- WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE,
Missouri (AFP) - The United States will deploy
- B-2 Stealth bombers closer to the Gulf region, amid mounting
pressure
- on Iraq, to give US commanders greater fire power, a
US Air Force
- commander said.
-
- The Air Force B2 Bomber Wing, began practising Tuesday
for the
- deployment to the British Indian Ocean island of Diego
Garcia and an
- air base at Fairford in England, said Colonel Doug Raaberg,
commander
- of the 509 Bomb Wing.
-
- He did not say how many of the 1.1 billion dollar jets
would be sent,
- but told reporters: "We will move this to a forward
location so we can
- cycle these aircraft as rapidly as necessary."
-
- Raaberg said work was underway to install five special
climate
- controlled shelters for the B-2s at Diego Garcia and
Fairford. He said
- it takes 30 days to put up one of the 1.5 million dollar
shelters.
-
- "We will go when the president and the secretary
of defense tasks us to
- do that," said Raaberg.
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