Alwaght - Spain has agreed
to authorize the permanent US military presence at the country’s
southwestern Morón Airbase permanently with as many as 3,000 troops,
triple the number of existing forces.
The
Spanish government approved on the military agreement on Friday, and signing it
is the top agenda task of a Sunday visit to Madrid by the US Secretary of State
John Kerry, who is also scheduled to meet with King Felipe, Prime Minister
Mariano Rajoy, and Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo.
According
to the deal, the US military can now boost the number of its service members at
Morón from the current 850 troops to 3,000 troops, with 2,200 US Marines due to
arrive at the airbase shortly. This is while the number of military aircraft
stationed at the base will also increase from 14 to 40.
Additionally,
the military accord includes a US pledge to invest $29 million into the
development of the military facility, according to the local daily El Pais.
Speaking on the military
deal at a press conference in Madrid, Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya
Saenz de Santamaria claimed that the move would contribute to the
stability of Africa as well as Europe and the [West Asia].
Santamaria
added the US Marines stationed in Spain are expected to protect American
embassies in the region, perform rescue missions, and intervene in regional
conflicts and humanitarian crises.
She
further asserted that American investment in the Morón Airbase
would improve the economy of the region. The base, she noted, is to remain
a Spanish territory, so all US unilateral missions from the base would require
Spanish permission.
According
to local press reports, there were initially no American troops stationed at
the Morón Airbase, but following a deadly attack on the US consulate in the
Libyan city of Benghazi on September 11, 2012, which led to the killing of US
Ambassador Christopher Stephens and three CIA operatives, US troops were
allowed to the base in April 2013.
