U.S. B-52 Bombers Arrive at Base in Britain
reuters.com
FAIRFORD, England (Reuters) - A group of U.S. B-52 bombers landed at Britain's Fairford Royal Air Force base on Monday as Washington moved the aircraft that would play an early role in any war on Iraq closer to their targets.
To the fury of peace protesters and the delight of plane spotters, the huge gray jets roared low over the perimeter fence before opening parachutes on the runway -- the longest in Europe -- to help them rumble to a halt.
British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon told parliament he had agreed to a U.S. request for 14 B-52 bombers to fly to RAF Fairford in the western county of Gloucestershire from the United States, with their extra support personnel.
"The aircraft began to arrive at the base today. This is part of continuing contingency preparations," he said. "No decision to commence military action has been made."
A Reuters correspondent saw eight B-52s land at the base. A Defense Ministry spokeswoman said the full complement would have arrived within 48 hours.
Fairford can also house U.S. "batwing" B-2 stealth bombers, which Washington announced last week it would deploy soon. But the Defense Ministry said Britain had received no request to base the B-2s at Fairford, a sign they would probably go to the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia instead.
Even without the mysterious stealth bombers, the arrival of the B-52s caused a stir. Plane spotters and journalists gathered to watch them landing, joining a small number of protesters who have maintained a "peace camp" nearby.
Amateur pilot Malcolm Faiers said he had always wanted to see a B-52. "It was very good and very interesting. I'm quite impressed by the size of the aircraft," he said. "I'm very pro-getting-on-with-this-war, so that's another reason I came."
At the peace camp, protesters were outraged.
"We're devastated that war may now actually start within a few days," protest organizer Dave Cockroft told Reuters. "The fear is that America has lost patience with the whole process of trying to legitimize what they are doing, and are going do it anyway."
Protester Brenda Burrell said: "I'm talking to you, and on my left two enormous dark gray American bombers, in our beautiful Gloucestershire countryside, are being fueled up -- I'm absolutely outraged that this is happening in the country I was born in.
"This is mass murder we are going to be committing. This is unspeakable," she added. |
