MarcassiteDodgson
Il est bien possible que quelques appareils soient alléé en visite (ultra secrète alors) en Grande-Bretagne avant que le Pentagone reconnaisse l'existence du F-117 (novembre 1988), mais vraiment, ça m'étonnerait beaucoup que l'Allemagne ait bénéficié de telles visites. Outre une certaine aversion qui remonte à la seconde guerre mondiale, je pense que, vu toutes les affaires d'espionnage entre RFA et RDA, les Américains se disaient qu'il y avait trop de chemins Allemagne de l'Ouest => Allemagne de l'Est=> URSS.
J'adore ce genre "d'argument" quand on voit la présence de wings à Ramstein et Spangdahlen. Sur ce dernier site il ne fait guère de doute que des F117 y ont été (ce qui montrerait la méfiance des USA ?
"We also learned that we could handle the tyranny of distance and still provide sustained operations. We heard the Chief talk about the distance from Nob Nobster, Missouri to the highlands of Kosovo in Serbia, 17 hours one way. Crews spent three days on an aircraft, but what was less advertised was the bombers that flew out of Fairford, in many cases around the Iberian Peninsula and up through the middle of the Mediterranean, 2,600 miles one way. F-15Es out of Lakenheath, across Germany into the target area, 1,800 miles one way. F-117s out of Spangdahlen, 1,300 miles one way."
So, U.S. (and British) troops in Germany indeed are very Cold War. But in fact, I fear that the Cold War is not really over. It has become less important, there are no "Commies" anymore, and it has shifted eastward. But still, Russia as a lot of oil and natural gas, and the fight for this ressource has only begun with moving the bases closer to the Russian mainland.
I don't know the exact planning, but I would take a strong guess that many the smaller bases will be closed, most of them in little industrialized regions, thus hitting local economy badly. The bigger bases will remain, because they play a crucial role in U.S. logistics. As well, they have expensive and long established infrastructure. Ramstein is the biggest U.S. airbase on foreign territory - and what goes on there is only controlled by the U.S. Spangdahlen airbase is home to the F-117A stealth bomber, with lots of underground hangars and bunkers. This base is/was(?) designed to replace much of the Frankfurt military airbase. Also, EUCOM near Stuttgard played a very important role in the Iraq war. None of the activities, be it overflight of bombers, shipment and deployment of troops and material, or commanding activities, have been hindered during the Iraq war. What happens on the bases is completely out of German jurisdiction, military or civil control. Appeals to withdraw overflight rights (based on the German constitution that punishes any participation in wars of aggression and some NATO statutes) were immediately put down by both German government and courts. The Germans even provided German troops to replenish the guards to U.S. bases that had been deployed to Iraq. so much for Germany opposing the war ..."
Sources
http://www.afa.org/AEF/pub/Jumper2001.asp
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&ad…
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spangdahlem_Air_Base
Trente bases US en Allemagne (dont une avec bombes nucléaires), c'est vraiment une marque originale ... d'aversion !
http://www.deutscher-friedensrat.de/pdf/ForeignBasesiG.pdf
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