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Show y " fcynrrjuUiiMrfafai gguBwaii1 Libyan Takeover Could Threaten U.S. Base United Press International The U.S. Wheelus Air Base outside Tripoli, Libya, is a vital link in the U.S. global air power chain. Its future could be endangered by the Libyan military takeover which ousted King Idris I. Wheelus is virtually a city on the palm d Sahara Desert about five miles east along the Mediterranean coast front Tripoli, the Libyan capital. tree-dotte- The use of tne base was obtained in an agreement with the Idris regime signed in 1960 by which the United States pays Libya $10 million a year. The agreement runs to Dec. 24, 1970, at which time it can be terminated after one year's notice by either party. The military government has promised to honor agreements made by the previous government. But Western defense sources in London said Libya is firmly aligned with the militant Arab camp Egypt, Syria, Iraq and the and that this situaSudan tion may change, Air Force officers make no bones about its value to the United States. U.S. Not only is it Americas only base in North Africa, but it also is the only place in the European Mediterranean area where Europe-basepilots can keep their gunnery and skills honed for bombing combat. d Its virtues, apatr from strategic value in time of war, are good flying weather the year around and its nearness to European bases. All U.S. Europe-base-d pilots fly there on rotation twice a year to practice tiring machine guns, cannon and rockets and bombing. The Air Force lost Wheelus, the pilots probably would have to fly home to the United States for such practice If reducing their availability for a European emergency. acres fringing the Mediterranean. About 50 miles away, deep in the Sahara wastes, lies the 23,500 acre El Outia gunnery and bombing 2,221 Idle "City of Wheelus grew from the World War II Italian Mellaha airfield, captured by the British and turned over to the Americans as a base from which U.S. bombers roared over southern Europe. range. Wheelus is home for about 2.000 Air Force personnel 2.000 Air Force wives and and children. Mellaha means salt flats, and Libyans still mine the flats between Tripoli and Wheelus for salt. They could get along on their own there for a long, if necessary. long time said an officer familiar with the base. Wheelus has its own electric povr plant, its ov.n water supply from nearby artesian wells guarded by U.S. sentries, its own hospital Wheelus was named for Lt. Richard an Air Wheelus, Transport Command pilot killed in a crash in Iran in 1945. The base itself sprawls over which is rated one of the best in Africa, iis own radio and television stations, its own elementary and high schoosl. Relations with the Libyans, about 1,000 of whom work on the base, have been generally good, Air Force officers said. was during and immediately after the 1967 war, when like all Arab Libya countries exploded in as a result of Egyptian charges that U.S. aircraft helped the Israelis. There were demonstrations in Tripoli and near the base. The Air Force carried out an evacuation air The exception Arab-Israe- li 9 Fewer Horses lift of wives and children in - tlie wake of the violence. King Idris I, the now deposed Libyan ruler, cr.ne under heavy pressure from nationalist elements after the war to force the Americans to quif Wheelus. But the King, who was believed to feel the American presence propped up his own shaky throne, resisted. FURNITURE ANNEX BUY GOOD USED FURNITURE PHONE horse-draw- n ADVERTISEMENT Makes Eating With FALSETEETH Easier and Faster Clinical tests prove you can now eat and ehe latter make dentures more eflective If you juat sprinkle a little FASTEETH on your plates. 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