arguments in a top-level US Department of Defence report.

And it could saddle Bermuda with an Airport operations bill of more than $8 million a year.

Sources in Washington DC this week said the assessment is contained in the pages of a report by the Defence Department's Inspector General, who recommended the base be closed.

The leaked report indicates top Navy and Defence Department brass agree the Base has largely outlived its Cold War usefulness.

The report acknowledges the Base has served a critical role in the underwater tracking of Warsaw Pact submarines. But it concluded there was little or no need for continuing a high military presence since the withdrawal of that threat.

Statistics are used to underline the limited military usefulness of the base.

In 1992, for example, not one ship refuelling stop was considered operationally essential by the US Navy.

And Inspector General Derek Vander Schaff showed little concern for the loss of a mid-ocean base. He said US military could get back on the Island whenver necessary through US membership in NATO.

The report -- which was triggered by an ABC Prime Time Live broadcast protraying the base as the Navy's "Club Med'' -- indicated any closure decision would be politically sensitive.

Sources say the report concludes the base operates largely to the benefit of the Bermuda Government.

In 1992, for example, more than 70 percent of airfield movements involved civilian and commercial aircraft. US Navy and "other military movements'' accounted for the rest.

The report recognises a need to address the sensibilities of Bermuda's population, given that the base closure has serious ramifications for the local economy.

Contacts cited in the report indicate the United Kingdom would view closure of NAS Bermuda as an inconvenience.

Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan last night stressed the report represented one man's view and that the Bermuda Government was working the issue hard.

"We're seekng to ensure that the US advisors on this matter have full breadth of information about the base,'' he said when asked to comment on The Royal Gazette's findings.

Bermuda lobbying US source said any decision on the Base would have to wait for President Bill Clinton to appoint a Secretary for the Navy -- one of hundreds of Presidential appointments yet to be made.

The report was initiated by the House Armed Services Committee last December, following the Prime Time Live broadcast.

It shows the US Navy was already considering options for its Bermuda facilities ranging from complete withdrawal to caretaker status Figures compiled by the Insp. General show the Navy estimating it spends just over $8 million a year supporting commercial and civilian aviation at the airport.

Among the 1991 numbers cited are $2,679,000 for air traffic control, $2,507,000 for crash and fire rescue, $1,514,000 for the weather service, $674,000 for maintenance and utlities and $687,000 for search and rescue operations.

All airport landing fees are collected by the US for its operations. In 1992, these amounted to $455,371.

The number of civilians employed at the base has dropped from 623 in 1990 to 499 this year.

One Washington source said the report touched on one of the biggest cost concerns associated with any closure of a US base: The clean-up of hazardous waste materials.

The Insp. General's report, the source said, estimated it would cost $33,500,000 to restore the base land environment.

Removal of asbestos, it said, could cost more than $16 million. Removal of solid waste and underground storage tanks would together could cost $15 million.

The Inspector General reportedly said the US could close down its operations with a one or two-year notification to the UK Goverment.

He suggested the US could probably go for a one-year notice and thereby reduce substantially a Navy estimate that it would would take 30 months to close the base and transfer all airport operations to local authorities.

The Navy's 1993 budget to run NAS Bermuda is about $39 million.