India Offers Three Air Bases for US AircraftEven though no military plans have been firmed up by Washington for retaliatory strikes against the so-called terrorist states, primarily Afghanistan, Indian has identified three air bases for a possible operational support to the United States.According to the Times of India published here on Wednesday, the bases are situated at Avantipur in India-controlled Kashmir, Adampur in the northwest state of Punjab and Jamnagar in Gujarat bordering Pakistan. The popular daily quoted a security official as saying that the offer had been conveyed to the U.S. after it was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security on Tuesday. In addition, the paper said, India also promised to provide the U.S. with unspecified port facilities in its western seaboard for U.S. warships. The committee approved the plan after consultations with the three service chiefs, who unanimously agreed on the need to support the U.S. military action. "The chiefs felt that the Americans had joined our war against terrorism and we must naturally be the first to offer them help," said the security official. The articulation of the government stand by External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh was motivated by a desire to ensure that Pakistan does not gain through an Indian default. According to the official, Indian has already begun the " operational cooperation" by providing U.S. officials with intelligence they have on Afghan camps and the ruling Taliban. However, He emphasized that Washington had not yet indicated whether it wants to use the offer of military facilities. "We have detailed our specific offer which can then be factored into their planning," the official added. As part of this exercise, U.S. ambassador Robert Blackwill met Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sushil Kumar on Tuesday to look for " harboring facilities along the west coast for its warship, in case they are in distress, while operating in the Arabian Sea area." Their understanding is that the Indian ports could be used for unloading Diego Garcia and Guam-based marine prepositioning ships, the Times of India quoted military officials as saying. |
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