Pakistan: When will US vacate Shamsi airbase?

In the 1950s, the US was offered a base at Badabare, near Peshawar. This base was essential for America because it allowed its undetectable spy aircraft from Pakistan and fly at leisure over the USSR. The U2s used to fly so high that the Soviets could not shoot it down. Francis Gary Powell was the last polit to fly the last plane. As the story goes, the Soviets infiltrated the base and messed with the altimeter. Gary Powell thought he was flying higher than he actually was. He was shot down. In his book, he actually does not admit to being shot down. He was captured by the Russians–and he sang like a bird.

Kruschev circled Badabare as a target and threatened Ayub Khan with dire consequences. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (Ayub Khan’s Foreign Minister and chosen successor) was also pressuring “Papa” to shut down the base. When the Americans had a falling out with the Americans over Operation Gibraltar (the liberation of Kashmir), he told the Americans to take the base where the sun don’t shine. President Johnson who hated Bhutto and had repeatedly told Ayub Khan to fire him–was furious. “What the ***k does he think he is”.

The Americans left, and took their goodies with them. They finished building the Mangla Dam, and that was the end of the US relationship with Pakistan. American imposed an arms embargo on Islamabad and there was little contact with the Pakistanis ’till the USSR invaded Afghanistan.

The PPPP government has just woken up to the fact that the Air bases given to the US are invaluable for the fight in Afghanistan. Just as a comparison–the US was paying about $2 Billion to President Marcos’ Phillipines in the 70s. Thats right $1 Billion per base. Marcos was not satisfied with that amount and kept asking for more, ’till the US was kicked out of Subic and Clark. That did not include any war or logistical support for any war. In todays Dollars Pakistan should be charging $5 Billion (inflation per war situation) per base per year. Where will the US go for another base? Tajikistan is the best bet–but that involves begging the Russians, and overflight over Russia which may be shut off at any time.

ISLAMABAD (Online) – Federal Defence Minister Ahmed Mukthar on Saturday disclosed that US forces are still using Shamsi airbase in Balochistan for logistic purpose, maintaining that that Pasni and Jacobabad airbases have been taken back from them.

Talking to a private TV channel, he added that US is using Shamsi airbase in Balochistan for logistic purpose of  Afghanistan based US forces and the government is not satisfied with payment for use of Pasni and Jacobabad
airbases.

“We have got insufficient amount from US for using Pasni and Jaccoabad airbases which is against the commitment made between Pakistan and the US,” he said.

He went on to say President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani have taken up the issue before high-level US authorities and we are also asking them to withdraw from Shamsi airbase. It may be
recalled here some days go the federal defence minister while talking to another private TV channel had said that US is still using Pasni and Jaccoabad airbases but on Saturday, he said both airbases have been taken

Now there are rumblings about the bases again. After the public admisison of the bases, there is mounting pressure in Pakistan to shut down the bases–specially becuase it is alleged that some of the drones take off from Shamsi. In view of the CIA’s admisison that it was using Blackwater constractors at Shamsi–American presence at the four air bases in untenable.
back from them.

This failure to absorb the lessons of Empire is not only unjust to the victims; it leads us to repeat horrifying mistakes. Today, we are — with the Americans — using unmanned drones to bomb the Pakistan-Afghan borderland, as we did a few years ago in Iraq. Nobody here seems to remember that the British invented aerial counter-insurgency in this very spot — with disastrous consequences.

In 1924, Arthur ‘Bomber’ Harris bragged that all rebellion could be stopped with this tactic. We have shown them “what real bombing means, in casualties and damage: they know that within 45 minutes a full-sized village can be practically wiped out and a third of its inhabitants killed,” he said. Yet instead of “pacifying” them, it radically alienated the population and lead to an uprising. If we knew our history, we would not be running the same script and expecting a different ending. Huffington Post. Johann Hari is a writer for The Independent

All segments of Pakistani society are enraged by the US attacks on Pakistani territory. The intellectuals and the elite are mad, and feel betrayed. For decades the elite, usually foreign bred have been the stalwarts of the pro-American Pakistani foreign policy. The media and the youth have enjoyed Americanism and American products, from food, to music to English. The youth feel backstabbed. The extremists are telling the government “we told you so–the USA was unreliable” and bombs its friends.

The US Afghan occupation is very unpopular in Pakistan

After the choking of the war, the insurgents will now target supplies in Uzbekistan and the Central Asia Republics Reality check on War in Afghanistan

Since at least 2006, the US Central Intelligence Agency has allegedly been operating the drones out of Shamsi airfield in Pakistan to assassinate militants in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas.