US needs Spain base to patrol Africa, Mideast: Analyst
Press TV has conducted an interview with Isaac Bigio, a political commentator from London, to ask for his insight on Madrid’s approval of hosting a permanent US military base in southern Spain.
The following is a rough transcription of the interview.
Press TV: The talks of a US-African base in Spain were going on for some time, but why did Madrid agree to such a base and why is Spain chosen for this purpose?
Bigio: Well, these bases have more than 50 years, but now the United States is going to multiply by three the number of aircraft and troops and this [agreement] comes a few days after the elections. They didn’t want to have this debate before the elections, because the People’s Party did very bad last Sunday. So after the elections, they want to increase the number of US troops in Seville. Why they need this base? Because they need to patrol Africa, the Mediterranean Sea and the Middle East. And that area in southern Spain is quite strategic. They are not in Africa, so they are not at risk. They are in Spain which is relatively secure [from] attacks [by] terrorist organizations…. So they will use these bases to attack Libya and to patrol Africa and to make more interventions in Iraq and in the Middle East.
Press TV: Some analysts say the US needs more bases in Africa to counter the rivals’ influence there like the growing ties between Africa and China. Does this mean creating artificial chaos like violence and coups to affect any country willing to open its doors to China and the likes of China?
Bigio: Well, the military bases in Spain are focused on Africa and not only because the United States is afraid of China, that’s true, because the United States is also afraid of rebellious movements, of movements that can criticize the traditional French, US and British presence in Africa. So, they are really worried about that. They are also really worried about growing…militancy and growing protests all over the black continent and Africa.
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