U.S. officials see gathering threat of terror attacks on Gulf bases

WASHINGTON - Concern is mounting among U.S. intelligence officials and diplomats that al-Qaida-related groups may be preparing terrorist attacks on Persian Gulf bases that support American military forces operating in Iraq.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said unknown individuals have been conducting surveillance of U.S. military and diplomatic facilities in Qatar, the Persian Gulf state that houses the forward headquarters of the U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In nearby Kuwait, meanwhile, government security forces engaged in deadly clashes Monday with armed militants, the second such incident in two days and the fourth in January. On Friday, the State Department issued a travel advisory for U.S. citizens in Kuwait, warning that terrorists might try to attack housing complexes used by Westerners.
...
From the viewpoint of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network and its various affiliates, an attack on U.S. Persian Gulf military bases could destabilize Gulf states that cooperate with the United States and underscore many Arabs' opposition to the U.S. military presence in the region.

It would also likely drive up world oil prices.
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/10781547.htm

LOTS of them. They are a part of the US's Permanent Presence plan in Iraq...

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2281&ncid=742&e=5&u=/thenation/20050118/cm_thenation/132132


Though the media ignored Kerry's statement and failed to do any substantive follow-up research, his comments were well-grounded in reality. On the day of the debate the Christian Science Monitor spotlighted the findings of defense specialist John Pike, whose website, GlobalSecurity.org, located twelve "enduring bases" in Iraq, including satellite photos and names. In March, the Chicago Tribune reported that US engineers were constructing fourteen such long-term encampments--the number Kerry referred to. The New York Times previously placed the number at four.


While the exact figure may change, suspicions of undisclosed US imperial plans--exemplified by permanent military bases--rightfully linger. Before the war, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz suggested moving US troops stationed in Saudi Arabia into Iraq. In October, a survey by the University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes found that two-thirds of respondents disapproved of a permanent military presence, even though more than half thought the US would build the bases anyway.


Now comes a report in the New York Sun by Eli Lake revealing that the Pentagon (news - web sites) is building a permanent military communications system in Iraq, a necessary foundation for any lasting troop presence. The new network will comprise twelve communications towers throughout Iraq, linking Camp Victory in Baghdad to other existing (and future) bases across the country, eventually connecting with US bases in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Afghanistan (news - web sites).


"People need to get realistic and think in terms of our presence being in Iraq for a generation or until democratic stability in the region is reached," Dewey Clarridge, the CIA (news - web sites)'s former chief of Arab operations (and Iran-contra point man), told the Sun.

As I have posted before, this is a PNAC dream that will fail to materialize. The Iraqis will see to that.

The US will be bankrupt before these grand plans come to fruition. We will keep fighting endlessly before we are forced to capitulate. We are currently spending $4.9 billion every month in Iraq alone.

The Iraqis will pay with lives: for every 1 American troop, 100 Iraqis are killed. They spend $10.00: we spend $1,000,000.

They can outlast us. They are patient. We are not. They have time on their side. We do not. Bush is under increasing pressure to get the situation stabilized. Congress will eventually be with its back against the wall as Americans start demanding some change.

Iraqis have no such pressure. They can wait. It's their land. They are willing to die.

How long are we?

and I agree. the Resistance will win. They always do, to the detriment of the invaders.

is very busy making deals.
Take a bow Bush- mission accomplished indeed.
BHN

but Bush and his friends will be richer.