has also used Romania as a transport hub for operations in Afghanistan, although no U.S. troops are currently based in the country. |
| Posted by:Steve White |