Bondsteel as a permanent US base in Kosovo: What would the US gain, and what is Kosovo hoping for?

Since 1999, Bondsteel has operated as a temporary base hosting, in addition to US troops, members of the armed forces of other NATO countries, as well as countries that are not members of the Alliance but contribute contingents to KFOR. With the strategic dialogue between the United States and Kosovo currently frozen, official Pristina’s initiative to establish a permanent US military base in Kosovo is being interpreted as an attempt to rebuild relations that, according to Kosovo Online’s interlocutors, may be at their lowest point to date. One possible objective is also to preserve US influence in the region.

Written by: Veljko Nestorovic

Bondsteel covers 955 hectares and is located near Urosevac. Construction of the base lasted from July to October 1999. A total of 52 helipads were built for helicopter operations.
Camp Bondsteel was built by the 94th Engineer Construction Battalion. The base can accommodate up to 7,000 troops, making it the largest US base in the Balkans.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has repeatedly said that Bondsteel should become a permanent US base “that would serve as a lasting guarantor of peace and security in Kosovo and the region.”

Former Staff Director of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee Jason Steinbaum told Kosovo Online that turning Camp Bondsteel into a permanent US base could help preserve US influence in Kosovo and the region, as well as improve relations between Washington and Pristina, particularly if Kosovo were to offer preferential terms for the use of the land.

Steinbaum said that Bondsteel was important to KFOR, the United States and the region, with the camp primarily providing logistical support.

“The US presence in Kosovo provides intelligence, communications capabilities and other forms of support whose importance goes beyond the actual number of US troops deployed there. We have between 500 and 600 troops out of approximately 4,500 KFOR personnel. That represents between 10 and 15 percent of the total force. From the US perspective, that constitutes fair burden-sharing. However, a permanent base at Camp Bondsteel could play a very important role in preserving US influence, as well as maintaining the stability and security we want to ensure in the region, if the base were granted the status of a permanent military installation,” Steinbaum said.

Speaking about the change in the composition of US forces in Kosovo, namely the deployment of active-duty personnel instead of National Guard troops, Steinbaum said that this was an operational adjustment.

“That should not, in fact, change the way the force operates, which is important for maintaining security, stability and freedom of movement for people throughout Kosovo. Nor will it change the situation regarding Serbia, which, as we all know, has its own plans concerning Kosovo. However, KFOR’s presence serves as a deterrent,” the US expert said.

Executive Director of the NGO Advocacy Center for Democratic Culture (ACDC) Dusan Radakovic does not consider it realistic that Bondsteel will become a permanent US base.

He said that NATO was reducing the number of troops in Kosovo and that other circumstances were also adversely affecting the prospects of establishing a permanent US base there.

“The financial crisis, Israel and Palestine, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and developments in the oil market are also contributing to the broader crisis. Building larger military bases requires billions of dollars, so I do not believe that any major base will be built. It is certainly a significant base for the Americans, but I do not expect it to become a permanent base,” Radakovic told Kosovo Online.

Security expert Daniel Sunter believes that what will happen to Bondsteel in the coming months and years remains a major question, which he primarily links to the future of the US military presence in Europe.

“At present, Congress officially classifies Bondsteel as a site of enduring US military presence, meaning that the Pentagon has maintained a presence there for more than 15 years. This summer, the US Department of Defense announced a six-month review that should determine which bases and military capabilities Europe will need in the coming period, in line with the United States’ new strategic priorities. So this is not a matter of improvisation,” Sunter told Kosovo Online.

Analyst Nedzmedin Spahiu believes that the initiative to turn Bondsteel into a permanent US military base is a continuation of efforts to secure an additional pillar of support in the event that NATO does not function as expected.

Spahiu told Kosovo Online that NATO’s functioning had been called into question following the conflict between Israel and Palestine, as well as the conflict involving Israel, the United States and Iran.

“Kosovo therefore wants an additional pillar of support it can rely on. Bondsteel is a fairly large base, regardless of whether the Americans reduce the number of personnel or troops stationed there. It still has significant capabilities. A change in its status would mean relying on something concrete—the United States—rather than on NATO as an organization whose functioning has been called into question,” Spahiu said.