US 'to build military base in Lebanon'?

(PRESS-TV) - The US plans to build an air base in northern Lebanon, in an area which borders Syria and is hardly 140 km from Damascus, sources say.

The American air base will also be located 22 air miles (40 km) from Tartous, Syria's main naval base and the Russian Mediterranean fleet's command center.

“According to US plan six military bases will be set up, three in Iraq, one in Jordan, one in Saudi Arabia and one in Lebanon. It is believed that the Lebanese government is approving the establishment of the base and the name of the base will be the US-Lebanese Center for Rehabilitation of the Army in order to cover the real activity of the base,” Amin Hotait, a retired army colonel told Press TV.

According to reports the Bush Administration gave the go-ahead for the plan following the talks with Chief of the US Central Command Admiral William Fallon and Lebanese officials on July 29.

The air base will bring the American military back to Lebanon after a 25-year absence. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan pulled US troops out of the country.

The US Air Force engineers and technicians have begun work on the new air base.