U.S. Military Bases Around the World Are Facing Growing Protest From an Emboldened Antiwar Movement

Jeremy Kuzmarov, Jun 23, 2026

Previously published at CovertAction Magazine

In early April, an unidentified Irish man climbed onto the roof of a U.S. C-130 Hercules military transport vehicle parked at Shannon Airport in County Claire, Ireland, and sabotaged its wing and fuselage using a hatchet, causing $75 million in damage.

The heroic action was part of a wave of protests at Shannon Airport, which has functioned since the end of the Cold War as a transport hub for U.S. troops and refueling and transit spot for CIA and U.S. military planes, including ones that transported prisoners to Guantánamo Bay under the infamous rendition program.

Edward Hogan is a a regular participant in the protests at the Shannon Airport who was a featured speaker at a June 6 webinar hosted by Global Women for Peace—United Against NATO, which aimed to raise awareness about the widening protests against U.S. military bases in Europe and around the world.

A former member of the Irish defense force and UN peacekeeper, Hogan said that he has been arrested eight times in protests outside Shannon Airport, which are growing in scale because of popular anger at Ireland’s complicity in the Israeli genocide in Gaza and Iran War—along with previous illegal U.S. and NATO wars like in Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq and Serbia in the 1990s.

Hogan emphasized that, by allowing the U.S. military to use Shannon Airport, it has violated a neutrality policy that was signed into law by the Irish government in 1939.

Since 2002, more than three million U.S. troops have passed through Shannon Airport, many through flights classified as “civilian,” though most troop carriers are operated by Omni Air International, which the Irish government acknowledges has been allowed to carry weapons on board.

Additionally, the Irish Foreign Minister has granted permission for U.S. Navy and Air Force planes to land at Shannon—in violation of Irish law.

Hogan was followed up in his remarks by Ilse Terheggen, a Dutch punk rock musician and activist, who spoke about growing protests she is involved in outside the Leeuwarden Air Base in Friesland near Leiden………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

At the end of the webinar, a woman from Sweden came on to highlight the Pentagon’s push for the expansion of military bases in the Nordic countries (Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway) from which the U.S. can launch direct attacks on Russia.

When the woman asked why Swedish anti-war activism was not featured in the webinar, others said they would have liked to but that, unfortunately, there was not much anti-war activism there except for some small actions.

The woman agreed that, unfortunately, this was true and lamented that the entire Swedish parliament had supported an agreement that would allow the U.S. to use Sweden’s 17 military bases to attack Russia.

Despite a conservative political climate reminiscent of the Cold War and insane war escalations being carried out in Washington and Tel Aviv, the June 6 Global Women for Peace—United Against NATO webinar made clear that there is a growing grass-roots opposition across Europe and parts of Southeast Asia, which is beginning to make some political headway.

Many speakers emphasized a widening coalition at anti-base and anti-war protests involving pro-Palestinian groups, climate change activists, trade union activists, feminists and pacifists, along with a growing number of young people who are experiencing a political awakening.

If they continue to expand, these networks may threaten the hold on power of ruling classes whose war-mongering and fealty to U.S. imperial designs have put them on the wrong side of history. https://jeremykuzmarov.substack.com/p/us-military-bases-around-the-world?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=2091638&post_id=203170903&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=rq1nt&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

June 25, 2026 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | opposition to nuclear