http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11072377/Extended presence of U.S. in Iraq looms large
Updated: 9:11 a.m. ET March 21, 2006
![](http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060321/060321_usbase_main_hmed_530a.h2.jpg)
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq - The concrete goes on forever, vanishing into the noonday glare, 2 million cubic feet of it, a mile-long slab that’s now the home of up to 120 U.S. helicopters, a “heli-park” as good as any back in the States.
At another giant base, al-Asad in Iraq’s western desert, the 17,000 troops and workers come and go in a kind of bustling American town, with a Burger King, Pizza Hut and a car dealership, stop signs, traffic regulations and young bikers clogging the roads.
At a third hub down south, Tallil, they’re planning a new mess hall, one that will seat 6,000 hungry airmen and soldiers for chow.
Story continues below. Are the Americans here to stay? Air Force mechanic Josh Remy is sure of it as he looks around Balad.
“I think we’ll be here forever,” the 19-year-old airman from Wilkes-Barre, Pa., told a visitor to his base.
Ruh, roh....looks like the corporate media has let the cat out of the bag.