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| Europe | |
| Spain Senate Approves Permanent U.S. Military Base | |
| 2015-09-04 | |
The U.S. already has a rapid reaction force of about 800 troops at Moron de la Frontera, near Seville, who were deployed temporarily in the wake of the 2012 attack on a U.S. mission in Benghazi, eastern Libya. The upper house of parliament, which is controlled by the governing conservative PP party, approved by a large majority an amendment to a Spain-U.S. defense treaty to increase the force and make it permanent. The Senate's approval was the last legislative hurdle the amendment needed to clear before becoming law. The Spanish government said in May that 2,200 Marines plus 500 civilian staff would man the base, with 26 aircraft. It will also have capacity to receive 800 more military personnel and 14 aircraft on temporary deployments. The two countries signed the accord in June, amending a 1988 defense partnership. The main mission of the Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response unit will be to protect U.S. embassies in Africa, evacuate civilians in difficulty, or intervene in conflicts or humanitarian crises. It will come under the U.S. military command for Africa (AFRICOM) which is based in Stuttgart, Germany. The U.S. Ambassador in Spain, James Costos, thanked Spain for hosting the base which he said "governs our cooperation in the defense of our two nations", in a statement on Tuesday. He said the base "protects citizens and facilities of the United States, Spain, and other NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... Allies in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East." | |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #3 It sure seems that this is an effort to protect our Moroccan (putative) ally Well, there is that little thing called a 'strait' between Spain and Morocco that's the gateway to the Med. Shame if somebody placed, say, C-802 antiship missiles on the Moroccan side. Likely also Tunisia. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2015-09-04 13:57 |
| #2 Creating a base in Spain is a sure indication that no site is considered safe for the basing of US troops in the eastern Mahgrib or Sahil. It sure seems that this is an effort to protect our Moroccan (putative) ally. |
| Posted by: Clomp Omagum5939 2015-09-04 08:39 |
| #1 Kinda a few years late and 4 diplomats short.... |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2015-09-04 01:51 |