British Empire's symbolic return

[bemildred]

A headline in Britain's sadly decayed newspaper the Daily Telegraph on December 6 was exciting. It announced with pride that "Britain returns 'East of Suez' with permanent Royal Navy base in Gulf", which conjured up imperial memories for many people, including myself, as I was serving in the military at the time of Britain's withdrawal from East of Suez. Indeed I was stationed well to the east of Suez, in that region, according to Rudyard Kipling in the previous century:

… where the best is like the worst
Where there ain't no Ten Commandments and a man can raise a thirst.
For the temple bells are ringing and it's there that I would be -
By the old Moulmein pagoda, looking lazy at the sea.

Britain's new base is to be in Bahrain, a feudal fiefdom owned by His Majesty King Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa who has about US$5 billion and whose family members are generously represented in his non-elected regime.

The king exercises absolute power over the executive, legislative and judicial arms of government. He appoints cabinet ministers, generals, judges and members of the Consultative Council and is a close ally of the United States which, according to the State Department, considers that "Bahrain plays a key role in regional security architecture and is a vital US partner in defense initiatives". Britain, not to be outdone, declares that it has an "historic and close relationship with Bahrain".

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-01-090115.html

[jakeXT]

1. Additionally there are lots of Commonwealth countries in UAE

The British Armed Forces have operations at the base.[3][2][4] No. 906 Expeditionary Air Wing RAF was stood up at the base on 15 January 2013.[5] 906 Wing was an expansion of the RAF's presence; previously, prior to Christmas 2012, No. 6 Squadron RAF had exercised their Eurofighter Typhoons from the UAE.

The Canadian Forces operated a forward logistics support facility in the Middle East which they had codenamed Camp Mirage. It is widely believed that Camp Mirage was located at Al Minhad Air Base from its founding in fall 2001 until its closure in fall 2010 due to an unrelated disagreement over securing additional landing rights for UAE's civilian airlines at Canadian airports. The United States military relied on the UAE bases for assistance during the Gulf War and the recent conflict in Iraq.

The Australian Defence Force maintains a facility at Al Minhad,[6] and as part of the military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has deployed Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets, Boeing E-7A Wedgetails and Airbus KC-30As.[7]

The New Zealand Defence Force and the Military of the Netherlands also have deployed assets here.[2][4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Minhad_Air_Base