Free Republic

Could the U.S. rest easy if its only military base in the Indian Ocean were under the sovereign authority of an African government instead of the U.K.? At center stage is Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia, a critical hub for U.S. forces. The base is the sole reason that the U.K. clings onto the 58 small Indian Ocean isles that make up the Chagos Archipelago, of which Diego Garcia is the largest. For decades, London has made Diego Garcia available to the Pentagon on the most favorable terms imaginable: no rent, few restrictions and little oversight. The island is an...

The Chagos Islands may be little more than specks in the middle of the Indian Ocean, but they are at the center of a looming diplomatic row over a key American military base and the rise of Chinese power. Lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic have raised fears that the British government's decision to begin negotiations to hand over the islands to Mauritius could allow China the chance to build its own military facility on the archipelago — right under the nose of American forces at Diego Garcia. The issue is one of the most important strategic locations in...

New satellite imagery, which The War Zone exclusively obtained from Planet Labs, shows two B-52s at the U.S. air base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, where they are out of the reach of Iranian missiles. These are the first of six of the bombers that the U.S. military is deploying to the remote base amid heightened tensions with Iran and now in the wake of unprecedented Iranian missile strikes targeting U.S. forces in Iraq. The imagery in question is dated today, Jan. 8, 2019 at 11:09AM. The first reports that the U.S. Air Force was sending six B-52s...

Pope Francis has accused Britain of placing greed over humanity by refusing to hand over a disputed island archipelago in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius. In an unusually muscular foreign policy intervention, the pope suggested that Britain’s failure to heed a United Nations vote calling on it relinquish sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory was uncivilised. “Not all things that are right for humanity are right for our pocket, but international institutions must be obeyed,” the pope told journalists as he left Mauritius at the end of a three-nation tour of Africa. “If there is an internal dispute or...

Full title: Future of controversial US military base Diego Garcia hangs in the balance after UN rules the Indian Ocean archipelago was illegally seized in the 1960s by Britain and should give be given back to Mauritius The future of a US military base constructed on a British territory in Mauritius has been thrown into doubt after a United Nations ruling on Monday. The UN's high court has ordered the United Kingdom to give the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius after an investigation revealed they'd been seized under illegal pretenses during the 1960s and 70s. This could, however, also cause...

It’s been four years since a group of US Navy Seals assassinated Osama bin Laden in a night raid on a high-walled compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The killing was the high point of Obama’s first term, and a major factor in his re-election. The White House still maintains that the mission was an all-American affair, and that the senior generals of Pakistan’s army and Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) were not told of the raid in advance. This is false, as are many other elements of the Obama administration’s account. The White House’s story might have been written by Lewis Carroll:...

A second senior airline industry source has revealed his belief that there is some sort of conspiracy behind the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. As The Herald Sun reports, Emirates president and CEO Sir Tim Clark made world headlines in October when he revealed his doubts about the fate of the missing plane, which disappeared early in the morning of March 8 this year. Now a second senior airline industry source has voiced his doubts about the fate of the plane, with the even wilder claim that the Boeing 777 may have been shot down by US military personnel...

'U.S. military shot down MH370 because they thought it had been hacked and was about to be used in terror attack', claims former airline boss Marc Dugain says U.S. Navy in Indian Ocean attacked the plane He claims that islanders saw the plane fly close to a U.S. base Also alleges that a spy told him to back away from his probe into MH370 A former airline boss and writer claims the U.S. downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 because the military feared it had been taken over by hackers and was about to be used in a 9/11-style attack. Marc...

A top Iranian defense official's claim that a U.S. military base in the Indian Ocean is now within missile range served both as a threat to American interests and a revelation that, if true, Tehran has doubled its striking distance. "In the event of an irrational attack by the U.S., America's military bases will not be safe from our missiles, whether in Bahrain or at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean," the senior official, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) adviser Mojtaba Zonnour, was quoted as saying to Iran's "Defa Moghadas," or Holy Defense.

Posted on Wednesday, April 9th, 2014 at 12:19 am. by: Santo Lippo KUALA LUMPUR (INTELLIHUB) — In a strange twist of events Sara Bajc, the girlfriend of missing flight 370 passenger Phillip Wood, told CNN how the Malaysian military and even the U.S. are likely involved in a massive cover-up surrounding the aircrafts disappearance on the morning of Mar. 8. Astonishingly Bajc told CNN, “The jet [flight 370] had actually been accompanied by fighter planes, there is some witness to that.”. “I think we need to have a better view into where that plane went and who has got it...

