HM once again rescues American prisoners from Iran, and the special relationship between Oman and the USA.

Oman has always had a very close relationship with the USA. His Majesty, as befits a professional diplomat, has long had a consistent foreign policy that Oman - while retaining full sovereignty - should basically get along with both its regional neighbours and the great powers. In fact, a treaty of friendship and navigation, one of the first agreements of its kind between the USA and an Arab state, was concluded between the United States and Muscat way back in 1833.

Oman has not joined the US-led chorus prevalent in the rest of the GCC states to isolate Iran. Instead, Oman has consistently pursued engagement with Iran as being in its own best interests. Oman has never been too friendly with the Saudis, especially as they funded and supported the Iman of Nizwa's rebellion, and sees Iran as a regional balance against any attempted dominance in the region by the Wahabis of Saudi, as exemplified by the recent protests in Bahrain.

This has enabled Oman to act as a trusted intermediary between the US and Iran. The results of this were evident last week as Oman secured the release of the 2 American 'hikers', who were apparently stupid enough to go wandering near the Iraq/Iran border and got nabbed by the Iranians and thrown into jail for 'spying'. (I mean, come on, who would ever think that it's a good idea to go anywhere near Iran if you have an American passport?)

HM not only negotiated for their release, but also personally paid the Iranian's blackmail/blood money 'bail', a nice round sum of half a million US$ per person, which allows the American Administration to state as fact that they did not pay Iran a cent.

So Barack Obama gave HM a call yesterday to personally thank him.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama thanked Oman's Sultan Qaboos on Friday for his role in getting Iran to free two US hikers jailed there for spying and illegal entry for over two years.

Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, both 29, were flown into Muscat on an Omani Royal Air Force plane Wednesday after the Gulf sultanate of Oman paid their $1 million bail to get them released from Tehran's notorious Evin prison. Their case had poisoned already tense ties between Tehran and Washington.

Obama called Sultan Qaboos bin Said "to convey the United States' deepest appreciation for the Sultan's exceptional and successful role in securing the release of the young American hikers from Iranian detention and the cooperation between our governments in this endeavor," the White House said.

"The president expressed our gratitude to the sultan and his special envoy, Salim al-Ismaili, for sparing no effort to secure the release of Sarah Shourd last year, and Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal this past Wednesday, thus ending a painful chapter for the hikers and their families."

Shourd, Bauer's fiancee, was released last year on $500,000 bail also paid by Oman.
During their call, Obama and Sultan Qaboos "affirmed that the friendship and partnership between our two nations, as manifested in our cooperation for the release of the hikers, have only grown stronger, and that the United States and Oman will continue to work together on a broad range of common interests," the White House added in its statement.
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I just hope HM asked President Obama for a visit (the last visit by a US President was Clinton). Something timed just after the Shura elections next month would be great PR for both of them. The press releases would almost write themselves. What greater contrast with the on-going disaster that is Yemen?



Photo: Judgmentally-challenged American hikers Shane Bauer (L) and Josh Fattal hold a press conference after arriving free in Oman (ripped from AFP, Mohammed Mahjoub)


A history of Military Cooperation
The close relationship between Oman and the USA is something the Omani Government has always avoided discussing in public (see the wikileaks cables), afraid of stirring up those Omanis and other Arabs who would get worked up about such superficial issues as Israel, US foreign policy, etc.

Oman has allowed the US to place emergency war materials [USAF Prepositioned War Reserve Materiel, aka WRM] in Oman for decades, recently extending in December 2010 the 10 year duration Base Access Agreement (BAA) first agreed in 1980. In return, the Americans are being allowed to build (at their own cost) a new 36,000 sqm warehousing facility for this purpose, plus a large refueling capability, at the Oman Airforce base in Al Musannah, north of Muscat, to the tune of a whopping $166 million. This will replace the previous facilities at Seeb. The details are publicly available via the US Airforce budget submission to Congress for funding.

... A requirement exists to construct a new airlift apron, taxiway and lighting along with fuel storage and distribution system to support two C-5 or equivalent commercial wide body strategic airlift aircraft at Al Musanah AB, Oman. The fuel storage delivery system must be capable of sustaining a maximum of four(4) C-5 flights a day for seven (7) consecutive days. Maximum fuel load calculated at 189,270 liters per flight.

In support of Overseas Contingency Operations, Al Musanah AB has been designated as a key strategic location for future US development. The Sultan of Oman has mandated that the US War Reserve Materiel (WRM) outload site at Seeb be relocated due to the commercial development of Seeb International Airport.

The Sultan of Oman has offered Al Musanah AB as a viable alternative to Seeb AB. The US government has accepted the offer and consequently developed a long range strategic and tactical plan that fully develops Al Musanah AB in accordance with future US defense posture plans. The initial phase relocates the entire WRM compound from Seeb by FY 12 (AMAB 08-3000). The follow phase (this project) begins the initial strategic development phase of this effort by developing a limited "Gas-n-Go" capability. This capability will provide aircraft with the ability to land at Al Musanah AB, refuel and then depart toward a final destination.
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There is a lot of information about the relationship between Oman and US available via the US Congressional Research Service, especially stuff written by their Middle East expert Kenneth Katzman, eg here. A quote:

The Sultanate of Oman is a long-time U.S. ally in the Persian Gulf; it has allowed U.S. access to its military facilities for virtually every U.S. military operation in and around the Gulf since 1980, despite the sensitivities in Oman and throughout the Middle East about a U.S. military presence there.

