The coral atoll of Diego Garcia (British Indian Ocean Territory) today is a pivotal US naval and air base for all Middle East operations (Afghanistan, Iraq, and potentially, Iran). This book, largely based on hitherto unpublished source material, describes the build-up of the base – starting with a secret US-UK bilateral deal in 1966; the deportation of the native island population in the 1970s; the clouded new role of Diego Garcia as a destination for Guantánamo-style 'renditions'; and the impacts of military construction on the environment of the island – which because of its average elevation of 4 ft above sea-level is at direct risk from climate change

Preface
History: Empire's Last-Born Colony
Human Rights: How To Depopulate An Island
Power Politics: Our Ocean
Military Secrecy: Public Access Denied
Nemesis: Natural Heritage Dredged – and Drowned
Epilogue: The Lords' Day
Appendices

PETER H. SAND, formerly legal adviser for the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Bank, is a lecturer in International Environmental Law at the University of Munich, Germany. His earlier publications include Lessons Learned in Global Environmental Governance (1990), Transnational Environmental Law (1997), and over a hundred articles in international legal journals and collections. He has been visiting professor at Duke Law School and at the universities of Paris, Geneva, Addis Ababa, and Helsinki; and he served on the UN Security Council's Compensation Commission for environmental claims arising from the 1991 Gulf War.