Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base

The Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base is a military base located near the Black Sea city of Constanza in Romania. [1]

2003 Invasion of Iraq

"US soldiers used the Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase as a hub to send equipment and 7,000 combat troops into Iraq during the early stages of the invasion in 2003, and temporarily kept up to 3,500 American troops there." [2][3]

Scotland's Sunday Herald reported March 2, 2003, that

"...close to a thousand US soldiers landed at Mihail Kogalniceanu air base over the past few days. [Romanian presidential spokeswoman Corina] Cretu said that half a dozen giant C-130 Hercules transport planes and up to a dozen MH-46 helicopters are ferrying arms, technical material and urgent military supplies from Germany to the 'temporary' US war base on Romanian soil. Romanian military police have thrown a defensive cordon around the base.

"The officers of the US advance party have turned three storeys of Hotel Savoy in the neighbouring Black Sea resort of Mamaia into their billet, but to assure their safety Romanian military police have erected steel barriers and set up several checkpoints on all the approach roads. Romania's Supreme Defence Council also announced that Bucharest is sending hundreds of nuclear, chemical and biological warfare decontamination specialists, as well as military police units and a complete field hospital.

"The US has now been given carte blanche 'for the utilisation of Romanian air space, as well as all the necessary military and technical infrastructure, if military action against Iraq becomes unavoidable'. US Seabees are to start work soon on the 'extension of the runways, infrastructure' and military capabilities of the Kogalniceanu base."

By July 2003, "U.S. contracts [had] already paid for Romanian crews to resurface and widen two roads and build landing areas that can accommodate large American troop carriers." [4]

Extraordinary Rendition

According to a June 2006 report in the Sunday Herald (UK), a fax intercepted by Swiss intelligence has revealed that the base is the site of a secret CIA prison:^[5]

"The fax, datelined November 10, 2005, 8.24pm, was sent by the Egyptian foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, in Cairo, to his ambassador in London. It revealed that the US had detained at least 23 Iraqi and Afghani captives at a military base called Mihail Kogalniceanu in Romania, and added that similar secret prisons were also to be found in Poland, Ukraine, Kosovo, Macedonia and Bulgaria.

"...The fax, intercepted by Swiss intelligence, indicates that Egypt has such proof. It is headed: 'The Egyptians have access to sources which confirm the existence of American secret prisons'.

"Its shocking contents would never have been uncovered if it hadn’t been for a conscientious surveillance officer with the Swiss secret service, stationed at an eavesdropping centre in Zimmerwald, south of Berne. On November 16, six days after the fax was first sent via satellite from Cairo to London, the officer intercepted it using the Onyx eavesdropping system. The officer marked their personal coded identifier, wbm, on the page and put the information down in a COMINT SAT report. The intercepted fax was given the reference number S160018TER00000115."

Human Rights Watch Report: November 2005

The November 7, 2005, Human Rights Watch "Statement on U.S. Secret Detention Facilities in Europe" stated:

"The records show that the N313P plane landed the next day, September 23, 2003, at the Mihail Kogalniceanu military airfield in Romania. The flight records indicate that the plane flew on to Morocco the same day, and then to Guantanamo Bay. The Department of Defense, which releases information about all detainee transfers to Guantanamo, released no statement about a transfer to Guantanamo around this date.

"According to our research, the United States has been using the Mihail Kogalniceanu airfield in Romania for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2002, and the base has been closed to the public and journalists since early 2004. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld visited Romania and the Mihail Kogalniceanu base in October 2004. The N313P plane also flew from Kabul to Timisoara airport in Romania on January 25, 2004."

Related SourceWatch Resources

• extraordinary rendition
• global detention system
• rendition
• The CIA Secret Prisons Leak

External Links

Profiles

• Mihail Kogalniceanu, Romania, Falling Rain Geonomics, Inc, 1996-2004: Other names: Mihail-Cogalniceanu, Mihail Kogălniceanu, Cogălniceanu, Mihail-Cogălniceanu, and Cogalniceanu.
• Constanta-Mihail Kogalniceanu Airport (CND/LRCK), A-Z World Airports Guide, A-Z Publications Worldwide (Online), 2006.

