Rant: U.S. seals deal on military bases in Bulgaria

[EMail to various folks today]

I think Bush is insane.

He's bogged down in Afghanistan.

He's bogged down in Iraq.

He wants to declare war on Iran

He's got some troops and air bases in Poland

He's got bases in Turkey

He's got bases coming to Romania.

He just signed a deal for bases in Bulgaria.

If you look at the map of the World, what does that mean? Why just that paranoid Russians (Russia being the ONLY country that is a real threat to the mainland United States) are under attack from the West and the South! (China wouldn’t dare attack us. If we cut off payments for their trade, they would go bankrupt within a month and there would be riots throughout the entire country).

I repeat, Bush is insane and should be committed.

He knows that no President can be considered “great” unless he wins a war. He wants to avenge his father’s mediocre reputation. So he’s desperate to have a war he thinks he can win in the next 2 ½ years.

U.S. seals deal on military bases in Bulgaria

Plan linked to U.S. efforts to move smaller bases closer to Middle East

MSNBC
Updated: 7:05 a.m. ET April 28, 2006

SOFIA, Bulgaria - The United States signed an agreement on Friday to establish three military bases in Bulgaria as it shifts troops from old Cold War positions to smaller installations closer to the Middle East and Africa.

Under the deal, the United States will deploy 2,500 soldiers on short rotations to Bulgaria as it draws down tens of thousands of troops from Cold War bases in Europe and Asia.

“The agreement indeed will enhance our cooperation, allowing the shared use of Bulgarian training facilities and strengthening our ability to operate militarily,” said U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice after a signing ceremony on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Sofia.

Bulgaria, an ex-communist country of 7.7 million, has been eager to repay Washington for supporting its 2004 NATO membership. It has backed the United States in Iraq despite widespread public opposition to the war.

The 10-year agreement includes the Bezmer airfield and Novo Selo shooting range, both near Bulgaria’s border with Turkey, and the Graf Ignatievo airfield in central Bulgaria.

U.S. forces will also have access to a storage facility near Bulgaria’s port of Bourgas. The total number of soldiers may double for short periods during rotations every six months.

The United States said the first troops would most likely arrive next year. Under the arrangement, Washington may launch attacks against third countries from the bases after consulting Bulgarian authorities. Both sides have said the facilities will be shared and used mainly for training.

The agreement must still be ratified by Bulgaria’s parliament, in which the three-party Socialist-led coalition holds a commanding majority.

A recent opinion survey showed 60 percent of Bulgarians were against the bases which are expected to bring tens of millions of dollars in badly-needed foreign investment and create jobs.

Bulgaria’s far-right opposition Attack party has been one of the loudest opponents. It mustered around 5,000 people in protests in Sofia on Thursday.

Rights groups have expressed concern over the bases following allegations the United States may have used installations in Romania, Poland and other European states as secret CIA jails.

The plan closely resembles a deal signed in December between Washington and Bulgaria’s northern Black Sea neighbor Romania.

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