EvanL
05-24-2005, 02:48 PM
Agreement with UAE would enable troops to remain deployed for Afghan operations
By PAUL KORING
Saturday, May 21, 2005
Updated at 2:43 PM EDT
WASHINGTON -- Ottawa is secretly negotiating a long-term agreement with the United Arab Emirates to allow hundreds of Canadian soldiers to remain deployed in the Persian Gulf country for years in support of military operations in Afghanistan.
The location of Camp Mirage -- on a desert air base near Dubai, the UAE's second-largest city -- is classified. Official references in government documents and websites refer to it only obliquely, or more frequently as "location undisclosed."
But it is one of Ottawa's worst-kept secrets. Thousands of Canadian soldiers have passed through the base. Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson has visited it.
Senior army officers have publicly referred to Dubai as its home, and its whereabouts has been inadvertently revealed on the Internet.
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Type "Canada Mirage UAE" into Yahoo's search engine, and the top hits include a series of gushing letters from senior Canadian officers, including the captains of half a dozen warships, extolling the virtues of Dubai as a forward logistics base.
Foreign Affairs and Defence Department officials insisted in interviews that the location must remain secret at the request of the UAE. They said only that a status-of-forces agreement, or SOFA, was being negotiated "with a country in the Persian Gulf region," and declined to disclose the terms under discussion.
But senior government officials confirmed that negotiations between Canada and the UAE have been under way for more than a year to replace the current temporary arrangements in effect since 2001.
The existence of Camp Mirage, and the talks toward a permanent arrangement, underscore Canada's emerging commitment to keep forces in Afghanistan for years.
About 700 Canadian personnel are now based in Kabul, devoted to peacekeeping operations as part of a NATO stabilization force. They will head home this summer.
But over the next several months another 240 are scheduled to deploy to Kandahar, the former Taliban headquarters in the southeastern part of the country. They will be bolstered early next year by more than 1,000 soldiers deployed in U.S.-led combat operations against Taliban and al-Qaeda elements.
As well, there are about 250 aboard HMCS Winnipeg in the Persian Gulf.
Camp Mirage, with more than 200 troops, serves as a forward logistical base, allowing troops and supplies to be ferried from Canada through Dubai to Afghanistan and providing services to Canadian warships.
Some military logistics experts question its location. With superb port facilities, an international airport and a concentration of cargo and supply companies, Dubai is ideally situated to support Canadian naval operations in the gulf.
But it is located more than four hours flying time from Kabul, the Afghan capital. "Dubai is great for the navy," said a retired Canadian officer with experience maintaining supply lines for troops deployed in the region. "But a base closer to Afghanistan would make more sense."
The air force keeps two and sometimes three of its aging Hercules military transports at Camp Mirage, about one-third of the readily available fleet.
The aircraft are not authorized to fly over Iran. So they travel a dogleg route over Pakistan and carry their own fuel for the return flight. But it is a stretch to do the same for soldiers in Afghanistan.
"It's like trying to support ground troops in Miami from a logistics base in Toronto," said a frustrated air force officer.
Canadian military officials staunchly defend the base's gulf location. "We're going to need that support base for an extended period of time," said one who was designated to speak about the issue, although under orders not to confirm or deny the precise location.
Officials said there were no plans to move Camp Mirage or build a new base. UAE officials declined to be interviewed about Camp Mirage or the SOFA negotiations.
Senior Canadian commanders, speaking on condition of anonymity, praised the co-operation they have received from the UAE. Government officials said Camp Mirage is being provided rent-free.
The SOFA deal would replace a series of six-month agreements known as memorandums of understanding, or MOUs, that date back to the period after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
© Copyright 2005 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.
By PAUL KORING
Saturday, May 21, 2005
Updated at 2:43 PM EDT
WASHINGTON -- Ottawa is secretly negotiating a long-term agreement with the United Arab Emirates to allow hundreds of Canadian soldiers to remain deployed in the Persian Gulf country for years in support of military operations in Afghanistan.
The location of Camp Mirage -- on a desert air base near Dubai, the UAE's second-largest city -- is classified. Official references in government documents and websites refer to it only obliquely, or more frequently as "location undisclosed."
But it is one of Ottawa's worst-kept secrets. Thousands of Canadian soldiers have passed through the base. Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson has visited it.
Senior army officers have publicly referred to Dubai as its home, and its whereabouts has been inadvertently revealed on the Internet.
Advertisements
Type "Canada Mirage UAE" into Yahoo's search engine, and the top hits include a series of gushing letters from senior Canadian officers, including the captains of half a dozen warships, extolling the virtues of Dubai as a forward logistics base.
Foreign Affairs and Defence Department officials insisted in interviews that the location must remain secret at the request of the UAE. They said only that a status-of-forces agreement, or SOFA, was being negotiated "with a country in the Persian Gulf region," and declined to disclose the terms under discussion.
But senior government officials confirmed that negotiations between Canada and the UAE have been under way for more than a year to replace the current temporary arrangements in effect since 2001.
The existence of Camp Mirage, and the talks toward a permanent arrangement, underscore Canada's emerging commitment to keep forces in Afghanistan for years.
About 700 Canadian personnel are now based in Kabul, devoted to peacekeeping operations as part of a NATO stabilization force. They will head home this summer.
But over the next several months another 240 are scheduled to deploy to Kandahar, the former Taliban headquarters in the southeastern part of the country. They will be bolstered early next year by more than 1,000 soldiers deployed in U.S.-led combat operations against Taliban and al-Qaeda elements.
As well, there are about 250 aboard HMCS Winnipeg in the Persian Gulf.
Camp Mirage, with more than 200 troops, serves as a forward logistical base, allowing troops and supplies to be ferried from Canada through Dubai to Afghanistan and providing services to Canadian warships.
Some military logistics experts question its location. With superb port facilities, an international airport and a concentration of cargo and supply companies, Dubai is ideally situated to support Canadian naval operations in the gulf.
But it is located more than four hours flying time from Kabul, the Afghan capital. "Dubai is great for the navy," said a retired Canadian officer with experience maintaining supply lines for troops deployed in the region. "But a base closer to Afghanistan would make more sense."
The air force keeps two and sometimes three of its aging Hercules military transports at Camp Mirage, about one-third of the readily available fleet.
The aircraft are not authorized to fly over Iran. So they travel a dogleg route over Pakistan and carry their own fuel for the return flight. But it is a stretch to do the same for soldiers in Afghanistan.
"It's like trying to support ground troops in Miami from a logistics base in Toronto," said a frustrated air force officer.
Canadian military officials staunchly defend the base's gulf location. "We're going to need that support base for an extended period of time," said one who was designated to speak about the issue, although under orders not to confirm or deny the precise location.
Officials said there were no plans to move Camp Mirage or build a new base. UAE officials declined to be interviewed about Camp Mirage or the SOFA negotiations.
Senior Canadian commanders, speaking on condition of anonymity, praised the co-operation they have received from the UAE. Government officials said Camp Mirage is being provided rent-free.
The SOFA deal would replace a series of six-month agreements known as memorandums of understanding, or MOUs, that date back to the period after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
© Copyright 2005 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.