Articles & Commentary

2001

• Roger Cook and Hugo Mambour, Roamin' in Romania: "Romanian International Air Show, Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, 25-26 August (2001)," Airsceneuk.org.uk, 2001: "The Americans were there with two F-16Cs from 31 FW Aviano, an AH-64A and a brace of UH-60Ls of the US Army."

2003

• Gabriel Ronay, "New Europeans court US favour with military help," Sunday Herald (Scotland), March 2, 2003.
• "U.S. Base Commander Says Romanian Airport Used as 'Bridgeheat' to Qatar" and "Bulgarian Government Offers U.S. Decommissioned Air Base," Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, March 14, 2003/Volume 7 Number 49.
• "Two US Senators Visit US and Romanian Military at Mihail Kogalniceanu," Embassy of the United States of America (Romania), April 14, 2003. re Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Larry Craig of Idaho: "US Ambassador Michael Guest and the Senators toured the medical facilities on base, met for lunch with US military personnel, and saw the base's 'morale center.'"
• "US to set up two military bases in Romania`s Black Sea region," Angola Press, May 26, 2003: "Valeriu Nicut, director of the strategic planning department of the Romanian general staff, ... said Romania will offer the United States the Mihail Kogalniceanu military base, a military camp and a shooting range near the camp and will provide logistic support."
• George Jahn, "Full-time US presence in Bulgaria and Romania?" Associated Press (BlackSea.Free (France)), June 3, 2003: "In Romania, the Americans are interested in the Mihail Kogalniceanu air base, the Babadag training range and the Black Sea military port of Mangalia."
• "Balkans Hope To Land U.S. Bases," Deutsche Welle (Germany), July 7, 2003: "In Romania, the Americans are interested in the Mihail Kogalniceanu air base as well as the Babdag training range and the Black Sea port of Constanza. While the U.S. says no decisions have been made, American General Gregory Martin confirmed that negotiations are taking place."

2004

• Photo, DefenseLink.mil: "Romanian Minister of Defense Ioan Mircea Pascu escorts Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and military officials on a tour of Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base in Constanta, Romania, on Oct 11, 2004. DoD photo by Master Sgt. James M. Bowman, U.S. Air Force." Press arrows for more photographs in series.

