A little-known U.S. military facility in the Middle East is a model for the
kind of American bases
<http://www.usnews.com/cartoons/barack-obama-cartoons> President Obama's new
defense strategy suggests soon will pop up around the globe, a senior
Pentagon official said Monday.
The U.S. commandos who swooped into Somalia to rescue two aid workers who
had been kidnapped by pirates operated from an American base in Djibouti,
said Michele Flournoy, undersecretary of defense for policy. She called the
facility a prime example of the kinds of facilities from which the U.S.
military will launch the "small-footprint operations" across the globe that
are discussed in the Obama administration's new national defense strategy.
The Djibouti base is called Camp Lemonnier, according to a State Department
fact sheet. Pentagon and other U.S. national security officials believe
Washington needs more Lemonnier-like bases.
The Obama administration's defense strategy, released this month, says
smaller annual Pentagon budgets "will require innovative and creative
solutions to maintain our support for allies."
Flournoy spoke at a military conference in Washington sponsored by the
Reserve Officers Association. The remarks likely are her final public ones
in office; Friday is her final day in office.
