Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases

Washington Post
By Karen DeYoung
September 17, 2011

The Obama administration has significantly increased the frequency of drone strikes and other air attacks against the al-Qaeda affiliate in Yemen in recent months amid rising concern about political collapse there.

Some of the the strikes, carried out by the military’s Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), have been focused in the southern part of the country, where insurgent forces have for the first time conquered and held territory as the Yemeni government continues to struggle against escalating opposition to President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s 33-year rule.

Unlike in Pakistan, where the CIA has presidential authorization to launch drone strikes at will, each U.S. attack in Yemen — and those being conducted in nearby Somalia, most recently on Thursday near the southern port city of Kismayo — requires White House approval …

Read on: www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-increases-yemen-drone-strikes/2011/09/16/gIQAB2SXYK_story.html

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Wired.com
By Noah Shachtman
March 8, 2011

This spring, the United Arab Emirates is expected to close a deal for $7 billion dollars’ worth of American arms. Nearly half of the cash will be spent on Patriot missiles, which cost as much as $5.9 million apiece.

But what makes those eye-popping sums even more shocking is that some of the workers manufacturing parts for those Patriot missiles are prisoners, earning as little as 23 cents an hour. (Credit Justin Rohrlich with the catch.)

The work is done by Unicor, previously known as Federal Prison Industries. It’s a government-owned corporation, established during the Depression, that employs about 20,000 inmates in 70 prisons to make everything from clothing to office furniture to solar panels to military electronics.

One of the company’s high-tech specialties: Patriot missile parts. “UNICOR/FPI supplies numerous electronic components and services for guided missiles, including the Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) missile,” Unicor’s website explains. “We assemble and distribute the Intermediate Frequency Processor (IFP) for the PAC-3s seeker. The IFP receives and filters radio-frequency signals that guide the missile toward its target.”

The missiles are then marketed worldwide — sometimes by Washington’s top officials. Last year, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates pitched the Patriots to the Turkish government last year, a diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks reveals: “SecDef stressed that ‘nothing can compete with the PAC-3 when it comes to capabilities.’”

Read on: www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/03/prisoners-help-build-patriot-missiles

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PressTV
February 24, 2011

The recent uprisings in Arab states have raised serious concerns in the US over the major reliance of its military operations on its bases across Persian Gulf’s Arab nations.

About 27,000 American troops are deployed at US military bases in numerous Arab countries in the region, including Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, AFP reported.

As the Bahraini government brutally cracks down on the country’s pro-democracy protesters, at least 4,000 American troops are stationed there as part of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters.

The persisting turmoil in the Persian Gulf state will most likely threaten US military operations in the Middle East region.

However, Pentagon has publicly described the ongoing uprisings as ‘popular movements’ that would not at all affect its naval headquarters or other bases in the region.

According to former American diplomat David Aaron, “No single base or agreement represents an Achilles heel, but in general, the network is critical for American military power.”

US military operations in most Arab states are mainly focused on exercising control over oil shipping routes in the Persian Gulf.

Taking into account the likely consequence of the Egyptian revolution and other mass uprisings in the other Arab world, there is a high possibility that the US will suffer a major decline in its vast military power and influence in the region.

The loss is certain to serve as a huge drawback for the US in the Persian Gulf area, as it would no longer be capable of monitoring Iran’s military activities.

www.presstv.ir/detail/166899.html

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