A US Military Base In Lebanon?
Do the Americans have plans to rehabilitate the northern airport of Kolei3at and use it as a military base strategically close to Damascus?
Landing soon in an airport near Tripoli?
I found the story yesterday in the LF’s website, but I couldn’t find it today. It now surfaced again in -Iranian mouthpiece- Press Tv’s website, with an apparent confirmation by an ex Lebanese General:
“According to US plan six military bases will be set up, three in Iraq, one in Jordan, one in Saudi Arabia and one in Lebanon. It is believed that the Lebanese government is approving the establishment of the base and the name of the base will be the US-Lebanese Center for Rehabilitation of the Army in order to cover the real activity of the base,” Amin Hotait, a retired army colonel told Press TV.
The story is not impossible. The Sunni North is now USA friendly (you can tell by the 2 McDonalds restaurants that opened recently in Tripoli). But if it were true, you’d expect the mainstream pro-Hezbollah media (Assafir, Alakhbar, Almanar, tayyar.org) to pounce on the story like a bunch of starving wolves over red meat.
Anyway, If any of you gets a confirmation or a , please let me know in the comments section.
Update: The Story has now been taken up by the Lebanese Main Stream Media.
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Hello, my name is Mustapha and I blog in The Beirut Spring about Lebanese society and politics. I started in February 2005 after the killing of P.M. Rafik Hariri.
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God, I love a fresh conspiracy theory with my morning coffee! This is good stuff…
Oh hey, here’s an idea: How about the American-Zionist conspirators get one free base on Lebanese soil for every Iranian, Syrian or Palestinian base? I mean, we wouldn’t wanna be unfair, now would we?
Ugh, here’s hoping my native country isn’t that politically tone deaf.
Yeah…I always take such stories with a massive grain of salt. The ultimate you have to ask yourself is why would the US even bother?
To hit Syria? Not necessary. Despite all the rumbling and tumbling in Turkey, Incirlik Air Base is still functional (and pretty damn close to Syria) and any move by the Turkish gov’t otherwise would ultimately bear massive political ramifications – ramifications that wouldn’t go down so well the Turkish military which is keener than ever to escalate dislodge the Islamist gov’t currently in place.
Apart from Incirlik, the US has its naval capabilities (aircraft carriers) some of which are a stone’s throw away from Syrian territory.
The US also has its bases in Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain – not to mention Greece, Israel, and its naval arsenal off of the Red Sea. All these have air assets that could reach Syria within minutes.
So really, look at the source, look at the facts, and then ignore the story – there are fare “stabler” regions in the area where any right-minded Air Force General would rather have a base.
BV,
If both the LF and Iran are mentioning something, it must be a bit more than a conspiracy, but then again, who knows?
DK,
If there are indeed such a plan, your government will not be the only government who’s tone deaf,
BJ,
What?? And miss writing such a juicy post and hearing all those fun dismissals from you guys?
The story has been around for a couple of weeks. Not sure how you missed it. The “source” is always the same.
It’s hard to believe that the USA would bring troops into Lebanon (and that is exactly what it would take to build a base) when they know that Hezbollah will consider them an “occupation” and do everything possible to kill them. Maybe this is in the cards – but, it sure seems stupid. About Turkey – looks like Pelosi is going to back down on the “resolution”, although the damage may already be done. The co-sponsors are jumping ship just as fast as they can. This is very unpopular in the USA.
I doubt this report.
There’s no oil in Lebanon…
.
I read the same information on Debka.com an Israeli website one week ago. However Debka is not the most reliable source for information.
Today, I couldn’t find anymore the article on Debka.com. However, if you google (Air base Lebanon debka), you’ll be able to trace it.
I heard of it week or two ago discussed on lfpm forum:
http://www.lfpm.org/forum/showthread.php?s=d83f9fc048c25a1476746112b593f3f0&t=29626
Ace,
Don’t you think the story is of such a magnitude that the occasional whisper on the occasional website is much less than the kind of coverage it would deserve?
