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| IraqFact: Investigations |
| "Secret" Air Base for Iraq War started prior 9-11 |
With a small ceremony on April 26, 2003, control of Prince Sultan
Air Base was handed back to the government of Saudi Arabia.
Since the mid-nineties it had been the premier US air base in the
region and the nerve center for all air force operations in the
Gulf. As the home of the Combined Air Operations Center
(CAOC), the base was the primary command and control facility
responsible for orchestrating the air campaigns for both
Operation Southern Watch in Iraq and Operation Enduring
Freedom in Afghanistan.
Air Base was handed back to the government of Saudi Arabia.
Since the mid-nineties it had been the premier US air base in the
region and the nerve center for all air force operations in the
Gulf. As the home of the Combined Air Operations Center
(CAOC), the base was the primary command and control facility
responsible for orchestrating the air campaigns for both
Operation Southern Watch in Iraq and Operation Enduring
Freedom in Afghanistan.
The timing of the closing of PSAB seemed odd, coming just weeks after the official start of military actions
in Iraq. It should have, at the very least, caused unwanted logistical problems for the Pentagon and
regional commanders, but it didn't. A contingency plan had long been in the works, not only for Prince
Sultan Air Base, but also for the entire map of the Middle East, including Iraq.
Long before the US pullout, a new home for the operations had secretly been built in the deserts of
Qatar. What had been in October 2001 "nothing more than a runway and a field of sand covered by
two-dozen tents and a few warehouses", the Al Udeid Air Base was transformed in a few short months into
one of the largest air bases in the world.
Published reports and official DOD statements claimed that the amazing transformation was the result of
the heroic response of US servicemen to the tragedy of 9-11. A determined military had beaten
indeterminate odds to transform a barren wasteland into a state of the art military base in order to "take
the war to the terrorists".
The true story of the building of Al-Udeid is actually quite different. The planning for the mammoth base
had in fact taken place long before Sept. 11, and actual work on the base began as early as the spring of
2001. The building of Al Udeid turns out not to be a "miracle in the desert" in response to a heinous
attack, as touted by the military, but rather a required step on the path to regime change in Iraq.
READ COMPLETE STORY
in Iraq. It should have, at the very least, caused unwanted logistical problems for the Pentagon and
regional commanders, but it didn't. A contingency plan had long been in the works, not only for Prince
Sultan Air Base, but also for the entire map of the Middle East, including Iraq.
Long before the US pullout, a new home for the operations had secretly been built in the deserts of
Qatar. What had been in October 2001 "nothing more than a runway and a field of sand covered by
two-dozen tents and a few warehouses", the Al Udeid Air Base was transformed in a few short months into
one of the largest air bases in the world.
Published reports and official DOD statements claimed that the amazing transformation was the result of
the heroic response of US servicemen to the tragedy of 9-11. A determined military had beaten
indeterminate odds to transform a barren wasteland into a state of the art military base in order to "take
the war to the terrorists".
The true story of the building of Al-Udeid is actually quite different. The planning for the mammoth base
had in fact taken place long before Sept. 11, and actual work on the base began as early as the spring of
2001. The building of Al Udeid turns out not to be a "miracle in the desert" in response to a heinous
attack, as touted by the military, but rather a required step on the path to regime change in Iraq.
READ COMPLETE STORY
| US led forces battle with Iraqis in August of 2002: Six months before War |
In August of 2002, two months before the
Congressional resolution was passed that would allow
the use of force in Iraq, a joint US, British and Turkish
strike force of commandos and Special Forces troops
crossed the border from Turkey into Iraq and engaged
a unit of enemy armor in what would become the
opening salvo of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Preceded by two days of aerial bombardment to
destroy the Iraqis ability to detect and defend against
the incursion, on Aug. 8, at 5 PM an armada of
helicopters swept over the Turkish border towards
the strategic Bamarni military airbase laying 50 miles
north of the oil-rich city of Mosel. After a brief
skirmish with the ill-equipped Iraqi defenders, the
base fell into Allied hands.
Congressional resolution was passed that would allow
the use of force in Iraq, a joint US, British and Turkish
strike force of commandos and Special Forces troops
crossed the border from Turkey into Iraq and engaged
a unit of enemy armor in what would become the
opening salvo of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Preceded by two days of aerial bombardment to
destroy the Iraqis ability to detect and defend against
the incursion, on Aug. 8, at 5 PM an armada of
helicopters swept over the Turkish border towards
the strategic Bamarni military airbase laying 50 miles
north of the oil-rich city of Mosel. After a brief
skirmish with the ill-equipped Iraqi defenders, the
base fell into Allied hands.
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| © 2005 IraqFact Working Group |