Saturday 6 March 2010

Socotra

Search on twitter "Socotra" and you will see people describe its beauty and how much they want to go there. Search on google images and you will see the rare beauty this island in between Somalia and Yemen holds. It has wildlife on the island found nowhere else in the world. It is a World Natural Heritage Site under Yemen control.

However, these people who adore its natural beauty and prehistoric looking landscape will be in for a shock, it is soon to be the location of an army base. Any takers on whose army base it will be, yeah you got it the good old USA.

Nobody will really read this blog but i hoope for Socotra they do. The island is key to both security and shipping in the region the US feels.

With regards to security Socotra has always been in the eyes of the Americans. In 1999 they wished to build an signal intelligence system o the island. When the Socotra airport was built to attract tourism it is reported that it was built in accordance with the US military.

Also through the obtainment of Socotra and its waterways the USA goes all the way in patrolling the Indian ocean. The most vital ocean with regards to trade. Their other base in the ocean on the Chagos Archipelago means they have a strong grip of the ocean.

The talks to agree this military base on Socotra were held behind closed doors after the failed attempt to bomb the Detroit bound plane on Christmas Day. Supposedly the bomber was linked to Al Qaeda in Yemen. The talks were not to do with the failed bombing but US links on Socotra.

It would also mean the US could oversee the movement of vessels around the gulf of Aden including war ships.

I'm not saying i don't agree with the patrolling of the waters where pirate and terrorist activity is in action but the US only wants to ruin Socotra's beauty for economical gains.

Which brings us on to shipping, the Indian ocean links east with west. If you can control it you control ships into europe via the suez canal and ships to and from plaes like India and the Phillipines.

Of course we all know the big baby that the US will care about around Socotra. Oil

We are there again with that black gold. The Indian Ocean is a major sea lane that connects the world. It has four crucial access waterways facilitating international maritime trade, that is the Suez Canal in Egypt, Bab-el-Mandeb (bordering Djibouti and Yemen), Straits of Hormuz (bordering Iran and Oman), and Straits of Malacca (bordering Indonesia and Malaysia). These checkpoints are critical to world oil trade as huge amounts of oil pass through them.

Any disruption in traffic flow through these checkpoints can have disastrous consequences.
Who cares vehrently about oil?
Who will soon have a naval base surrounding the three big checkpoints?

So if you want to visit the beautiful island of Socotra then scrap that idea because the military is coming to town and will no doubt pollute the exotic archipeligo.

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