IMHO,
At this point I believe that our default position on ANYTHING J. FLIP-FLOT K. says is that it's a lie until proven otherwise. Fully documented, cross-referenced and verified by at lease 5 independent sources.
Looks like Kerry lucked out on March 17 according to GlobalSecurity:
Safwan is an Iraqi military facility located 46 km S of Basra. It is an unoccupied emergency dispersal/recovery strip.
Safwan Airfield is located six kilometers west of the intersection near Safwan, in Southeastern Iraq, just north of the Kuwait-Iraq border.
The airfield holds the distinction of having been the location at which the formal cease-fire ceremony took place on March 3, 1991 between Iraqi and Coalition troops.