-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War!
American planes fly in to RAF desert base in Oman By Martin Bentham in Oman (Filed: 30/09/2001) AMERICAN warplanes have landed at the RAF's desert headquarters in the Gulf state of Oman in preparation for possible air strikes against terrorist targets in Afghanistan and Iraq. The United States Air Force aircraft are understood to have touched down at Thumrait airfield in southern Oman, where 12 British Tornados and other RAF aircraft are based, in the middle of last week and have remained hidden from view since. The arrival of the American aircraft also indicates that retaliatory action against targets in Afghanistan, Iraq or possibly Yemen, which borders Oman, is drawing closer after nearly three weeks of military preparation since the atrocities on September 11. In a further sign of the intensification of Britain's war effort, the aircraft-carrier Illustrious and a Royal Navy taskforce comprising more than a dozen other ships were due to arrive at the southern Omani port of Salalah today. The vessels will be taking part in a British military exercise - codenamed Swift Sword II - but are now close enough to all the West's potential targets to participate in any raids ordered over the coming weeks. Two British nuclear submarines, armed with cruise missiles and stationed in the Arabian Sea, are also on standby to take part in attacks. The most striking development, however, is the arrival of the American warplanes, which has taken place under a veil of secrecy. Both the RAF and the Army, which is camped only a few miles from Thumrait airbase for a joint land, air and sea exercise involving 24,000 service personnel, have so far refused to confirm officially the American presence. Spokesmen for both services have, however, given strong hints that the aircraft have arrived, with one stating that "other nations" besides Britain and Oman, the only countries that are meant to have aircraft at Thumrait, have aircraft and personnel at the airfield. RAF officers have also confirmed privately that aircrew were told to expect American aircraft in Oman. The first indication that American warplanes were en route to the British airbase came last Tuesday when RAF Hercules transport aircraft that were scheduled to land were diverted instead to Salalah international airport, about 50 miles away across the Omani desert. Although there was no official explanation, RAF aircrews said that they had been told that their destination had been changed to make space for the Americans at Thumrait. "We were told that the Americans were coming," one pilot said. Further evidence of the American arrival was provided on Thursday when Lieutenant Colonel Angus Taverner, a spokesman for the British forces in Oman, asked journalists who were visiting Thumrait to view RAF Tornados not to report on or photograph aircraft from any "other nations" that they might see at the airfield. Between 200 and 300 US Air Force planes have been sent to the Gulf in recent days, including B-2 stealth bombers, B-52 long-range bombers, F-15 and F-16 attack jets, as well as support and refuelling aircraft. Most are believed to be destined for airfields in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Bombing raids are also expected to be carried out by jets from American aircraft-carriers in the region. At Thumrait the Tornado pilots, whose GR4 bombers are likely to spearhead any British involvement, remained resilient. Several recounted how they had come under enemy fire during previous conflicts but stressed that they would be prepared to put their lives at risk again if the needs of a country demanded. Among them was Squadron Leader Hugh Smith, of 617 "Dambusters" Squadron, who has patrolled the no-fly zones over southern Iraq and also dropped laser-guided bombs on Serbian targets in Kosovo, where he was shot at on numerous occasions. "Of course, we don't want to be at war with anyone but, if we are called upon, we will take professional pride in doing our job." As Tornado F-3 jets roared overhead and a C-17 transporter taxied down the runway at Thumrait, Sqd Ldr Smith described how pilots faced with cool composure what to the ordinary civilian would be the terrifying sight of a missile streaking across the sky towards them. "In Kosovo, my squadron was quite badly shot up one night with lots of Sam 3 missiles fired at us. I could see the glow of the missile - it's like a rocket with an orange flame. "I watched them going all around us. The guy immediately behind us was locked on to by the radar of one missile. "But you don't tend to feel fear. When you go on a mission the adrenaline takes over and it is only later when you think about the danger." In the desert at the Army's Camp South headquarters, the principal concern remains coping with the heat, sand and dust storms that clog up machinery and threaten the computers through which modern warfare is co-ordinated. A Challenger II tank, the only tank in the world capable of hitting three separate moving targets within 10 seconds while mobile itself, has been particularly tested, suffering blocked air filters and extensive damage to its wheels and track pads. The Army insists, however, that none of the problems has been severe enough to affect the tank's overall operational capacity. Chinook helicopters have also suffered breakdowns, while the command centre's computers have to be constantly cooled with fans to prevent overheating in the extreme desert heat. Among the soldiers there remains a constant appetite for news of world events. In air-conditioned portable buildings, where computers give access to the internet, soldiers scour news websites. A pop concert to be staged in the desert on Saturday, featuring Geri Halliwell, the former Spice Girl, and chart-topping band Steps, which 7,000 soldiers are due to attend, is the main topic of conversation. For everyone, however, the possibility of war remains ever present, although, as Captain Tracy Hobbs of the General Support Medical Regiment testified yesterday, it is a concern that all feel able to cope with. "It's the same whether you are a man or a woman - you just get on with your job," she said. "We didn't come into the Army to stay at home in Britain." *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists! <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. 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