NATO warming up for Libya? Greece’s Souda Air Base to get involved?

February 25, 2011 Politics, World Comments Off on NATO warming up for Libya? Greece’s Souda Air Base to get involved? 145 Views

Is NATO warming up for a military intervention in Lybia, even if for ‘humanitarian reasons’? If the answer is “Yes”, Greece is most likely to play a role in facilitating and supporting North Atlantic Treaty Org. troops with its Souda airbase on the island of Crete, some 300 nautical miles away form the coast of Libya, Greek portal OnAlert reported.

“A NATO intervension is extremely likely possible and in such case Greece’s involvement inherent” military sources told OnAlert.The portal noted that AWACS have been monitoring since Wednesday the Libyan airspace, flying within the FIR of Malta.

The air and naval base of Souda on the island of Crete would be the focus of any military operation against Libya. Some 330 nautical miles separate the base from the coast of Libya. War ships and aircraft would use exclusively the Souda for supplies.

Souda Air Base on Akrotiri Peninsula has strategic importance in the Mediterranean Sea. It serves the Hellenic Air Force 115 Combat Wing and US Navy units. North of the Souda base is located the NATO Missile Firing Installation (NAMFI), a training facility for Air Defense Systems mostly for Patriot and Hawk surface-to-air missiles launches.

NATO readies for any

Friday evening, after an emergency session of NATO member states in Budapest, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen issued a statement saying that

“The North Atlantic Council will continue to monitor the situation closely in coordination with the other international organizations and will continue to consult in order to be prepared for any eventuality”.

Military Intervensions per Twitter?

Anders Fogh Rasmussen had twitted some 12 hours ago that

“The situation in Libya is of great concern. NATO can act as an enabler and coordinator if and when member states will take action”.

Friday afternoon, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) had reported per Twitter

LATEST: informed by Malta ACC that all Libyan airports except Tripoli are closed.

In times when people’s uprising are organized per Twitter and Facebook, most probably military interventions will be announced in 140 Twitter-characters only, as well. Yesterday the US State Department urged its citizens to abandon Libya “asap“. Per Tweet, of course! Today, the USA closed its embassy in Tripoli…

NATO warming up for Libya? Greece’s Souda Air Base to get involved?

Military Intervensions per Twitter?

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