Amir,
Then you must have missed the conspiracy theory that there’s a huge oil field hidden somewhere next to Akkar’s shores,
Sam,
Yeah, debka is rubbish. The same happened with Lebanese-forces.com, the story got suddenly hidden. Perhaps the CIA are threatening them ;)
Leo,
I just went in, and the info is also based on the -shady- Debka source. But man those people write a lot!
Conspiracy theory with option to buy ;)
Yes, I agree. It is just a rumor.
2 weeks ago? Amnesia anyone?
This story first came around the same time Nahr el Bared fighting started. I wish I still had the link.
And yes the source was always the same, anonymous, unknown, for the sake of his stature and position. Or propaganda.
I was surprised it did not catch back then, it seems like someone is trying to catch fish again.
Mustapha caught it this time around though :D
Here it is, dated may 30th.
Right, there’s oil off the coast of Akkar. The Israeli Air Force helped the Lebanese Army bomb the Nahr El Bared militants on their way to bomb that empty building in Syria, all as a prelude to an American base in Lebanon, which would help the zionists control the Lebanese oil, and give them the ability to bomb more empty buildings and rice fields in Syria when the heat waves aren’t doing enough of a good job. Check!
Mustapha: :D
SuperDude: The May 30th source is ultimately the same as Mustapha’s more current source :P
BV: Thats right there is oil right off the coast, but the Americans will seek to control it via an undersea city populated with zionist sea-people. Get with it man!! ;)
Right on B.V.
People in the Middle East have more paranoid fantasies than Stephen King on crack. (To borrow a phrase from the great Jimmy James).
did anyone see or read the comment a syrian official made where he admitted that israel had bombed a syrian nuke site???
No need to have a base in Lebanon (that could be bombed easily) when you have aircraft carrier in a safe distance! Wake up guys and use your logic.
The Syrian regime is so bad that it does not know how to lie!!! First, the Israeli airplanes were prevented by our defense systems from bombing anything (one of the Syrian ministers) then the place bombed is an “unused under construction related to the military building” (Bashar’s interview with the BBC) and later “Israel hit nuclear facilities” (the Syrian Ambassador in the UN). I think the Ambassador and his family will disappear or will commit suicide with 3 shots in the head!
This story keeps popping up every now and then. I read it on Debka Files about three years ago.
A must read article here from Franklin Lamb on the proposed air base http://www.counterpunch.org/lamb05302007.html
The idea isn’t that far fetched, have also read recently that adm william fallon was “selling” the idea to lebanese officals in july. I think the selling point had some to do with the nahr al bared siege and the need for a strategic “NATO” base in lebanon. I think the LF website might have picked up the story from debka file
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=4659
But i’d take anything anyone gets from debka file with a few grains of salt.
Well let’s hope it is a true story for it will be of great benefit for Lebanon. Look at all countries that host American military bases and how they enjoy stability, something that we’re yearning for in Lebanon.
Folks, deal with it. America is in the ME to stay and neither Hezbolla nor Iran are a match. Better get with the program and try and benefit from this constructive relationship. What’s the alternative? The mullah’s or the tyrant/thieve of Damascus?
[...] Assafir: Washington Officially Asks Lebanon To Be Military Base As if the pro-Hezbollah, anti-American daily read my post yesterday. In a typical Assafir fashion, they “expose the conspiracy’s details” in their leading story. [...]
“Et pourquoi pas ya Sourayya?” We have run the gamut, Syrian bases, Palestinian, Iranian, Israeli, Syrian, (ilnééha ‘Syrian’?), eh, Syrian… must we go on?
How about a Lebanese base for a change?
How can you compare a Macdonald’s food chain in Tripoli to an American Military Base, with American troops all over the place? Are you that Blind , don’t you see what is happening in Iraq?
And Besides, You don’t represent the Sunni View, so stop thinking that you do.
With all this argument when this story first appeared I wonder who is luckier, the one who found it first or the one who never heard of it.