nuclear-news

New thinking is needed on Nato http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/20/new-thinking-needed-nato  guardian.co.uk,  Rae Street  20 May 2012  As Nato meets in Chicago , it is high time our politicians started to take a hard look at the organisation. They need to stop kowtowing to a US agenda of global military dominance through Nato and realise that Nato is not bringing peace and security, but dangerous instability. Seumas Milne (Comment, 16 May) outlined the dangers from wars of intervention; Malalai Joya described the suffering brought to Afghanistan by the occupying forces (Our Chicago resistance, 17 May).

But the dangers are even wider. Nato continues to assert it needsnuclear weapons for defence and still holds a policy of first use of nuclear weapons. At the Lisbon summit Nato leaders reaffirmed their addiction to nuclear weapons, ignoring the nuclear non-proliferation treaty which states that nuclear weapon states should disarm “in good faith”.

Trident is integrated into Nato and there are five nuclear-armed Nato bases in Europe from Belgium to Turkey. Nato is building its missile-defence programme in European bases – aimed at Russia? Outside Europe, Nato is expanding its influence from the Mediterranean to the Pacific.

Nato brings with it enormous cost. Eisenhower’s military-industrial complex is alive and profiting. Since all Nato military forces have to have interoperability, they are constrained to buy the same fighter planes, mainly from Lockheed Martin . In times of austerity the military manufacturers flourish while, in Nato states, people are being hit by savage cuts in welfare services.

Can we hope that new thinking will come out of the Nato summit?