Post by Paddy by Grace on May 21, 2009 23:11:10 GMT -7
Why is the U.S. building a gigantic military base in Israel?
Why is the U.S. building a gigantic military base on the West Bank border?
By israelinsider staff July 27, 2005
The sudden appearance south of Rosh Ha'ayin of a massive army "supply base," built by the U.S. army engineering corps for the IDF with Arab workers, has raised eyebrows and suspicions about the real purpose and intended users of the massive facility.
According to an IDF spokesman, the new base (dubbed "Nachshonim," after a nearby kibbutz) and located less than 10 minutes east of Ben Gurion airport, will be used as a storage facility for reservists' equipment, including beds, uniforms, etc.
Still, the base's massive size -- dozens of huge warehouses, with reinforced bunkers, watchtowers, and tunnels -- casts a shadow of doubt over this singular explanation for its use.
Investigative journalist Barry Chamish, who initially broke the story, and a colleague traveled down route 443 and spoke to one of the builders:
We reach the entrance where two guards are seated. I ask one if we can speak to someone in charge of the project and photograph inside. The guards agree to call headquarters and see. One guard calls, the other points to a path to the right and says, "Let's see if they'll let you photograph up there. You've never seen so many computers and cameras in your life."
The base construction manager agrees to talk to us. We are escorted to his trailer/office where he is sitting with three other sub-managers. The radio reporter wastes no time asking, "Are those buildings going to be used to hold evacuated settlers and protesters?"
The project manager laughs. I agree. That is not the purpose of this base.
Next question: "What is this base going to be used for?"
"A storage facility for the IDF."
I respond: "Suddenly the IDF is suffering a huge lack of warehouse space? I mean, how big is this base?"
"It will be half the area of all Tel Aviv."
"For storage? What is the American role then in this base?"
"They are building it for us. All the supervisors are American."
"What are those underground tunnels for?"
"No tunnels. It just looks that way because of the topography. Look, you came to the wrong person. I'm a simple builder from Rosh Haayin. What do I know?"
According to one former American soldier who viewed photographs of the base (and who would only speak on condition of anonymity) "I saw these kind of installations when I was in the [U.S.] military. For years I was stationed at a base where a major part of it was like this. These are not barracks of any kind. The metal facilities built up on the rocks are huge electronic facilities, probably filled with CIA and extensive phone and other electronic monitoring stuff. I have seen bunkers like this before, at a base in California. It is a missile launch bunker. Somewhere within a mile to 5 miles are silos with the missiles in them," he said.
But, the IDF spokesman insists: "It's a storage facility for emergency supplies."
The fact that the base's construction was commissioned to an Arab contractor (listed on the sign outside the base as "Mustafa"), and according to eyewitness reports, has utilized busloads of Arab construction workers, would suggest that there is no top secret information contained within, at least at this stage, or that the ultimate purpose might not be limited to, or primarily intended for, the IDF.
The IDF spokesman reported that the practice of using an Arab labor force to build non-sensitive IDF facilities is not uncommon, and insisted that the U.S. military engineering corps has often in the past assisted in the construction of IDF facilities. The IDF spokesman insisted that "The Americans are helping to build it, but it is a completely Israeli base, only to be used by Israeli forces."
But even if the somewhat suspicious base is in fact a storage facility for reservists, and even if it is to be used exclusively by the IDF, the question is, why is a base of this size being built where it is being built, right now?
"If there is an emergency and a lot of reservists get drafted, they will need material, and they will use the contents of this base," suggested the IDF spokesman, quickly adding, "It's not because of any impending war that the public doesn't know about."
The project began in 1998, as a result of the Wye River Agreement signed by former PM Netanyahu (with Ariel Sharon his foreign minister at the time) and Yasser Arafat, with physical construction beginning in 2001. Construction is scheduled for completion by the beginning of 2006.
According to a 2001 report in The Jerusalem Post, the base is the second of five the U.S. has pledged to build -- at an initial expected total cost of $266 million -- to set up alternatives to IDF bases in the West Bank slated for possible transfer to the Palestinians. under the Wye Memorandum, the U.S. agreed to fund infrastructure costs.