This is weird. This was posted April 4 on the Diego Garcia Passenger Facebook Page. Via RedFlagNews:Malaysian news reported MH370 Captain Zaharie Shah’s homemade flight simulator had five runways programmed into the system.The runways included:** Three airports in India and Sri Lanka** One airport in Maldives** One US military base in Diego GarciaThe Malaysian pilot on missing flight MH370 was reportedly a political fanatic who attended the trial of the country’s opposition leader hours before the flight.The Daily Mail reported:

INDIAN OCEAN (INTELLIHUB) — According to freelance journalist Jim Stone, one of the American passengers, Phillip Wood, a technical storage executive at IBM, who was aboard the now missing Malaysian Airlines flight, keystered his iPhone 5 in his anus after the Boeing 777 carrying 239 people was hijacked by military personnel while on route to China. Amazingly, Stone claims that metadata within the photo yields evidence confirming “100 percent” that Phillip Wood sent the photo, along with a brief voice activated text, from GPS coordinates which put Wood only a few miles away from the U.S. controlled Diego Garcia military...

Malaysia says it has 'some radar data' on missing flight MH370 Officials say they are 'not at liberty' to release data from other countries Relatives of missing stormed press conference where news was revealed Distressed family held up banners saying officials were 'traitors' Pilot had programmed a remote island into his home flight simulator FBI will help analyse any electronic files deleted from the simulator Search deemed an 'international effort' as 26 countries look for plane Officials are focusing search on area in southern Indian Ocean They dismissed previous claims plane was spotted over the Maldives Rubbished claims flight was...

Exclusive: Malasian Flight 370 Reported in Diego Garcia March 19, 2014 By Paul Preston, Agenda 21 Radio, New StreaMedia NewsTHIS IS A DEVELOPING STORYMalasian Flight 370 was reported to have landed at Diego Garcia in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Sources have given exclusive information to Agenda 21 Radio and New StreaMedia News that Flight 370 landed Saturday morning March 8, 2014. Flight 370 was refueled, restrooms cleaned and more food and refreshments put on board. Sources told Agenda 21 Radio that 20 Chinese national we taken off the plane and cargo unloaded from the plane. The Chinese...

As most of you have read or seen by now, a journalist and NBC/MSNBC media consultant named William “Bill” Arkin has created quite a stir by viciously insulting American soldiers in Iraq. He wrote at his Washington Post blog, “Early Warning: William M. Arkin on National and Homeland Security” column (1/30/07), that “… this NBC (Nightly News) report is just an ugly reminder of the price we pay for a mercenary - oops sorry, volunteer force that thinks it is doing the dirty work” re Iraq. The “report,” according to Arkin, featured “a number of soldiers (who) expressed frustration with...

'CIA island jail' to be probed A UK parliamentary committee is to investigate allegations that US authorities held 'terrorist' suspects in secret prisons on an Indian Ocean island leased by the US from Britain, officials said. Reprieve, a British legal charity, says the CIA detained suspected al-Qaeda members at an airbase on the island of Diego Garcia. Reprieve says at least three al-Qaeda linked prisoners - Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah and Hambali - were held on the island with the consent of British authorities. George Bush, the US president, admitted in 2006 the CIA had held the three and...

Britain's armed forces are stepping up their contingency planning for potential military action against Iran amid mounting concern about Tehran's nuclear enrichment programme, the Guardian has learned. The Ministry of Defence believes the US may decide to fast-forward plans for targeted missile strikes at some key Iranian facilities. British officials say that if Washington presses ahead it will seek, and receive, UK military help for any mission, despite some deep reservations within the coalition government. In anticipation of a potential attack, British military planners are examining where best to deploy Royal Navy ships and submarines equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles...

In the last month, three of the four American SSGNs (former ballistic missile subs each now carrying 154 cruise missiles and SEAL commando teams) appeared in the Pacific and Indian oceans (the Philippines, South Korea and Diego Garcia). Some through this was a message for China, but, in fact, the SSGNs go where the potential trouble is. When questioned, U.S. Navy officials responded that, for the first time, all four SSGNs were operating at sea, in locations distant from their bases. Two years ago, the U.S. Navy completed the conversion of the last of four Ohio class ballistic missile submarines...

Hundreds of powerful US “bunker-buster” bombs are being shipped from California to the British island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean in preparation for a possible attack on Iran. The Sunday Herald can reveal that the US government signed a contract in January to transport 10 ammunition containers to the island. According to a cargo manifest from the US navy, this included 387 “Blu” bombs used for blasting hardened or underground structures. Experts say that they are being put in place for an assault on Iran’s controversial nuclear facilities. There has long been speculation that the US military is...

Final destination Iran? Exclusive: Rob Edwards Published on 14 Mar 2010 Hundreds of powerful US “bunker-buster” bombs are being shipped from California to the British island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean in preparation for a possible attack on Iran. The Sunday Herald can reveal that the US government signed a contract in January to transport 10 ammunition containers to the island. According to a cargo manifest from the US navy, this included 387 “Blu” bombs used for blasting hardened or underground structures. (snip) Contract details for the shipment to Diego Garcia were posted on an international tenders’ website...