U.S. Bases in Afghanistan Get $83M Upgrade

U.S. Bases in Afghanistan Get $83M Upgrade

NewsMax.com Wires
Tuesday, March 29, 2005

KABUL, Afghanistan -- The United States is spending $83 million to upgrade its two main air bases in Afghanistan, an Air Force general said Monday, the latest indication that American forces will remain in the country for years.

Brig. Gen. Jim Hunt said the money was being spent on construction projects already underway at Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, and Kandahar Air Field in the south. A new runway is being built at Bagram, the biggest Afghan airfield used by the U.S. military.

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"We are continuously improving runways, taxiways, navigation aids, airfield lighting, billeting and other facilities to support our demanding mission," Hunt said at a news conference in the capital.

Afghan leaders are seeking a long-term "strategic partnership" with the United States, which expects to complete the training of the country's new 70,000-strong army next year.

It remains unclear if that will include permanent American bases in a region that includes Iran, nuclear rivals India and Pakistan and oil-rich Central Asia.

U.S. commanders have said they might reduce their 17,000-strong force this year if Taliban militants take up a reconciliation offer but forecast there will be a U.S. presence in Afghanistan for years.

Hunt said about 150 U.S. aircraft, which include ground-attack jets and helicopter gunships as well as transport and reconnaissance aircraft, were flying in and out of 14 airfields around Afghanistan. Other planes such as B-1 bombers patrol over Afghanistan without landing.

"We will continue to carry out the ... mission for as long as necessary to secure a free and democratic society for the people of Afghanistan," Hunt said.