For many years, there has been a rarely-mentioned, secret American military base in the middle of the Indian Ocean. It is located on a small island named Diego Garcia and it has been a British-owned island even though the USA was the operator of the base. In an unexpected development, the United Kingdom has agreed to give the Chagos Islands (the island chain which includes the US base) to the nation of Mauritius. The USA will be given a 99-year lease to continue to operate the military base.
The Chagos Islands were one of the last, scattered remnants of what used to be the British Empire, which disintegrated after World War II. Long-range American bombers and naval warships utilize this base, and it has a long air strip which can accommodate the largest aircraft. It has apparently been used to support military bombing missions during the two Persian Gulf Wars, and combined with air-to-air refueling aircraft, it can be part of a chain of operation where a US warplane can fly virtually around the world without ever landing. Its strategic value is obvious.
As part of this transaction, the world is being given a very rare chance to examine and see the base in photographs. Keep scrolling down as the links below are lengthy. One of the links shows a flight line with USAF B-1 bombers lined up at the military airport on Diego Garcia. I couldn’t help but wonder if those B-1s may have flown there from Ellsworth AFB near Rapid City, South Dakota, which is one of only two bases at which these bombers are home-based within the USA.
While the world waits with bated breath to see the extent of the Israeli reprisal attack on Iran after Iran launched almost 200 ballistic missiles at Israel just a few days ago, I thought you might want to take the opportunity to see and learn more about the secret US base on Diego Garcia. The Iranians call Israel the “Little Satan” and the USA is called the “Great Satan.” Both Israel and the USA have a policy that the Iranian government can never be allowed to possess nuclear weapons. There are reports that the Iranian nuclear program is almost ready to make a nuclear warhead. If war ever erupts between Iran and the USA, the base at Diego Garcia almost surely will play an important basing role for bombers during any such conflict.
You may wish to keep these links in your files. A similar chance to see some of the operations at Diego Garcia may not come again for some time.
- https://www.bbc.com/news/
articles/ckdg7jjlx2go?at_ campaign_type=owned&at_medium= emails&at_objective=%%__ AdditionalEmailAttribute2%%& at_ptr_type=email&at_ptr_name= salesforce&at_campaign=%%__ AdditionalEmailAttribute1%%& at_email_send_date=20241003& at_send_id=4187833&at_link_ title=https%3a%2f%2fwww.bbc. com%2fnews%2farticles% 2fckdg7jjlx2go&at_bbc_team=crm - https://www.newsweek.com/
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