From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Mon Feb 08 2010 - 07:45:27 EST
Yemen and The Militarization of Strategic Waterways Securing US Control of
Socotra Island and the Gulf of Aden
by Michel Chossudovsky
http://www.globalresearch.ca/coverStoryPictures/17460.jpg
<http://www.globalresearch.ca> Global Research, February 8, 2010
The Yemeni archipelago of Socotra in the Indian Ocean is located some 80
kilometres off the Horn of Africa and 380 kilometres South of the Yemeni
coastline. The islands of Socotra are a wildlife reserve
<http://whc.unesco.org/p_dynamic/sites/passfile.cfm?filename=1263&filetype=p
df&category=nominations> recognized by (UNESCO), as a World Natural Heritage
Site.
Socotra is at the crossroads of the strategic naval waterways of the Red Sea
and the Gulf of Aden (See map below). It is of crucial importance to the US
military.
MAP 1
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articlePictures/yemenmap.jpg
Among Washington's strategic objectives is the militarization of major sea
ways. This strategic waterway links the Mediterranean to South Asia and the
Far East, through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
It is a major transit route for oil tankers. A large share of China's
industrial exports to Western Europe transits through this strategic
waterway. Maritime trade from East and Southern Africa to Western Europe
also transits within proximity of Socotra (Suqutra), through the Gulf of
Aden and the Red Sea. (see map below). A military base in Socotra could be
used to oversee the movement of vessels including war ships in an out of the
Gulf of Aden.
MAP 2
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articlePictures/easafmap.gif
Sea Power
>From a military standpoint, the Socotra archipelago is at a strategic
maritime crossroads. Morever, the archipelago extends over a relatively
large maritime area at the Eastern exit of the Gulf of Aden, from the island
of Abd al Kuri, to the main island of Socotra. (See map 1 above) This
maritime area of international transit lies in Yemeni territorial waters.
(See map 1).
Socotra is some 3000 km from the US naval base of Diego Garcia, which is
among America's largest overseas military facilities.
The Socotra Military Base
On January 2nd, 2010, President Saleh and General David Petraeus, Commander
of the US Central Command met for high level discussions behind closed
doors.
The Saleh-Petraeus meeting was casually presented by the media as a timely
response to the foiled Detroit Christmas bomb attack on Northwest flight
253. It had apparently been scheduled on an ad hoc basis as a means to
coordinating counter-terrorism initiatives directed against "Al Qaeda in
Yemen", including "the use [of] American drones and missiles on Yemen
lands."
Several reports, however, confirmed that the Saleh-Petraeus meetings were
intent upon redefining US military involvement in Yemen including the
establishment of a full-fledged military base on the island of Socotra.
Yemen's president Ali Abdullah Saleh was reported to have "surrendered
Socotra for Americans who would set up a military base, pointing out that
U.S. officials and the Yemeni government agreed to set up a military base in
Socotra to counter pirates and al-Qaeda." (
<http://www.alsahwanet.net/view_nnews.asp?sub_no=402_2010_01_19_75443> Fars
News. January 19, 2010)
On January 1st, one day before the Saleh-Petraeus meetings in Sanaa, General
Petraeus confirmed in a Baghdad press conference that "security assistance"
to Yemen would more than double from 70 million to more than 150 million
dollars, which represents a 14 fold increase since 2006. (
<http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/215146> Scramble for the Island of Bliss:
Socotra!, War in Iraq, January 12, 2010. See also CNN January 9, 2010, The
Guardian, December 28, 2009).
This doubling of military aid to Yemen was presented to World public opinion
as a response to the Detroit bomb incident, which allegedly had been ordered
by Al Qaeda operatives in Yemen.
The establishment of an air force base on the island of Socotra was
described by the US media as part of the "Global war on Terrorism":
"Among the new programs, Saleh and Petraeus agreed to allow the use of
American aircraft, perhaps drones, as well as "seaborne missiles"--as long
as the operations have prior approval from the Yemenis, according to a
senior Yemeni official who requested anonymity when speaking about sensitive
subjects. U.S. officials say the island of Socotra, 200 miles off the Yemeni
coast, will be beefed up from a small airstrip [under the jurisdiction of
the Yemeni military] to a full base in order to support the larger aid
program as well as battle Somali pirates. Petraeus is also trying to provide
the Yemeni forces with basic equipment such as up-armored Humvees and
possibly more helicopters." (Newsweek, Newsweek, January 18, 2010, emphasis
added)
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articlePictures/socotraairport.jpg
Existing runway and airport
US Naval Facility?
The proposed US Socotra military facility, however, is not limited to an air
force base. A US naval base has also been contemplated.
The development of Socotra's naval infrastructure was already in the
pipeline. Barely a few days prior (December 29, 2009) to the Petraeus-Saleh
discussions (January 2, 2010), the Yemeni cabinet approved a US$14 million
loan by Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) in support of the
development of Socotra's seaport project.
MAP 3
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articlePictures/socotra_mappa.jpg
The Great Game
The Socotra archipelago is part of the Great Game opposing Russia and
America.
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union had a military presence in Socotra,
which at the time was part of South Yemen.
Barely a year ago, the Russians entered into renewed discussions with the
Yemeni government regarding the establishment of a Naval base on Socotra
island. A year later, in January 2010, in the week following the
Petraeus-Saleh meeting, a Russian Navy communiqué "confirmed that Russia did
not give up its plans to have bases for its ships... on Socotra island."
(DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia), January 25, 2010)
The Petraeus-Saleh January 2, 2010 discussions were crucial in weakening
Russian diplomatic overtures to the Yemeni government.
The US military has had its eye on the island of Socotra since the end of
the Cold War.
In 1999, Socotra was chosen "as a site upon which the United States planned
to build a signal intelligence system...." Yemeni opposition news media
reported that "Yemen's administration had agreed to allow the U.S. military
access to both a port and an airport on Socotra." According to the pposition
daily Al-Haq, "a new civilian airport built on Socotra to promote tourism
had conveniently been constructed in accordance with U.S. military
specifications." (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania), October 18, 2000)
The Militarization of the Indian Ocean
The establishment of a US military base in Socotra is part of the broader
process of militarization of the Indian Ocean. The latter consists in
integrating and linking Socotra into an existing structure as well as
reinforcing the key role played by the
<http://www.cnic.navy.mil/DiegoGarcia/index.htm> Diego Garcia military base
in the Chagos archipelago.
The US Navy's geostrategist Rear Admiral Alfred T. Mahan had intimated,
prior to World War, that "whoever attains maritime supremacy in the Indian
Ocean would be a prominent player on the international scene." (
<http://www.defencejournal.com/2000/mar/indian-ocean.htm> Indian Ocean and
our Security).
What was at stake in Mahon's writings was the strategic control by the US of
major Ocean sea ways.
MAP 4
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articlePictures/diego_garcia_locator_map.jpg
Michel Chossudovsky is Professor of Economics (Emeritus) at the University
of Ottawa and Director of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG),
Montreal, which hosts the award winning website:
<http://www.globalresearch.ca/> www.globalresearch.ca . He is the author of
the international best-seller "The Globalisation of Poverty and The New
World Order". He is contributor to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, member of
the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission and recipient of the Human Rights
Prize of the Society for the Protection of Civil Rights and Human Dignity
(GBM), Berlin, Germany. His writings have been published in more than twenty
languages.
Related Global Research Article: See Rick Rozoff,
<http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=ROZ20100108
&articleId=16854> U.S., NATO Expand Afghan War To Horn Of Africa And Indian
Ocean, Global Research, 8 January 2010.
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