US missile defence

This wiki entry is essentially designed for the purpose of informing about current activities against the U.S. missile defense program, especially in Eastern Europe. Related wiki entries include National Missile Defense, Missile defence, Anti-ballistic missile.

History of U.S. Missile Defence

In December 2002, President Bush announced the United States would begin fielding several components of an anti-ballistic missile system designed to protect U.S. territory from attack by long-range (strategic) ballistic missiles. In July 2004, it fielded the first ground-based interceptor at Ft. Greely, Alaska, and since then has fielded and upgraded radars, built command and communication networks, and added interceptors at Ft. Greely and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The Bush administration is also pressing to field interceptors and a radar in Eastern Europe.
On February 5th 2008 The New York Times reported that the proposed military budget for 2009 "will be the 11th year of continuous increases in the base military budget."

Furthermore Ria Novosti report that "the overall 2009 missile defense budget proposed by the Bush administration totals $10.4 billion. It is aimed to continue to develop, test, and field missile defense systems to protect America, its allies, and deployed forces. The budget proposal must be approved by Congress before it becomes effective."

The Pentagon are expected to release in full on Monday, February 11th its total proposed 2009 military budget of $515.4 billion. If it is approved, annual military spending, adjusted for inflation, will have reached its highest level since World War II.

U.S. Missile Defence in Europe

The current [http://en. .org/wiki/Republican_Party_(United_States) Republican] U.S. administration is planning to construct a base for 10 two-stage missile interceptors near the city of Slupsk in Northern Poland, modify its X-band radar on the Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific and relocate it to Trokavec near Prague in the Czech Republic, and additionally deploy a new forward-based radar to an unspecified location.

"The U.S. project to enlarge its missile defence system to Eastern Europe is a wasteful enterprise that will make the world unstable," says Philip Coyle, senior advisor to the independent Centre for Defence Information in Washington, and expert on worldwide military research, defence and security policy.

Coyle was recently invited to Prague by Greenpeace. He met with Czech politicians and local authorities to gather evidence from independent researchers that the U.S project to enlarge its missile defence system (MDS) is dangerous.

At the same time U.S. Missile Defence Agency (MDA) director Henry Obering was promoting the MDS amid promises to protect Europe from the alleged threat of Iran and other 'rogue states'.

The following is an excerpt from Inter Press Service Agency Central and Eastern Europe correspondent Zoltán Dujisin's interview with Coyle on the U.S. plans to set up a radar in the Czech Republic and a base with ten interceptor missiles in Poland.

IPS: Can the MDS work?

PC: The missile defence hardware being proposed for Europe has no demonstrated effectiveness to defend Europe, let alone the United States, from an attack by Iran under realistic operational conditions.

IPS: Some Czech and Polish politicians believe the radar will protect them.

PC: Officially the missile defence agency itself says the first purpose of the radar in Europe is to protect the radars in Greenland and the UK, only then they go on to say it will protect the United States and its allies.

IPS: Is there a threat for Europe at present?

PC: There are about 3,400 km from Tehran to Prague, but the longest range missile that Iran has today only has a range of about 1,500 km, which means it wouldn't even get halfway to Prague.

The new 2009 proposal for military spending in the U.S. includes the allocation of $96 million for the development of missile shield elements. This includes $382.6 million for the actual deployment of the complexes in both Poland and the Czech Republic, and $241.2 million for construction works.

The overall 2009 missile defense budget proposed by the Bush administration totals $10.4 billion.

Resistance in Poland

The Campaign against Militarism, Poles for a Referendum, the Anarchist Federation and other groups are calling for a large-scale mobilization against the installation of missiles and the building of the US base in Poland. The action, called for March 29, can be seen as part of a larger anti-militarist struggle which is taking place throughout Europe, including the NATO Game Over action to be held in Brussels on March 22 and the anti-NATO Summit to take place in Bucharest at the beginning of April. Let's come together and show that we are not indifferent to the politics of militarism!

