US Announces Military Base in Romania to Become “Permanent”

Enduring US Presence at Site Used in Iraq Invasion, CIA Renditions

In an announcement today which likely surprised no one, the US army announced that the military base just northwest of the Black Sea Port City of Constanta, Romania will become a “permanent” base for the American military.

The announcement of a permanent American presence in the former Warsaw Pact and current NATO member nation will likely underscore a growing US presence in Eastern Europe.

The base was notably used in early 2003 as a stopping off point for thousands of American soldiers en route to launching the invasion of Iraq. Romania contributed several hundred troops to the invasion.

The base was also used as a stopping off point for multiple CIA rendition flights and was rumored to have been one of the secret “black ops” sites the CIA used for detention and interrogation of captives.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.