The US is also long active at the RAFO airport base on Masirah Island, known as 'Camp Justice' and apparently nicknamed Moon Base Alpha by the American troops stationed there due to being pretty much at the end of the earth.

Is NATO going to pull out of Oman for their AWACs base? I doubt it.

Is Oman about to loose the 'temporary' base NATO have here for their AWACs [Airborne early Warning And Control system] air support operations in Afganistan and the Gulf?

Photo: NATO AWAC support for AFPAK is currently based in Oman. Are they going to make it permanent? Or leave?

NATO LOOKING FOR AWACS BASE IN GULF TO SUPPORT ISAF
BRUSSELS, Jan 28 (NNN-KUNA) — The chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola, has said here that the Alliance is in discussion with a Gulf state to deploy AWACS planes for reconnaissance mission over Afghanistan in support of its ISAF mission and also for anti-piracy off Somalia.
“The Alliance is close to closing the basic issue with one of the Gulf country,” he said in reply to a question during a press conference Wednesday following a two-day meeting of NATO’S military chiefs. Di Pialo did not mention the name of the country.
“We are looking forward to be in a position to follow on the temporary deployment that we have today in Oman with a more permanent long-term deployment,” he said.
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Oman is by far the most logical place for such a base - stable, safe, close to the action in Afganistan and Pakistan, good logistics, plus close to the piracy zones in the Gulf of Aden. Oman has a huge coast-line adjacent to the Gulf of Oman, and already hosts large US and UK military bases, forward war materiel storage and deployment bases, and military airports at Thumrait and Masirah Island. Why would NATO want to consider a move?

Photo: US Military Jets in Thumrait, Oman. The US and UK military have long had airbases in the country.

Contrast the reality of these massive foreign military deployments here in the Sultanate with Oman's Foreign Minter's recent statement criticising the major "trans-regional powers" [read USA] for placing their warships in the Arabian Persian gulf.

I don't know if he really used the phrase Persian Gulf or if that's just how the Iranian press transliterated it. (The descriptive term for the patch of ocean between the UAE and Iran has always been a political football)

OMAN OPPOSED TO TRANS-REGIONAL POWERS’ MILITARY BUILDUP IN PERSIAN GULF – OMANI FM

TEHRAN, Jan 14 (NNN-FNA) Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdallah has criticized trans-regional powers for deploying their troops and naval fleets in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman as such measures run counter to international rules.
“We believe that the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman should be free seas for international navigation and no change should take place there and they should not turn these places ruled by parading fleets of warships,” bin Alawi said in a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki here on Wednesday.
He stressed that his country does not accept the presence of foreign military forces in these secure regions as he views such a move as a violation of the international rules and regulations.
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It was not reported if he had his fingers crossed while making the statement. But loosing the NATO base for the AWACs would be a bit of an economic and political blow. All those troups and planes need quite a lot of costly support, almost all of it spent in Oman.

If NATO does move to the UAE or Qatar, it would be a bit of a slap to Oman.

Conversely, if the base is retained here with a long term agreement, it's hard to square that with the Foreign Minister's statement that seems to oppose such foreign deployments. Oman, not surprisingly, wants it both ways: increased trade, bi-lateral investment and military cooperation with Iran; but continued friendly and cooperative relations with the USA, including military equipment, intel and hosting those expensive bases.

With bat-shit crazy Ahmadinejad and his lethally violent repressive regime continually upping the stakes, it's increasingly difficult for Oman to square this circle. Yet Sultan Qaboos has successfully led the way in progressive regional politics and diplomacy for decades, establishing the GCC, and consistently following a pragmatic and non-reactionary policy of respectful engagement with all parties, something well summarised in the Rand corporation analysis of 1995, an analysis which holds true to this day:

To understand Oman's current foreign policy is to understand how skilled diplomacy works--how balancing interests, tolerance toward differences, and a determined search for mutual benefits can open international doors and keep them open, even during conflict. While other nations in the Middle East have been driven by ideology and short-term gains, the Sultanate of Oman has pursued its own course, holding to the belief that peaceful negotiation is essential to the overall, long-term goals of Omani security and prosperity.
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It's regretable that following his Majesty's brave visit to Iran following the violent 're-election' of Ahmedinejad, things have gotten worse there, with the recent resignation of Iran's Ambassador to Norway and his urging of other ambassadors to follow suit in a telling public repudation of the legetimacy of the regime:

It was the Iranian authorities' treatment of demonstrators around Christmas which made me realise that my conscience would not allow me to continue in my job.

(it seems at least 8 protesters were shot during the protests.)

Retaining the NATO base while Oman continues to strengthen relations with Iran would be a great endorsement of Oman's pragmatic foreign policy. Given the absence of any other Western friendly regimes in the region in strategically critical geographic locations, and the pressing need for deeper bilateral cooperation between US and Oman as the civil war in Yemen goes from bad to worse, NATO would be wise to extend the arrangement for those AWACs.

I'm sure that's what will happen.

Meanwhile Oman is holding its nose and continuing to engage with Iran's despotic leadership. We must really want that gas...