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14 December 2002
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The US has lodged a formal request with Britain to use bases in the UK for its "son of star wars" missile defence project, the Guardian has learned. The request is due to be announced on Tuesday by Geoff Hoon, the defence secretary, a week after he published a "public discussion" document on the Bush administration's plan. He said the government would agree to such a request "only if it were satisfied that the overall security of the UK and the alliance would ultimately be enhanced", but he indicated that the government backs the project. A vital role would be given to the early warning radar station at Fylingdales, on the North York Moors, the document said. The Ministry of Defence has also said that the US eavesdropping and satellite ground station at Menwith Hill, also in North Yorkshire, would play a part. The US wants to install a large X-band radar at Fylingdales to track and identify missiles, as well as detecting them. The radar would be linked to the missile interceptor base at Fort Greely in Alaska and command and control centres. The document seems designed to soften up or prepare parliamentary and public opinion for a government decision. Upgrading Fylingdales would not lead to any "material environmental impact", it said. Without an upgrade the base "would be unable to provide the data needed for missile defence purposes". It added that "for the foreseeable future" unsophisticated long-range missiles in the hands of "states of concern" were "likely to remain essentially weapons of terror", aimed at population centres rather than specific military targets. The document concluded: "Fylingdales is therefore not a plausible target." An expanded Fylingdales (which is situated in a national park, the document notes) would help to protect America's eastern seaboard. "The additional warning time provided by RAF Fylingdales for a Middle Eastern threat is very substantial." But, the government argued, it is not only in the US's interest to upgrade Fylingdales. The radar base could also be a "key building block" for a future British or European missile defence system. "With interceptors placed somewhere in Europe, such a system could protect the UK and north-west Europe," it argues. Fylingdales would enable the system to "protect most of Europe". The government argues that a missile defence would deter such countries as Iraq, Iran, Libya, and North Korea from attacking western nations. Opponents, including some senior Whitehall officials, say that it is expensive (they estimate it would cost Britain up to £10bn), technologically unproven, and strategically unsound. They say it is virtually impossible to hide a missile launch, and potential enemies would not risk huge retaliation. Others say leaders of "states of concern" would not take this into account, and could blackmail the west. The US programme suffered a fresh setback this week when a "kill vehicle" designed to destroy incoming missiles failed to separate from its booster in a test over the Pacific. Nigel Chamberlain, spokes-man for the British American Security Information Council, an independent think tank, yesterday welcomed the government's discussion paper but said that the MoD had not made it clear consultation would proceed. The phrase "indecent haste" came to mind, he added, referring to the US's formal request for the use of British facilities. Canada's prime minister, Jean Chrétien, said this week that his government was not interested in participating in a North American missile defence shield. |
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14 December 2002
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Geoff Hoon has made repeated statements in support of missile defence over the past month and the recent MOD publication "Missile Defence – a public discussion paper", released this week, is again supportive of the principle. The discussion paper was released to fuel the public and parliamentary debate that Geoff Hoon called for only a month ago. Yorkshire CND, who have been campaigning to avoid any use of the facility for the US’s plans, today called on the government to ensure that they do not make any decision on the base’s use until they have left considerable time for that public debate to take place, and not before parliament has a chance to discuss the matter in a full parliamentary debate (the request for use for the facilities is likely to come on Tuesday: the day parliament breaks up for Christmas). Neil Kingsnorth, Development Worker for Yorkshire CND, said: "We’ve been expecting this news for some time. What a coincidence that it comes when parliament is in recess and everyone is away for Christmas. This whole process has been undemocratic and unaccountable so far and it looks like the US want to keep it that way. Geoff Hoon has called for a full public and parliamentary debate on these issues and we demand that he allows time for that before giving in once again to the USA’s wishes. " US use of Fylingdales for a missile defence system would not defend the UK, who would need further space monitoring systems in place towards Eastern Europe if they were to benefit. However, as scientists and UK MOD officials have been pointing out for years, the system is unlikely ever to work. Neil Kingsnorth continued, "What the US is after is the development of air-borne lasers, space-based lasers, advanced ground listening stations and more. Even if it doesn’t work they’ve developed all of this military technology under the veil of star wars. The UK must not cow-tow the US dreams of global dominance on earth and in space, it must not play a part in provoking an arms race, which missile defence will almost certainly do, and it must not put Yorkshire at the heart of new and awesome warfighting technology. We urge Geoff Hoon to stop lusting after missile defence and to concentrate instead on genuine, long-term remedies to global instability." Notes 1) More information and comments from Neil Kingsnorth on 07818 411823 or Dave Webb on 0113 2836742. You can also visit www.yorkshirecnd.org.uk2) Fylingdales is near Whitby, in North Yorkshire. It is one of two bases likely to be used for US plans, the other being Menwith Hill near Harrogate. 3) George Bush announced the US’s intention to kill off the ABM treaty on December 12th 2001 and withdrew on June 12th 2002. |
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14 December 2002
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BASIC was informed on Friday that the U.S. Administration had made a formal request for the use of facilities in the UK to support its proposed missile defence system. BASIC understands that Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon will make an announcement to Parliament next week, probably on Tuesday. This development closely follows the Defence Secretary’s announcement on Monday of a public debate on the issue based on the Ministry of Defence publication ‘Missile Defence: a public discussion paper.’ "We welcomes the long-awaited and much-heralded public discussion paper from the MoD but its lack of detail on how the consultation is to proceed, when it ends and if the government will be making a formal response to the submissions is somewhat disconcerting,” said BASIC analyst Nigel Chamberlain. BASIC wrote to the Defence Secretary on 3 December and sought clarification from the MoD via the e-mail address given at the end of the document but has not received a response from either. "Just as we are digesting the contents of the MoD discussion paper, we hear that the U.S. is about to make a formal request for the use of facilities in the UK. The phrase 'indecent haste' comes to mind,” said Mr Chamberlain. “Surely, it would have been more appropriate to have a longer lead time for national consultation uninhibited by international negotiations?” This might suggest to some observers that a decision has already been taken or as an official at the U.S. Missile Defence Agency reportedly said, “basically it’s a done deal”. ‘Official UK position on Missile Defence’ by Nigel Chamberlain
http://www.basicint.org/pubs/Notes/MDEuroPositions.htm
Nigel Chamberlain
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