3 months ago
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A ten-day peace camp and vigil at RAF Lakenheath has done much to raise public awareness and opposition to the imminent return of US nuclear weapons to the air base, with all the terrible dangers that would bring. I pay tribute to the remarkable and dedicated activists who camped outside the base, and on behalf of CND affirm that we are proud to be part of Lakenheath Alliance for Peace, and we will continue to work together until Britain is free of nuclear weapons. To mark this important campaigning initiative, I reproduce here the speech that Angie Zelter gave at the rally last Saturday outside Lakenheath’s Main Gate.
“Our Lakenheath Alliance for Peace is a coalition of around 40 groups all of whom are dedicated to preventing the return of US Nuclear weapons to RAF Lakenheath. Despite being called an RAF base, Lakenheath is run by the USAirForce and only hosts US personnel, around 6,000 of them. It is the largest deployment of USAF personnel in the UK. This is why we talk about USAF not RAF Lakenheath.
In 2008, after a tenacious direct action campaign led by local groups, the 110 US nuclear bombs stored at Lakenheath were removed. But now we have found out that they are on the way back. The US Department of Defense added the UK to the list of NATO nuclear weapons storage locations in Europe and their procurement database reveal plans for a “nuclear mission” at RAF Lakenheath with the Pentagon ordering new equipment for the base. Massive building works are already underway at Lakenheath, including building a ‘surety’ dormitory – to house the anticipated influx of nuclear-related personnel. All of this without any parliamentary debate, scrutiny, or accountability. Our ‘special’ relationship with the USA seems to mean the government just do what they are told without question and without informing the British public.
The Lakenheath nuclear mission is part of a worrying upgrade of US/NATO nuclear infrastructure across Europe.
Recently1, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg insisted that NATO must be transparent about its nuclear arsenal and show it to the world to send a direct message to its foes, Russia and China. He revealed there were live consultations between members on taking nuclear missiles out of storage and placing them on standby. He also stated that Allies are offering forces to NATO’s command at a scale not seen in decades, having 500,000 troops at high readiness across all domains.
This sabre rattling is insane. We are now probably nearer to a nuclear exchange, by design or accident, than at any time in the past. US nuclear weapons based at Lakenheath would make the UK once again a forward nuclear base for the US, thereby making us a prime target in the event of a nuclear war.
It is insane to be bringing US nuclear weapons back into the UK and continuing to be a member of the nuclear NATO alliance. We should, instead, be dismantling our own weapons of mass destruction and cooperating with every single nation on this fragile planet to stop runaway climate change and more biodiversity loss. 2023 was the hottest year on record, global greenhouse gases have increased, arctic ice is disappearing and the droughts, floods and other catastrophic ‘extreme’ climate events are impacting the environment, health and food production all over the world.
The jet fighters at Lakenheath are F35-As, and they burn 22 gallons of jet fuel per minute,2 when flying in their least fuel-intensive mode. When doing high-powered manoeuvres, they use far more. When in flight, the F35s need to fill their fuel tanks. But, before landing on an aircraft carrier, they have to jettison most of the remaining fuel in the tanks by dumping it in the sea. The F-35s are specifically designed to deliver satellite-guided B61-12 nuclear bombs, or Lockheed Martin ‘wind-corrected’ cluster bombs.3 Both weapon systems are illegal under international humanitarian law.
Militarism is one of the central pillars of the carbon intensive exploitative extractive industrial system that is driving the climate crisis. Climate change causes war and war causes climate change. About 6% of global carbon emissions are from military activity. Climate change is already a significant cause of conflicts and is a key factor driving the refugee crisis, both from food shortages and climate induced conflicts. As the climate crisis gains pace there will be increasing tension and more wars unless we can stop them. Getting to net zero will require a radical social transformation including ending militarism.
The Pentagon admits that global warming is a national security threat. Yet, the US military is the single largest user of fossil fuels on the planet. We all have to recognise that the military bears a huge responsibility for the climate chaos we are experiencing. The developments at Lakenheath are actively promoting the expansion of the fossil fuel industry, accelerating the nuclear arms race and turning the UK and Europe into a nuclear front line, even more dangerous than the Cold War was.
There has been a massive increase in global nuclear weapons expenditure which has surged by 34% in the past five years, and is now $91.4 billion annually. These billions of pounds for weapons of mass destruction are a gross abuse of resources that could be used to address the health of our people and planet. Our Lakenheath Alliance for Peace demands that military resources are instead directed towards global peace and justice and the prevention of human caused climate change and biodiversity loss.
We are committed to nonviolent direct action for a peaceful and non-threatening world. Despite all the legislation that the government have put in place to try and stop us protesting in any effective and direct manner, we must remember that it does not does not alter our rights of freedom of expression and assembly, nor does it prevent us from acting nonviolently to stop preparations for mass destruction. As compassionate and caring world citizens we must act in self-defence to protect ourselves and our planet. Thus I urge all of you to find your strength, love and determination and get involved in actions to disrupt all preparations for mass murder and war crimes.