IsraelInsider is still awaiting an IDF response to the question of the project's actual cost.
Why is the U.S. building a gigantic military base on the West Bank border?
By israelinsider staff July 27, 2005
The sudden appearance south of Rosh Ha'ayin of a massive army "supply base," built by the U.S. army engineering corps for the IDF with Arab workers, has raised eyebrows and suspicions about the real purpose and intended users of the massive facility.
According to an IDF spokesman, the new base (dubbed "Nachshonim," after a nearby kibbutz) and located less than 10 minutes east of Ben Gurion airport, will be used as a storage facility for reservists' equipment, including beds, uniforms, etc.
Still, the base's massive size -- dozens of huge warehouses, with reinforced bunkers, watchtowers, and tunnels -- casts a shadow of doubt over this singular explanation for its use.
Investigative journalist Barry Chamish, who initially broke the story, and a colleague traveled down route 443 and spoke to one of the builders:
We reach the entrance where two guards are seated. I ask one if we can speak to someone in charge of the project and photograph inside. The guards agree to call headquarters and see. One guard calls, the other points to a path to the right and says, "Let's see if they'll let you photograph up there. You've never seen so many computers and cameras in your life."
The base construction manager agrees to talk to us. We are escorted to his trailer/office where he is sitting with three other sub-managers. The radio reporter wastes no time asking, "Are those buildings going to be used to hold evacuated settlers and protesters?"
The project manager laughs. I agree. That is not the purpose of this base.
Next question: "What is this base going to be used for?"
"A storage facility for the IDF."
I respond: "Suddenly the IDF is suffering a huge lack of warehouse space? I mean, how big is this base?"
"It will be half the area of all Tel Aviv."
"For storage? What is the American role then in this base?"
"They are building it for us. All the supervisors are American."
"What are those underground tunnels for?"
"No tunnels. It just looks that way because of the topography. Look, you came to the wrong person. I'm a simple builder from Rosh Haayin. What do I know?"
According to one former American soldier who viewed photographs of the base (and who would only speak on condition of anonymity) "I saw these kind of installations when I was in the [U.S.] military. For years I was stationed at a base where a major part of it was like this. These are not barracks of any kind. The metal facilities built up on the rocks are huge electronic facilities, probably filled with CIA and extensive phone and other electronic monitoring stuff. I have seen bunkers like this before, at a base in California. It is a missile launch bunker. Somewhere within a mile to 5 miles are silos with the missiles in them," he said.
But, the IDF spokesman insists: "It's a storage facility for emergency supplies."
The fact that the base's construction was commissioned to an Arab contractor (listed on the sign outside the base as "Mustafa"), and according to eyewitness reports, has utilized busloads of Arab construction workers, would suggest that there is no top secret information contained within, at least at this stage, or that the ultimate purpose might not be limited to, or primarily intended for, the IDF.
The IDF spokesman reported that the practice of using an Arab labor force to build non-sensitive IDF facilities is not uncommon, and insisted that the U.S. military engineering corps has often in the past assisted in the construction of IDF facilities. The IDF spokesman insisted that "The Americans are helping to build it, but it is a completely Israeli base, only to be used by Israeli forces."
But even if the somewhat suspicious base is in fact a storage facility for reservists, and even if it is to be used exclusively by the IDF, the question is, why is a base of this size being built where it is being built, right now?
"If there is an emergency and a lot of reservists get drafted, they will need material, and they will use the contents of this base," suggested the IDF spokesman, quickly adding, "It's not because of any impending war that the public doesn't know about."
The project began in 1998, as a result of the Wye River Agreement signed by former PM Netanyahu (with Ariel Sharon his foreign minister at the time) and Yasser Arafat, with physical construction beginning in 2001. Construction is scheduled for completion by the beginning of 2006.
According to a 2001 report in The Jerusalem Post, the base is the second of five the U.S. has pledged to build -- at an initial expected total cost of $266 million -- to set up alternatives to IDF bases in the West Bank slated for possible transfer to the Palestinians. under the Wye Memorandum, the U.S. agreed to fund infrastructure costs.
IsraelInsider is still awaiting an IDF response to the question of the project's actual cost.