Two months after the US-Bulgarian agreement the US led joint military training exercises in Bulgaria in which the head of local troops involved effused, "We want to be certified as part of NATO forces. We want to conduct expeditionary exercises as part of NATO."
(Stars and Stripes, July 22, 2006)
The war games, named Immediate Response 2006, were designated to break in the new bases in Bulgaria and Romania and to implement the Rumsfeld era Pentagon's plans for military 'lily pads' from which to spring into action to points east and south.
In reporting on the exercise the main newspaper of the US armed forces provided this background perspective:
"According to the agreements, the U.S. would be able to use the Romanian and Bulgarian bases for pre-positioning of equipment, and to send U.S. troops and equipment into war if necessary. The "forward operating sites," as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld calls them, would be in Romania at the Smardan Training Range, Babadag Training Area and Rail Head, Mihail Kogalniceanu air base, and Cincu Training Range." (Stars and Stripes, July 5, 2006)
A Bulgarian civilian cited by the same source said, "Every day we can see them (U.S. troops) in the cities and villages."
(Stars and Stripes, July 24, 2006)
By September of the same year, "Sofia and Washington are to sign about 13 additional agreements to regulate the joint usage of several military bases in Bulgaria. "Defence Minister Veselin Bliznakov has announced that next week US European Command (EUCOM) experts will arrive in Bulgaria to draw a draft document."
(Sofia News Agency, September 21, 2006)
The pacts with Bulgaria and Romania are, as usual in such instances, to be jointly used by NATO as all three signatories are members of the bloc.
In a US armed forces dispatch titled "England-based airmen head to NATO exercise in Bulgaria" it was reported that a British "squadron plans to test-fire laser-guided and general-purpose weapons at a Bulgarian range, as well as conduct air-to-air training with the Bulgarian MiG-29 and -21 aircraft" in war games coded Exercise Immediate Response.
(Stars and Stripes, July 13, 2006)
Later NATO continued its leapfrogging over the Pentagon into Bulgaria as detailed in an article called "NATO bases may be set up near Bulgaria's Sungulare" which included this report:
"NATO asked if the former buildings of a tank brigade in the town of Aitos could be turned into a reserve storage base. "NATO planned to store here the equipment for one or two battalions, which would be based in the military bases of Novo Selo and Bezmer."
(Sofia Echo, January 3, 2008)
In fact what NATO achieved was securing a base of its own.
"NATO will pay 150 million US dollars to the Municipality of Sungurlare (central Bulgaria) in exchange for a plot of municipal land for the
construction of a military base."
(Standart News, December 2, 2007)
The comparison between the Bulgarian Bezmer air base and the US's and NATO's main strategic air (bombing) bases in Aviano, Italy and Incirlik, Turkey was established earlier and this report later confirmed the analogy's accuracy, though immediately in reference to another air base.
"NATO will move aircraft from the US air base in Aviano, northeastern Italy, to Bulgaria's Graf Ignatievo air base near Plovdiv."
(Sofia News Agency, October 6, 2007)
The above news item described the transfer as temporary, but it may have been a portent of what is planned for the future.
Aviano was the main base used by the US and NATO in their joint Operation Deliberate Force bombing of the Bosnian Serb Republic in 1995 and in the 78-day terror bombing campaign against Yugoslavia in 1999.
To leave no further doubt as to under whose auspices the Pentagon was able to secure its seven new bases for attacks to the east and south, in the autumn of 2007 "A top general from the NATO's Southern Command in Naples will inspect the two-week military exercises of army units from Bulgaria, the USA and Romania which will be held near the town of Sliven, in southern Bulgaria."
(Standart News, September 3, 2007)
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
