SYRIAN CONFLICT AND CYPRUS’S STRATEGIC ROLE IN TIMES OF TENSIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

CYPRUS: NATURAL “AIRCRAFT CARRIER” IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN SEA

Just as was the case during the two GULF wars, the civil, 1982 and 2006 wars in LEBANON and last but not least, LIBYA , CYPRUS has always played a key role as a forward logistic and operational base for NATO (RAF base Akrotiri WSBA) and US forces to launch their reconnaissance, tactical  logistic operations from the island. But not only has the military utilized CYPRUS as a forward base during periods of conflicts in the MIDDLE EAST, but also the international press core usually operates out of CYPRUS. 

During the civil, 1982 and 2006 war in LEBANON and the two GULF wars, CYPRUS was host to all major International News Networks and media outlets.

The BRITISH maintain two Sovereign base areas on CYPRUS, one being the WSBA (Western Sovereign Base Area) which accommodates the RAF- NATO airbase Akrotiri and BRITISH Forces CYPRUS Headquarters in Episkopi. 

 

Two British Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus

BRITISH SIGNALS OUTPOST 

The second being the ESBA (Easter Sovereign Base Area) in the East of CYPRUS with Dekehlia being the ESBA Garrison HQ for a logistic Battalion, a BRITISH Army Air Corps Unit as well as the Royal Signals Regiment located further east in Ayios Nikolaos, which houses top of the art radio, satellite and cyber communication listening and observation devices which are able to monitor SYRIA, LEBANON and even penetrated as far as IRAQ, JORDAN and KUWAIT. 

ESBA Cyprus

BRITAIN also operates a high tech Radar station on top of Mount Olympus, (1,952 m) the highest peak of the Trodos mountain range in CYPRUS. Last but not least the tiny island of CYPRUS houses 8 airports, two of which are defacto NATO airbases, RAF Akrotiri in the South and Gonyeli AB in TURKISH occupied north of the Island, showcasing the strategic significance of the Eastern Mediterranean Island.

The entire list of airports  in CYPRUS are:

Larnaka International Airport

Ercan International Airport located in TURKISH occupied northern Cyprus

Paphos International Airport and GREEK and National Guard Air force base, recently also used by the IDF

Akrotiri WSBA (Western Sovereign Base Area) Royal Air force and NATO Air Base

Kingsfield ESBA BRITISH Military (BRITISH ARMY AIR CORPS Base)

Lakatamia Nicosia National Guard Air Base

Gonyeli TURKISH Air Force Air Base in Northern Nicosia

Nicosia International airport abandoned in UN Buffer Zone but can be reactivated 

WSBA Cyprus with RAF AB Akrotiri

Read comlete article: CYPRUS AT ODDS WITH BRITAIN OVER SOVEREIGN BASE AREAS AND ITS GEOPOLITICAL IMPACT FOR THE REGION. At:

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2012/03/cyprus-emerging-geo-strategic-key.html

Royal Signals Regiment communication outpost in Ayios Nikolaos

BRITISH GCHQ’S CYPRUS LISTENING POST TO PLAY KEY INTELLIGENCE ROLE AHEAD OF ANY US –LED SYRIA INTERVENTION 

Source: GCHUK

GCHQ facilities in CYPRUS are expected to play a key role in collecting intelligence which will inform any military strike against SYRIA despite Parliament last week voting against the UK joining in with any potential attack.

The Cheltenham-based listening post has a presence on the island which is used to intercept messages from across the Middle East.

UK radar facility on Mount Olympus, Cyprus

The information gathered by the island facility, which is just 100 miles off the coast of SYRIA, is likely to be handed over to the US military ahead of any missile strike against President Bashar al-Assad.

Whitehall sources have said that the MP vote last week only covered direct military intervention and did not cover sharing intelligence which will continue.

The US government contributes to the island post’s costs.

The news comes as Cheltenham’s Liberal Democrat MP, Martin Horwood, writes in his Echo column he “regrets” the way the Parliament vote went.

“Parliament was drawn into party political divisions over a grave issue and allowed the spectres of Tony Blair and IRAQ to paralyse its response to a monstrous atrocity,” he writes.

He goes on to state that “dictators worldwide will feel slightly freer to get away with murder” as a result of the vote.

Mr Horwood also hits out at Ed Milliband writing that “the chance to damage the coalition mattered more” to the leader of the Labour Party than the issue at stake.