Despite protestations to the contrary, a new poll of 22 countries undertaken by BBC World Service indicates that many people believe the US intends to install permanent bases in Iraq. An average of 49 percent holds this belief, compared to about 36 percent that believe the US will withdraw all its forces once Iraq becomes stabilized. Among the countries with the most respondents believing that the US intends a permanent presence in Iraq are Mexico (75 percent), Italy 73 percent), Egypt (68 percent), Turkey (64 percent), and Germany and France (59 percent). (Read detailed findings here.)
The Air Force on March 12 awarded contract modifications worth a combined $2.4 billion to Boeing to procure an undisclosed number of E-7 Wedgetail as part of the program's engineering and manufacturing development phase and continue work on the airborne battle management aircraft’s radar.