Abolition 2000
To Achieve for the New Century a Global
Treaty to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons
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US
Plans for Missile Defence
The real reasons for US plans for Missile Defence?
Publication - US Missile Defence – 10 Reasons for
Disagreements about the role of
nuclear weapons still persist. However, in the
In May 2000 the states with nuclear weapons agreed to an unequivocal undertaking "to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals leading to nuclear disarmament...". In November the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution which recognised that a nuclear weapon-free world will need to be underpinned by a legally binding framework. The UK Government played a key role in these achievements.
However, all this could be
thrown away if the
Why missile defence?
The rationale behind missile defence is that the
Why are we opposed? (Not necessarily in order
of importance)
1.
It won’t work
Some of the recent tests have been claimed as successful. However a test
situation is very different to an actual attack; it is far easier to hit a
missile if the exact time, place, trajectory and speed are known. Previous
tests by the
There’s no protection against cruise missiles, which skim along the earth's
surface at 200 feet or less and can be delivered from submarines, surface
ships, and planes.
It is possible to make a nuclear weapon small enough to fit in the proverbial
suitcase, and obviously simple enough to smuggle on a commercial airliner. No
missile defence scheme can protect against this scenario.
2.
It may threaten Britain
Nuclear weapon bases (RAF Lakenheath and the Clyde Submarine Base at
Faslane), support facilities (Devonport), radar, intelligence gathering and
tracking facilities (at Fylingdales and Menwith Hill, North Yorkshire and
Feltwell, Norfolk ) in the UK Whitby
3. It will cost us
The US UK
4. It’s not necessary
There is the question “why would a small country, even a “rogue state”
be reckless enough to send one or two missiles to the US
5. It
breaks treaties
President Bush has now withdrawn from the 1971 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM)
Treaty agreed between the US and Russia. See CND’s website: http://www.cnduk.org/inform~1/treatabm.htm
for information about the ABM Treaty.
6. It’s
no defence
It’s not defensive but offensive.
The real reasons for US
plans for Missile Defence?
(not in order of importance)
1. Commercial interests: Whether the scheme works or not, there is money to be made. Some of those money-makers supported George W Bush into the White House.
- Military: US Space Command states in their glossy brochure Vision for 2020: “The emerging synergy of space superiority with land, sea, and air superiority, will lead to Full Spectrum Dominance.” Star Wars, indeed.
3.
Strategic and ideological: Although
officially, NMD would be directed at threats from
Another possible
This initiative will not make the world a safer place and will do immense damage to international treaties covering weapons of mass destruction.
We face a choice between, on the one hand, a world in which
the existence of nuclear weapons and an expanding number of states with nuclear
capability are accepted as facts of life, and, on the other, a world in which
nuclear weapons are steadily decreased towards total elimination.
Missile Defence Working Group
The Missile Defence Working Group (MDWG) was formed early
2001 by Abolition 2000 UK, BASIC (British American Security and Information
Council), CAAB (Campaign foe the Accountability of American Bases), CND,
MEDACT, United Nations Association and Quaker Peace and Social Witness.
Greenpeace has also been represented at the meetings. The working group is open
to other organisations and it has launched a joint statement (below) which will
be delivered to the new government, hopefully with many supporting signatures,
later this year.
The intention is
to encourage public debate on this contentious issue, which was so sadly
lacking in the last parliament and during the election, and to build a broad
based campaign to both oppose all
The UK government should reject United States
We, the undersigned
individuals and organisations, believe that the attempt by the
The US Government is
rightly concerned about the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, but
this response can only serve to make the world a more dangerous place. We are alarmed at the likely involvement of
facilities at Fylingdales and Menwith Hill in
Our concern
Our concerns are threefold:
1) A
2)
3) British
involvement in the system could increase the profile of the
We are also alarmed by the likely weaponisation of space as part of US plans for missile defence, the escalating resource commitment involved – now estimated at well in excess of $100 billion – and the possibility that the system would be used as an instrument of unaccountable strategic influence over other countries.
An alternative
US plans for a missile defence system are already straining
international relations and threaten to create further division. As the large majority of states agree, future
international security depends on creating a multi-polar, nuclear weapons-free
world, underpinned by respect for international agreements.
US Missile Defence – 10 Reasons
for
Available here on PDF file: MD.pdf (167 KB)
Some
good informative websites:
Global Network against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space: http://www.space4peace.org
Quaker Peace & Social Witness briefing: http://www.quaker.org.uk/peace/briefs/nmdbrief.html
Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases: http://www.gn.apc.org/cndyorks/caab/index.htm
International Security Information Service Briefing on Ballistic Missile Defence: http://www.isisuk.demon.co.uk/0811/isis/uk/bmd/no3.html
Top of page
What can you do?
Write a letter to the Prime Minister and/or your MP.
Please write to Gordon
Brown at 10, Downing Street, London SW1A 2AA, and/or your MP, particularly if
you have a new MP.
Some points to make:
Now is the time for the Prime Minister to show true leadership,
supported by much of the world and by his huge majority, by saying “No” to
Missile Defence, and refusing to allow the
The deployment of NMD will either completely destroy or fundamentally
weaken the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, seen internationally as the
cornerstone of international arms control. This would have serious consequences
for maintaining and strengthening other international agreements such as
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
NMD will certainly be a bar to progress on future arms control agreements.
Without these agreements in place, the number of nuclear capable countries
could increase dramatically.
The government should encourage the
The British Government should urge President Bush to reconsider NMD and
instead implement his campaign promises to carry out deep cuts in the
Use any of the information from these pages, or the linking websites.
Don’t
know who your MP is? Find out here: http://www.locata.co.uk/commons/
or ask at your local library.
For more
information about Abolition 2000
Claire Poyner
Fax: 020 7281 6281
Click
here to email us