BUCHAREST: US troops and equipment are pouring east into Bulgaria and Romania from their bases in Germany in preparation for war on Iraq.
Scores of US aircraft have landed at an air base near Constanta port in Romania over the past few days. US transport aircraft like the C-5 Galaxies, C-141s and the C-130 Hercules have been landing daily at Bulgaria’s Burgas airport on the Black sea.
“We are moving troops and equipment from Western Europe forward,” US embassy spokesman in Bucharest Mark Wenig said. “They will continue to arrive in the following days.”
The new US deployment in the Balkans is a part of a mission that is reconfiguring decades of US military presence in Europe, and redrawing Europe’s military map.
Bulgaria and Romania, once allies of the Soviet Union, are now seen as some of the most fervent supporters of the US over Iraq. Bulgaria, the only East European country in the United Nations Security Council, has declared firm support to the US over a second resolution to authorize an attack on Iraq.
The cozy new relations with Washington have not gone unnoticed. French President Jacques Chirac has warned Bulgaria and Romania that they could be risking membership of the European Union (EU) in backing war on Iraq.
“Just when they thought they were safe within the shelter of the West by getting entry tickets to Nato (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and the EU, they are being squeezed over Iraq,” says military analyst Cornel Codita. “It is a question of choosing the lesser evil.”
But both Romania and Bulgaria are beginning to reap rewards. President George W. Bush called Romanian President Ion Iliescu Monday to thank him for his country’s support. Both Romania and Bulgaria are expected to be given a role in reconstruction of a post-war Iraq.
That can mean new business and also hope that they can recover some of their debts from Baghdad. Iraq owes Romania 1.7 billion dollars.
The US will also recognize its new allies as “functioning market economies” by March 10 as sweetener for their support over Iraq. That means cancellation of tough anti-dumping measures that are applied to countries not in this category.
“America is going to stand by your side, shoulder to shoulder,” US Commerce Secretary Don Evans said on a tour of East Europe last week. “We are going to do everything we can to strengthen the economic relationship between our countries.”
The US will send a business delegation later this year to pursue avenues for trade and investment.
Evans praised both countries for implementing tough economic reforms ahead of EU membership. But he added that more market- friendly measures are needed to attract North American capital.
Evans pledged to boost trade but stopped short of promising money to the impoverished Balkan countries. Trade between Romania and the US exceeded a billion dollars last year. Romania is now looking for new investment in power supply, infrastructure, communications, transport and agriculture.
Bulgarian exports to the US shrank 14.1 per cent to 227 million dollars from January to November last year from the previous year. Imports dropped 21.2 per cent to 147 million dollars. Bulgarian business is looking to new trade opportunities to reverse this trend.
There is little public support for a war on Iraq in these countries, but little active opposition to it either. Only some small anti-US demonstrations have been held in Romania and Bulgaria in recent weeks.
People living close to the new US bases fear that the presence of US airmen will wreck tourism. “No one asks us whether we like it or not,” says Bogdan Tudorache, a 22 year-old student in Bucharest. —Dawn/InterPress News Service.