Rattlesnake Ridge      

 
      BFF
“During a recent, rare briefing to parliament, a top Pakistani air force commander made a surprising claim: a remote southwestern airfield long suspected of housing US drones used in missile strikes was actually under the control of the United Arab Emirates. The comment stunned lawmakers and ordinary Pakistanis, who – in the wake of the May 2 US raid that killed Osama bin Laden in northwest Pakistan – had been questioning whether their nation has been surrendering its sovereignty. But this week, a UAE official only added to the mystery by strongly denying to The Associated Press that the Gulf state has any operational role in the Shamsi airfield, although, the official, said wealthy Arabs have occasionally used it to fly to Pakistan on hunting expeditions……The extent of its involvement today is that UAE sheiks and others may use the airfield for “recreational purposes” such as hunting expeditions, the official said. Those private, civilian planes that come in for hunting and falconry trips must get clearance from Pakistani aviation authorities and file flight plans, according to the UAE official. The base “was never operated nor controlled by the UAE,” said the official, who had been briefed on the subject by the Gulf state’s Foreign Ministry and requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive subject. The US used the Shamsi field as a forward staging point in the initial period …..….”
A strange story: a Pakistani airfield under UAE control that is used by the United States? It almost sounds like a script for a cheap action film.
 
Shamsi Airfield. The Shamsi are a UAE clan with close ties to the ruling family. They are like the Al Al Shaikh in Saudi Arabia: they dominate many government organizations and businesses. Could that be the source of the name? So the Abu Dhabi honchos spend millions a year on Pakistani religious schools that reportedly raise Salafi terrorists, then invite the U.S. to bomb the same from “their” base? Somehow it doesn’t sound accurate. I need to investigate it.

(It is true , though, that the Pakistanis give certain preferential treatment to some Gulf potentates from ruling families, especially Saudis and Emiratis. They are allotted areas in which to hunt even while others are banned. I read over a year ago that some potentates have set areas where they have exclusive hunting rights. Some of these are in supposedly ‘protected’ reserves).
Cheers
mhg


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