Why is Tom Shanker writing this nonsense and why is the New York Times publishing it?

AL UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s visit to the advanced air operations center here this week was not just a stop at an important outpost of the United States military. It was also a major step forward for Pentagon transparency.

The highly classified American facility, officially called the Combined Air and Space Operations Center, coordinated all of the attack and surveillance missions for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — and would be equally critical if an American president decided that only bombs and missiles could halt Iran’s nuclear ambitions. It hosts liaison officers from 30 allies in Europe and the Persian Gulf.

Until this week, however, its location was carefully guarded by the Pentagon and the Qatari government, out of concerns from both about sensitivities to its presence.

That Al Udeid is a central command headquarter and the operations center for Afghanistan and other wars in the area has been widely known for over a decade. There was absolutely nothing secret about it. It is mentioned on many Defense Department and miltary units’ websites and the Global Security piece on it is years old.

A search on the NYT website list 92 results for “AL UDEID AIR BASE”. The NYT even officially announced its creation starting September 2002 and detailed coverage continued over several major stories (see samples below).

So why is Hagel announcing such nonsense and why is the NYT printing it?

September 18 2002 THE GULF REGION; Commander’s Visit Part of Growing Role for Qatar

Al Udeid, a 15,000-foot airstrip about 20 miles west of the capital, was described by American officials as the longest in the Middle East. It provides for a wide range of military action, including bombing raids, air and ground surveillance, and air refueling, they said.
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[L]ast week, General Franks announced that he would move about 600 officers, or about one-quarter of his staff, to Al Udeid Air Base in November for a war games exercise. About 2,000 American soldiers are on the base, down from a high of 4,000 during the war in Afghanistan, American officials said.

The new complement of officers is likely to remain after the exercise in preparation for a war against Iraq, the Pentagon said.

In coming to Qatar, General Franks is following in the footsteps of Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, who were here earlier this year during the Afghan war. They inspected Air Force operations at Al Udeid and spoke of the important role Qatar would play with the United States in the future.

April 28 2003 – AFTEREFFECTS: BASES; U.S. Will Move Air Operations To Qatar Base

The United States is shifting its major air operations center for the Middle East from Saudi Arabia to Qatar, the first step in what is likely to be a significant reduction of American forces in Saudi Arabia and a realignment of American military presence in the region, senior military officials said today.

The day-to-day responsibility for overseeing hundreds of air missions in Iraq and the Middle East will be transferred this week from Prince Sultan Air Base near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to a backup headquarters the United States built last year at Al Udeid Air base in Qatar, senior officials said.

18 September 2005 – Pentagon Construction Boom Beefs Up Mideast Air Bases

AL UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar, Sept. 15 – Even as the Pentagon is mulling plans to begin reducing the number of American combat troops in Iraq and Afghanistan next spring, the military has more than $1.2 billion in construction under way or on the drawing board to upgrade 16 air bases throughout the Middle East and Southwest Asia.
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At this sprawling air base, for instance, the Qatari government is spending nearly $400 million to build a state-of-the-art regional air operations center. The 100,000-square-foot, fortified headquarters is expected to be operating by July 2008.
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Lt. Gen. Walter E. Buchanan III, the commander of American air forces in the Middle East, said in an interview at his headquarters here that there were really only two enduring bases for the United States in the region: Al Udeid in Qatar and Al Dhafra air base in the United Arab Emirates, from which the Air Force flies U-2 spy planes, the remotely piloted Global Hawk surveillance aircraft, and KC-135 refueling planes.