The post-imperial saga over Diego Garcia's sovereignty
For nearly 50 years, Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean has been a critical part of the American global strategic footprint. Located on the largest island in the Chagos Archipelago, the land is owned by the United Kingdom but has been leased to the U.S. for a 99-year period.
The military base’s stated mission is “to provide logistic support to operational forces forward deployed to the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf AORs [Areas of Responsibility] in support of national policy objectives.” That bland language conceals a vital role in America’s security posture.
In 1990, NSF Diego Garcia delivered a Marine Expeditionary Brigade to Saudi Arabia as part of Operation Desert Shield, following the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, and B-52G Stratofortress strategic bombers used it as a base for more than 200 operations. B-52s, B-1 Lancers and B-2 Spirit stealth bombers from there struck targets in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2006; this was crucial in fighting the Taliban and al Qaeda as nations closer to Afghanistan (Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia) refused to allow combat operations from bases in their territory.
Diego Garcia is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), one of the U.K.’s 14 overseas territories, final remnants of the British Empire. Last month, however, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that he had reached an agreement with the government........
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