2005

• Air Force Master Sgt. John Lasky, Mihail Kogalniceanu Airfield, Romania: "Airmen prepare Romanian base for exercise," Air Force Print News (EUCOM.mil), May 12, 2005.
• "Operation LONE FOIL at Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase in Eastern Romania," Foreign & Commonwealth Office (UK).
• Andreea Pocotila, "Swiss newspaper: 23 CIA prisoners interrogated in Romania," Bucharest Daily News, November 2005 (approx).
• Alecs Iancu, "President denies authorizing CIA planes to land in Romania," Bucharest Daily News, November 2005 (approx).
• Dana Priest, "CIA Holds Terror Suspects in Secret Prisons. Debate Is Growing Within Agency About Legality and Morality of Overseas System Set Up After 9/11," Washington Post, November 2, 2005.
• Dan Mihaescu, Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base: "Romania Denies Air Base Used As CIA Prison," Associated Press, November 4, 2005.
• "Nations Urged to Answer Prison Allegations," Associated Press (TheRealCostofPrisons Blog), November 4, 2005.
• Judy Dempsey and James Kanter, "EU looking into report of secret CIA jails," International Herald Tribune, November 4, 2005.
• "Human Rights Watch Statement on U.S. Secret Detention Facilities in Europe," Human Rights Watch, November 7, 2005.
• "Polish officials admit mystery plane landed at remote airport but deny CIA link," Associated Press (CNews posted by Craig Murray (UK)), November 8, 2005.
• William J. Kole, "Romania Base Focus of Secret Prison Probe," Associated Press (Guardian Unlimited (UK) (cache)), November 24, 2005; "CIA jail suspicion falls on Romanian base," (Seattle Times), November 25, 2005.
• "Investigator Calls Secret CIA Prisons Unlikely," Los Angeles Times (RomaniaInsideOut.org), November 28, 2005.
• "Rice To Visit Romania, Sign U.S. Base Deal," Agence France Presse (DefenseNews.com), December 2, 2005.
• "Romania to House US Military Bases," Iran Daily, December 3, 2005.
• William J. Kole, "Did U.S. have secret prison in Romania? Soviet-era air base suspected of being CIA detention center," Associated Press (Austin American-Statesman (Texas)), December 4, 2005.
• "Transcript: Rice Hails Romania as One of United States' 'Strongest Friends'. (Historic U.S.-Romania military access agreement signed in Bucharest)," Embassy of the United States of America Bucharest, December 6, 2005.
• Editorial: "A Weak Defense," Washington Post, December 6, 2005.
• "United States To Open Military Base in Romania," Reuters (DefenseNews.com), December 6, 2005.
• Todd Richissin, "Merkel says Rice admits U.S. fault in abduction," Baltimore Sun (International Institute for Strategic Studies), December 7, 2005: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "would not address an ABC News report [video] that prisoners were removed from the Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base in Romania shortly before Rice arrived in the country. ... 'I am not going to talk about whether such activities take place,' Rice said when asked about the Romanian base. 'To do so would clearly be to get into a realm of discussion about supposed or purported intelligence activities, and I simply won't do that.'"
• Vince Crawley, "Southeast Europe Ministers Approve Troop Brigade for Afghanistan," United States Mission to the European Union, U.S. Department of State, December 7, 2005.
• Kai Frithjof Brand-Jakobsen, "Romanian and US Militarism Increases Insecurity in South Eastern Europe and the Black Sea Region," TRANSCEND, December 8, 2005.
• "Romania provides the US with complex military facilities," Mediafax (Romania), December 9, 2005.
• "On the Trail of the CIA," Spiegel Online, December 10, 2005.
• Razvan Amariei, "A Small Invasion-Romania opens four bases to U.S. troops," Transitions Online (Czech), December 12, 2005 (login required); Free Republic free post.
• "Romania, Washington's New Best Friend in Europe," STRATFOR.com, December 22, 2005.

2006

• "Egyptian Fax Throws Light on 'Black Sites'," Spiegel Online, January 9, 2006.
• "CIA Secret prisons and torture : fresh evidence," LastingNews.com, January 11, 2006. See original Sandro Brotz and Beat Jost, Sonntags Blick article (in German) "CIA-Skandal. US-Folter-Camps: Der Beweis!", which shows Reuters photograph from camp.
• K. Gajendra Singh, "US Franchised Torture Refuses To Go Away," Information Clearinghouse, January 18, 2006; "US Rendition of Suspects to Prisons Worldwide: A Documentation," Al-Jazeerah (Statewatch.org (13-page pdf)), January 19, 2006.
• Kevin Sullivan, "Romanians Eager for Long-Awaited Arrival of the Yanks," Washington Post, February 6, 2006: "Mihail Kogaliceanu ... U.S. soldiers have been the talk of this poor little town since last month, when U.S. and Romanian officials announced that the Romanian air force base here would soon host the first permanent U.S. military presence in a former Warsaw Pact country."
• "Romanian president says CIA flights may have landed in country," Associated Press (MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base), February 8, 2006.
• "Romania 'unsure on CIA flights'," Associated Press (Guardian Unlimited (UK)), February 9, 2006.
• B1928, Blog: "The tortuous search for truth about torture camps - and the risks you run trying to find it," Guerilla News Network, February 12, 2006.
• Kai Frithjof Brand-Jakobsen, "Romanian and U.S. militarism increases insecurity in South Eastern Europa and the Black Sea Region," Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research, March 1, 2006.
• Fikret Ertan, "Bases in Romania and Bulgaria," Zaman Daily Newspaper Online (Turkey), April 27, 2006 (posted May 31, 2006).
• Jan Sliva, "Probe of CIA prisons implicates EU nations," Associated Press (PilotOnline.com), June 7, 2006.
• ^ Neil Mackay, "The fax that reveals the US is flying terror suspects to Europe’s secret jails", Sunday Herald (Scotland), June 11, 2006.
• Philip Ó Ceallaigh, "Investigation: Romania–a CIA 'black site'?" Vivid, June 12, 2006.