On Saturday March 29, protestors are due to meet at 12 noon stage anti-militarist street theatre and hold an open air public speak out on the missiles and the Polish States militarisation plans. Hundreds of foreign activists from throughout Europe are have signed up to attend the action and plan to march to the proposed military base 4km from Slupsk to the town of Redzikowo.

Heavy security is expected and a large amount of participants have stated they will risk confrontation with the poiice and/or military. Those concerned about violence from the security forces are advised to keep some distance at the action. Other activities in Redzikowo are also planned including discussions with local people, delivering leaflets and newspapers to local residents, film shows, community gardening, vegetarian food distribution from food not bombs collectives, face painting and an anti-war soccer match.

Referendum Petition

A campaign in Poland has also been established to collect signatures from concerned citizens against the construction of the U.S. base and the probability of Poland becoming more prone towards a terrorist attack due to it's close associations with the U.S. 'War of Terror'

According to opposition politicians in the Polish Sejm (parliament) there is not the 2/3's majority of MPs required for the President to call a referendum. Neither the current President, Lech Kaczynski from the right-wing Law and Justice party (Prawo i Sprawiedliwosc), nor the new centre-right government of Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska) led by Donald Tusk support the call for a referendum. They believe "matters of national defense" should not be subject to referenda and the former government claimed that such an issue should not be decided by the people

Stop the Shield Demo March 29th '08, Poland

On Saturday March 29, 2008 thousands of Polish and international protestors are expected to descend upon the city of Slupsk to protest against the proposed U.S. missile base. According to the Polish Campaign against Militarism website the anti-shield activists intend on staging street theatre and facilitating open air meetings at large squares throughout the city, speaking out on against the missiles and militarism.

A 'Stop the Shield' march will subsequently take place from Slupsk to the small town of Redzikowo, 4 km away, where activists will engage in direct action at the proposed site of the U.S. base (currently an unused Polish military base). A confrontation is expected as Polish police and military will quite likely prevent the anti-shield demonstrators from proceeding towards the scene of the crime. A range of other activities to engage the residents of the areas of Redzikowo and Slupsk are also planned.

Slupsk is a few hours from the Baltic coastline cities of Szczecin or Gdansk.

Radar Resistance in Czech Republic

Jan Neoral is the Mayor of the village of Trokavec, where the U.S. Radar section of the Missile Defence System is expected tobe deployed.

In an article he wrote for the local campaign 'Trokavec Against the Radar' he stated the following:
"a group of specialists who have been working with us since the beginning have just completed their calculations on the basis of those data that they have managed to obtain, and they have decided to present their conclusions to the public.

These Czech specialists support the conclusions made by German scientists and the information provided by the US National Missile Defence agency. They argue that the XBR radar is not technically capable of protecting the territory on which it is stationed. Thus the argument of Czech government politicians who maintain that those who are against the building of the US radar are against the defence of their own territory, is a demagogical lie."

NATO Game Over in March '08, Belgium

On 22 March 2008, five years after the start of the Iraq war, activists from all over Europe will nonviolently try to enter and close NATO headquarters in Brussels, in order to prevent further war crimes and military occupations. The following two days, Bombspotting and organise a conference on how to counter the ongoing military globalisation with nonviolent resistance.

Anti-Nato Summit in April '08, Romania

On 21st of September the Romanian Vice Foreign Minister Victor Micula and North-Atlantic Council Secretary Berndt Götze signed the memorandum for hosting the NATO summit in Bucharest in April next year.

This will be the largest one in the history of NATO, as all the 23 member states of the NATO Partnership for Peace will attend, besides 26 member states of the alliance.

Approximately 3.000 high-ranking officials are expected to participate in the summit, whose security will be guarded by some 9.000 Romanian troops, officers of the Special Guard and Protections Service, police officers and gendarmes. The expenses of the event are estimated at 30-35 million euro.

Thousands of anti-militarism protestors will demand the abolishing of NATO due to it's role in warmongering since it's establishment in 1949.

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