United States and Britain in Diego Garcia: The Future of a Controversial Base PDF
Preview United States and Britain in Diego Garcia: The Future of a Controversial Base
United States and Britain in Diego Garcia This page intentionally left blank United States and Britain in Diego Garcia The Future of a Controversial Base Peter H. Sand UNITED STATES AND BRITAIN IN DIEGO GARCIA Copyright © Peter H. Sand, 2009. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2009 978-0-230-61709-4 All rights reserved. First published in 2009 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-38028-2 ISBN 978-0-230-62296-8 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230622968 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress. A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: July 2009 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 C O N T E N T S List of Illustrations vii Preface ix 1 History: Empire’s Last-Born Colony 1 2 Human Rights: How to Depopulate an Island 15 3 Power Politics: “Our” Ocean 35 4 Military Secrecy: Public Access Denied 43 5 Nemesis: Natural Heritage Dredged—and Drowned 51 6 Epilogue: The Lords’ Day? 63 Appendices (U.S.-UK Official Documents on Diego Garcia) 69 I Agreement London, December 1966 69 II Agreed Confidential Minutes, London, December 1966 81 III Supplement London, October 1972 84 IV Supplement London, February 1976 91 V Amendment London, June 1976 105 VI Supplement Washington, D.C., December 1982 107 VII Supplement Washington, D.C., November 1987 109 VIII Agreement London, June/July 1999 111 vi Contents IX E xchanges of Letters, London-Washington, D.C., 2001–2004 116 X House of Lords Judgment, London, October 2008 122 Notes 145 Index of Names 193 Subject Index 203 I L L U S T R A T I O N S Maps 1 Indian Ocean Map—Diego Garcia, 2007 x 2 U.S. Navy, Existing Land-Use Map Diego Garcia, 1997 12 3 Ramsar Convention Map—Diego Garcia Protected Site, 2001 61 Exhibits 1 UK-U.S. Secret Side-Note to Agreement on Diego Garcia, 1966 6 2 UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Resettlement Memorandum, 1971 18 3 UK-Mauritius Îlois Claims Agreement, 1982 26 Figure 1 IRIS/IDA Seismic Data Diego Garcia, Tsunami, 2004 46 Table 1 U.S. Congress, Diego Garcia Construction Budget 1970–1987 36 This page intentionally left blank P R E F A C E Demain Diego: pa rakont zistwar abriti nou ar lespwar. Demain Diego: anglé mérikin mantèr kouraz anvolé ar volèr. MICHEL DUCASSE1 This book is intended as both primer and template—to tell the exem- plary story of a “strategic island” base from a variety of angles: colonial history, and the plight of the islanders; power politics, and the role of the military; and finally, perhaps least understood, the lasting human impact of the base on a once-pristine environment. Diego Garcia/British Indian Ocean Territory, arguably one of the most important (and certainly one of the most expensive) American bases over- seas, has remained virtually “unknown in the US”2—as in the rest of the world, for that matter. Yet, in the words of a military historian, “igno- rance is a dangerous thing. When accompanied by arrogance, a religious conviction in the correctness of one’s vision, and elitism, it can be fatal.”3 The author gratefully acknowledges valuable assistance and information received from Michiko Baba, Carl Bruch, April A. Christensen, Darryl K. Creasy, Chloe Davies, Steven J. Forsberg, Richard Gifford, Sandra Hails, Simon Hughes, Heiner Igel, Stjepan Keckes, Heinz Kluge, Walter C. Ladwig III, Irve C. Le Moyne Jr., Dominique Loye, Lucy McAllister, Ted A. Morris, Jay Nelson, Andrew R.G. Price, Richard Rahm, Charles R.C. Sheppard, David R. Snoxell, Clive Stafford Smith, Karen Sumida, David Vine, and Joanne Yeadon. Comments by two anonymous review- ers of the manuscript and editorial guidance by Farideh Koohi-Kamali and Asa Johnson at Palgrave Macmillan were highly appreciated. Any views and opinions expressed here are, however, the sole responsibility of the author.
The list of books you might like
