Bombers could use island for stopover in Iraq attack

KNOB NOSTER, Mo. -- The commander of the nation's B-2 stealth bombers said Tuesday he expects to again use a British island in the Indian Ocean as a base for the radar-evading planes if the United States attacks Iraq.

The island, Diego Garcia, was a stopover point for B-2s returning from last fall's initial wave of bombing in Afghanistan following the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Through "political channels," the U.S. military's needs "are well-articulated to the United Kingdom," Col. Doug Raaberg said of Diego Garcia's availability.

The nation's 21 B-2s are headquartered at Whiteman Air Force Base, about 60 miles southeast of Kansas City. Raaberg assumed command of the 509th Bomb Wing in April.

During the opening days of last fall's air war, the batwing bombers set a record for history's longest combat flight -- 44 hours.

Leave the engine running

The flights included a brief stop on Diego Garcia, the B-2 engines running constantly, to take on fresh two-man crews for the return to Missouri.

Stops at forward bases allow the $1.3 billion planes -- the world's most expensive aircraft -- to receive repairs and maintenance without long trips home to Missouri.

"We've exercised our long legs, with 44 hours ... a new record. But we've also learned we have pretty well stretched our limits, meaning we know we can strike anywhere on this globe within a 35- to 40-hour time frame," Raaberg said.

"We now know there is a new sense of urgency to make sure that we can put this aircraft forward, so we can do that more on a cyclical basis," he added.

Raaberg dismissed as "nothing new" reports that Saddam Hussein is moving military personnel and equipment into civilian areas of Iraq.

"Those techniques, those ways of putting his people in harm's way, are what Saddam understands," the B-2 chief said. "They put, to me, Islamic treasures -- his people, who are treasures -- in harm's way."

Raaberg said the current generation of precision-guided bombs is more advanced than those available a decade ago in the Gulf War.

"We just don't indiscriminately come in and target ... just because he's moved an aircraft close to a mosque. That, to us, is unacceptable."