Word: berbera
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...paid by Saudia Arabia, which for years has been trying to woo predominantly Muslim Somalia out of the Soviet orbit. TIME has learned that in exchange for a firm Western pledge of armaments, the Somalis are prepared to order the Russians to vacate their huge missile base at Berbera and withdraw their 2,500 military technicians...
SOMALIA. Pop. 3.17 million. Chief exports: livestock and bananas. Religion: Islam. Military regime closely allied with Moscow since 1969. The well-equipped military includes 25,000 men and one of the largest tank forces in sub-Saharan Africa. The Soviets have installed a large, tightly guarded missile base at Berbera to service missile warships. Neighboring nations fear that land-based missiles might be brought in as well; that could not only threaten the nearby strait of Babel Mandeb, but also the entrance to the Persian Gulf at Hormuz 1,300 miles away...
...fleet also regularly puts into ports in the Congo (Brazzaville) and Equatorial Guinea. On the east coast of the continent, Soviet planes and warships use bases in Somalia from which they patrol the Indian Ocean and the Strait of Hormuz, which leads to the oil-rich Persian Gulf. At Berbera the Soviets are completing a sophisticated installation capable of maintaining and arming lethal ship-to-ship missiles...
Both the Somalis and the Russians at Berbera appeared surprised last week by the zeal of Senator Bartlett and the Pentagon specialists who accompanied him. .After landing in 110° heat on a bumpy dirt runway, they set off immediately to inspect the area. A U.S. technician scrambled atop one of nine newly built fuel-storage tanks and whipped out binoculars for a better view. Another sifted through refuse in a men's room at the port, looking for Soviet cigarette butts. The Russians at Berbera, of whom there may be as many as 1,000, were obviously under...
What is the significance of the Soviet foothold in Somalia? From their headquarters at Berbera, the Russians would have the capability of dominating the southern approach to the Suez Canal. With missile-equipped naval vessels they could harass the sea lanes around the Persian Gulf, easily attaining naval dominance over large stretches of the Indian Ocean. On the other hand...