We also need to be aware of what USAF Lakenheath has been involved in with its so called ‘conventional’ weapons. It prides itself as being able to “get out the door” and deploy rapidly4. After the Hamas attacks on the 7 October 2023, F-15Es from Lakenheath landed at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan on the 13 October 2023 to bolster US presence in the region5.
After Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990 planes from Lakenheath were involved in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. On 25 August 1990, 18 F-111s took off from Lakenheath as the first US Air Forces in Europe unit to deploy. During the operation, they flew 2,500 combat sorties, dropping 7.3 million pounds of bombs. They were also involved in imposing the no-fly zone over Iraq in the 1990s and the bombing of Serbia. In April 1996 planes from Lakenheath (F-111s) were involved in the bombing of Libya and were refuelled several times from KC-135 planes deployed from USAF Mildenhall, just down the road6.
Planes from Lakenheath were deployed multiple times in Afghanistan and Iraq7, and were involved again during the war in Libya in 20118. They were also involved in the campaign in Syria, and in 2018 they flew over 2,000 missions while dropping more than 500 bombs9. In 2021 we know they shot down an ‘Iranian’ drone in Syria10 and in 2023 they bombed Syria in response to attacks on US bases in the area 11.
More recently (April 2024) Lakenheath has been involved in countering the Iranian strike on Israel12. Did you know that the USA and UK are heavily involved in supporting Israel militarily, in its genocidal attacks on Palestinian civilians in Gaza even allowing UK citizens to serve ‘in some of Israel’s “craziest” combat units in Gaza where they view Palestinian fighters as “rats” and “animals”’13. As well as joint exercises with NATO, planes from Lakenheath regularly do joint exercises with the Israeli and Saudi air forces.
We need to be concerned and knowledgeable about the UK backing the USA and NATO in their warmongering. Are you aware that the USA has around 800 military bases in 80 countries and has deployed its forces to surround both Russia and China? To put this in context, the UK has 145 military bases in 42 countries, while Russia has 21 in 9 countries and China 2 in 2 countries.
This may all feel daunting but let us recognise that the peace movement managed to rid us of cruise missiles, turfed the military out of Greenham Common, and managed to keep Nuclear weapons out of Lakenheath for almost 2- years. We can do this again and get rid of our own UK weapons of mass destruction. We can join with climate activists and environmentalists and demand the changes we need for a humane and peaceful world. This peace camp at Lakenheath is part of a civilian call to sanity and peace.”
1 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/06/16/nato-jens-stoltenberg-nuclear-weapons-deployt-russia-china/
2 https://cancelf35.substack.com/p/each-f-35-burns-22-gallons-a-minute
3 https://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/app5/wcmd.html
4 Lakenheath’s On-Call F-15s Respond to Rapid Demands for Deployments; Air & Space Forces Magazine; 16 September 2019 (https://www.airandspaceforces.com/lakenheaths-on-call-f-15s-respond-to-rapid-demands-for-deployments/)
5 F-15s Land in Middle East as Austin Visits Israel and Touts ‘Augmented’ USAF Presence; Air And Space Forces; 13 October 2023 (https://www.airandspaceforces.com/f-15s-middle-east-usaf-hamas-israel-war/) and Twitter( Roughly 24 F-15E Strike Eagles with the 494th Fighter Squadron of the U.S. Air Force stationed at RAF Lakenheath in the U.K. have arrived at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan to Bolster the U.S. Posture and Enhance Air Operations throughout the Middle East.); OSINTdefender; 14 October 2023 (https://x.com/sentdefender/status/1713015922221330505?s=20)
6 Raid on Libya: Operation Eldorado Canyon; USAF; (https://media.defense.gov/2012/Aug/23/2001330097/-1/-1/0/Op%20El%20Dorado%20Canyon.pdf)
7 F-15Es from Lakenheath were involved in the friendly fire incident in Afghanistan in 2007 which killed three British servicemen – ‘Flawed’ actions led to fatal ‘friendly fire’ bombing; BBC; 26 April 2010 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8645456.stm)
8 U.S. F-15 fighter jet down in Libya, crew “safe”; CNN; 22 March 2011 (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-f-15-fighter-jet-down-in-libya-crew-safe/)
9 Lakenheath squadron wins honors after flying 2,000 missions against Islamic State last year; Stars and Stripes; 3 September 2019 (https://www.stripes.com/theaters/europe/lakenheath-squadron-wins-honors-after-flying-2-000-missions-against-islamic-state-last-year-1.597041)
10 ANALYSIS: USAF F-15E shoots down Iranian drone over Syria; Key Aero; 25th August 2021 (https://www.key.aero/article/analysis-usaf-f-15e-shoots-down-iranian-drone-over-syria
11 US strikes Iran-affiliated sites in eastern Syria in response to attacks on US bases in Middle East; Janes; 14 November 2023 (https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/us-strikes-iran-affiliated-sites-in-eastern-syria-in-response-to-attacks-on-us-bases-in-middle-east)
12 White House says US troops helped repel Iranian attack on Israel from air, sea and land; Stars and Strike; 14 April 2024 (https://www.stripes.com/theaters/middle_east/2024-04-14/israel-iran-centcom-13550736.html)
13 https://www.declassifieduk.org/the-british-israeli-soldiers-at-risk-of-gaza-war-crimes-probe/
