The British armed forces are drawing up contingency plans to evacuate hundreds of thousands of British residents and tourists from Dubai and other Gulf cities in the event of war with Iran.
US bases surrounding Iran
29 December 2010
1) Britain forms plan for Gulf evacuation in event of war with Iran (29 December 2010)
2) US army chief: We are very ready to attack Iran (18 December 2010)
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excerpts from: Britain forms plan for Gulf evacuation in event of war with Iran
by Richard Spencer, Daily Telegraph, 29 December 2010
The British armed forces are drawing up contingency plans to evacuate hundreds of thousands of British residents and tourists from Dubai and other Gulf cities in the event of war with Iran. […]
[P]roposals are being drawn up to organise evacuation runs for civilians across the border to Oman, which is not currently in Iran’s sights, and other neighbouring countries.
Cruise liners may be posted in the Gulf of Aden, with Royal Navy warships shuttling civilians from the small emirate of Fujeirah, which lies outside the Straits of Hormuz. Depending on assessments of the safety of civilian flights, extra airfields in addition to the region’s extensive network of international airports may be opened up.
Diplomats are keen to stress that embassies around the world are required to maintain contingency plans for British citizens facing all kinds of disasters and emergencies. In the Middle East, they usually entail recommending expatriates stay put and maintain a low profile – as, for example, during the Gulf War. “The physical requirements to move this many people means that we would try to delay evacuation as long as possible,” said another Gulf-based diplomat. […] “It is a huge number of people who are affected here,” the source said. “There are over 100,000 Brits who live here, one million Brits who visit every year. Their safety is a matter of particular concern.”
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http://www.jcs.mil/speech.aspx?ID=1514
excerpt from: Press Availability with U.S. Ambassador to Bahrain J. Adam Ereli
Joint Chiefs of Staff website, 18 December 2010
“The United States takes very seriously our security commitments in the Gulf region and to Bahrain, specifically. And we’re very ready. There are real threats to peace and stability here. And we’ve made no secrets of our concerns about Iran. I’ve said it before many times that the United States military cannot do it alone, and we definitely can’t do it without our Bahraini friends.”
[US army chief Mike Mullen, joint press conference with the US Ambassador to Bahrain J. Adam Ereli , Commander U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Headquarters, Manama, Bahrain, 18 December 2010]
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related link:
Turkish daily: Bunker to shelter Turkey’s top brass in the event of a nuclear war
Dandelion Salad, 28 December 2010
