P-Flipp
06-15-2003, 06:16 PM
Where in the World Is Diego Garcia?
by Borgna Brunner
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Few could accuse you of ignorance for never having heard of Diego Garcia—much less for not knowing that it's not a person but an island. Along with such obscure, far-flung places as Fogo Island off the West Coast of Africa and Pukapuka in the South Pacific, Diego Garcia isn't the sort of place to come tripping off the tongue of even the most geographically sophisticated.
There are times, however, when the U.S. military considers this 17-square-mile atoll of coral and sand in the middle of the Indian Ocean—with no indigenous inhabitants or natural resources to speak of—one of the most valuable places on Earth.
RELATED LINKS
Persian Gulf War
Military Affairs
Lost Islands of the World
Territories, Colonies, and Dependencies
Diego Garcia was developed as a joint U.S.-UK air and naval refueling and support station during the cold war. Located in the middle of the Indian Ocean and out of cyclone range, it was ideal for keeping an eye on the Soviet Union.
Diego Garcia proved to be critically important as a refueling base during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, and during Operation Desert Fox, it served as a base for B-52 bombers, which on Dec. 17, 1998, launched nearly 100 long-range cruise missiles aimed at Iraq. Beginning on Oct. 7, 2001, the United States again used Diego Garcia when it launched B-1 and B-52 bomber attacks against Afghanistan, in retaliation for the Taliban's harboring of Osama bin Laden, the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
The fact that Diego Garcia is more than 3,000 miles south of Iraq, and a shade closer to Afghanistan, does not pose the logistical problem one might expect. According to the U.S. Air Force, B-52s have an "unrefueled combat range in excess of 8,800 miles." (During the Gulf War, B-52s took off from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, launched cruise missiles on Iraq, and returned to Barksdale 35 hours later—the longest non-stop combat mission in the history of the B-52.)
British Indian Ocean Territory, a dependency of the United Kingdom,
includes Diego Garcia.
The Portuguese explored Diego Garcia in the 1500s; between 1814 and 1965 it was a dependency of Mauritius. It then became part of the Chagos Archipelago, which belonged to the newly created British Indian Ocean Territory. The island remains a British dependency today.
Although Diego Garcia once had a small indigenous population, the inhabitants, known as the Ilois, were moved to Mauritius in the 1970s so that the island could be turned into a military base—over the strong protestations of other Indian Ocean islands, who objected to having cruise missles as neighbors.
What this info doesn't tell you about is the callous displacement of the indegenous peoples of this island to Mauritius and Seychelles.This unsavoury saga was brought to light by a gripping expose by Christina Annampour on 60 minutes.Here is the link for the story.Please read and discuss.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/06/12/60minutes/main558378.shtml
by Borgna Brunner
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Few could accuse you of ignorance for never having heard of Diego Garcia—much less for not knowing that it's not a person but an island. Along with such obscure, far-flung places as Fogo Island off the West Coast of Africa and Pukapuka in the South Pacific, Diego Garcia isn't the sort of place to come tripping off the tongue of even the most geographically sophisticated.
There are times, however, when the U.S. military considers this 17-square-mile atoll of coral and sand in the middle of the Indian Ocean—with no indigenous inhabitants or natural resources to speak of—one of the most valuable places on Earth.
RELATED LINKS
Persian Gulf War
Military Affairs
Lost Islands of the World
Territories, Colonies, and Dependencies
Diego Garcia was developed as a joint U.S.-UK air and naval refueling and support station during the cold war. Located in the middle of the Indian Ocean and out of cyclone range, it was ideal for keeping an eye on the Soviet Union.
Diego Garcia proved to be critically important as a refueling base during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, and during Operation Desert Fox, it served as a base for B-52 bombers, which on Dec. 17, 1998, launched nearly 100 long-range cruise missiles aimed at Iraq. Beginning on Oct. 7, 2001, the United States again used Diego Garcia when it launched B-1 and B-52 bomber attacks against Afghanistan, in retaliation for the Taliban's harboring of Osama bin Laden, the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
The fact that Diego Garcia is more than 3,000 miles south of Iraq, and a shade closer to Afghanistan, does not pose the logistical problem one might expect. According to the U.S. Air Force, B-52s have an "unrefueled combat range in excess of 8,800 miles." (During the Gulf War, B-52s took off from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, launched cruise missiles on Iraq, and returned to Barksdale 35 hours later—the longest non-stop combat mission in the history of the B-52.)
British Indian Ocean Territory, a dependency of the United Kingdom,
includes Diego Garcia.
The Portuguese explored Diego Garcia in the 1500s; between 1814 and 1965 it was a dependency of Mauritius. It then became part of the Chagos Archipelago, which belonged to the newly created British Indian Ocean Territory. The island remains a British dependency today.
Although Diego Garcia once had a small indigenous population, the inhabitants, known as the Ilois, were moved to Mauritius in the 1970s so that the island could be turned into a military base—over the strong protestations of other Indian Ocean islands, who objected to having cruise missles as neighbors.
What this info doesn't tell you about is the callous displacement of the indegenous peoples of this island to Mauritius and Seychelles.This unsavoury saga was brought to light by a gripping expose by Christina Annampour on 60 minutes.Here is the link for the story.Please read and discuss.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/06/12/60minutes/main558378.shtml