by Bruce K.Gagnon
The U.S. says it intends to deploy interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic in order to destroy any nuclear missiles fired by Iran. (Iran today has zero weapons of mass destruction.)
According to the Defense Department, the radar in the Czech Republic would be used to identify and help direct the Polish-based interceptor missiles to their targets. Russian leaders see the systems in a different light. They believe that the U.S. bases in Central Europe are not intended for Iran but are in fact one part of an ongoing U.S. military encirclement of Russia.
A number of American physicists say that the Russians are correct in claiming that the bases in Poland and Czech Republic are not intended to deter Iran but would in fact be useful to hit Russian nuclear missiles that might be launched in retaliation after a U.S. firststrike attack of her.
Most observers believe the reason that the U.S. is encircling Russia militarily is that Russia is the world’s largest producer of natural gas and also has large depositis of oil. It was recently reported that the RAND Corporation in California has come up with a plan calling for the breaking up of Russia into three separate countries. Russian leaders fear that like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Iran their country is now on the list of countries the U.S. wishes to topple so its fossil fuels can be stolen.
In October, I flew to Prague in the Czech Republic to attend a conference organized by the group No Bases Initiative opposing U.S. deployment of a Star Wars radar facility in its country and “missile defense” interceptors in Poland.
Anti-Space-Weapons Movement Grows in Central Europe by Bruce K.Gagnon I carried with me a news article by the Associated Press entitled Scientists Question European Missile Defense. It reported, “A number of top U.S.-based physicists have concluded that the U.S. used inaccurate claims to reassure NATO allies about missile defense plans in Eastern Europe. They say the planned Polish-based interceptors and a radar system in the Czech Republic could target and catch Russian missiles, thus threatening Russia’s nuclear deterrent.”
The article quotes well-known MIT physicist Ted Postol as concluding, “The claim by the Missile Defense Agency [that the two bases would only be useful against Iran and not Russia] is not correct. And it is hard to understand how they could get something so basic wrong.”
Activists came from all over Europe to Prague for the conference. A particularly large delegation also came from Italy, another country where a major U.S. base expansion, in Vicenza, is stirring up massive Europe-wide opposition.
On the morning of October 20 three busloads of activists were driven about an hour outside of Prague, into the countryside, to a small town called Breznice near where the U.S. radar facility is to be built. There, for the whole day, several hundred people assembled to hear speakers and participate in workshops. A recently-formed Czech League of Mayors has been created to oppose the radar after many of their local towns overwhelmingly passed referendums opposed to the deployment of the U.S. system. Several of the mayors spoke and many of the mayors from local communities were in attendance.
To show his support for the event, Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba, sent a video. Mayor Akiba is president of Mayors for Peace and pledged their support. Ken Livingstone, mayor of London, also sent a letter expressing his support for the campaign.
In a recent Missile Defense Agency (MDA) planning document called Proposed U.S. Missile Defense Assets in Europe the Pentagon states, “These assets [sea based and Army mobile interceptor missiles] could be used to support emerging NATO and national capabilities as needed to ensure layered coverage for all European nations requiring such protection.” In other words, in addition to these “first” deployments in Poland and the Czech Republic, the U.S. intends ongoing “missile defense” deployments throughout Europe which will absolutely provoke a reciprocal military response from Russia.
The Czech movement organized a national demonstration on November 17 in Prague’s Wenceslas Square. The demonstration, which took place during the 18th anniversary of the “Velvet revolution” in the Czech Republic, called for a national referendum on the issue of the planned U.S. military base in the Czech Republic. According to the latest polls, 68% of Czechs oppose the U.S. plan.
“We have joined hands with the students, trade unions and mayors and are organizing this common demonstration to show our opposition to the U.S. plan to install a military base in our country,” said Jan Tamas, spokesperson of the initiative. “We have organized demonstrations with thousands of people before; this time we are aiming at having tens of thousands of people. With the support of trade unions, students, league of mayors and other groups this seems possible now.”
“We abolished the totalitarian regime 18 years ago, but still our democracy has some serious setbacks. We do not consider a real democracy the current situation where our government continues negotiations about the NMD system despite the fact that a majority of Czechs oppose it,” said Jan Majicek, another spokesperson. “Therefore, on November 17 we will demonstrate for real democracy.”
The Union of Security Forces of the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic joined the national demonstration. The Union is comprised of hundreds of policemen, firemen, customs officers, prison guards, judiciary security personnel and former workers of the Czech public security forces.
The “No to the Bases” initiative formed in July 2006 and currently unites more than 60 Czech and international organizations opposing the U.S. plan to establish a new military base in the Czech Republic as part of the National Missile Defense (NMD) System.
*Bruce K. Gagnon is the coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
