Sputnik: US May Lose Significant Military Base Located on UK Territory
America may soon lose one of its largest military bases overseas due to the expiration of the lease on Diego Garcia Island in December this year.
A 1966 agreement with the UK allowed the US Defense Ministry to use the Diego Garcia island — the largest of the 60 small islands in the Chagos Atchipelago in the Indian Ocean — for military purposes. The lease runs out in December, although there is an option to extend it for another 20 years.
The islands were reportedly exchanged for an $11 million (£7.65m) discount on buying Polaris submarine-launched ballistic missiles. After a secretive deal between then British Prime Minister Harold Wilson and then US President Lyndon Johnson, native inhabitants were forcefully removed from the archipelago.
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WNU editor: Talks on renewing the lease have begun .... Deal to send Chagos islanders back to their tropical paradise could be closer after Cameron and Obama discussed US air base lease on Diego Garcia over the weekend (Daily Mail).
4 comments:
The US Military just finished spending $480 billion on raising the entire Island 15 feet to keep it from being submurged fro sea rise,
So it's good to go for another 15 years.
The Diego Garcian's won't be returning home any time soon.
One foot a year? 100 feet a century...
You're probably right the Diego Garcians are not going to be returning anytime soon. The British will have other uses for this.
As for the United States, the lease will not be renewed. Even if it is, the price the British will be demand will be to high. Of course the US government could be just stupid enough to go along.
Furthermore it seems rather foolish to spend money and time raising an island the landlord is not going to renew the lease on. Everyone knows the landlord gets to keep any improvements affixed to a property without having to pay the lessee.
This had to have taken some time to do and it had to have been on someone's radar in the US government that the lease was running out for at least five years. Five years ago this lease would not have been renewed. It seems even less likely today that this lease is going to be renewed. As such, the US government just upgraded a piece of property they were not going to get continued use of and the British are not going to compensate the Americans one iota for this. Hardly surprising as the US government can be rather foolish at times.
I suspect the Diego Garcians were very well compensated to a level that makes them wealthy beyond what most "westerners" can imagine. they and their descendants will likely be compensated at a high level again when this lease runs out assuming the British still want to use it for military purposes. The US and to a lesser extent the "west" are generally subjected to very harsh media scrutiny. As such, not compensating them would seem virtually impossible.
Very tragic situation that I hope was worth it for national defense. If the islanders work this properly, they could get more compensation and get their island back.
Obama is negotiating ...
And Cameron might as well be the long lost twin brother of Boehner.
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