Text & Video Fwd: Bombspotting hoax exposes irrationality of NATO's nuclear strategy 밤스팟팅의 장난이 나토 핵 전략의 비합리성을 노출시킴

* Video and Text sent from Hans Lammerant (Vredesactie) through Nousbases

Nuclear Terrorism : proof of concept (Video URL)


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press release Bombspotting

NATO's new Strategic Concept: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb part 2

Bombspotting hoax exposes irrationality of NATO's nuclear strategy
Bombspotting exposes the irrational Cold War rhetoric behind NATO's new Strategic Concept with a hoax NATO News-website (natonews.tv) and interview on nuclear strategy with a representative of the Political Affairs and Security Policy Division.
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NATO NEWS TV Issue 17 Nov 2010

NATO's nuclear policy

NATO's nuclear policy has been subject of vivid discussions between the NATO member states during the drafting process of the new Strategic Concept. Mr Tulpens of the Political Affairs and Security Policy Division explains NATO's nuclear policy and why NATO still needs nuclear weapons. Watch this video on natonews.tv
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The interview is not with NATO's but with Bombspotting's Political Affairs and Security Policy Division. History presents itself sometimes as a tragedy and sometimes as a farce, and NATO participates in both. Bombspotting's Political Affairs and Security Policy Division mimicks the NATO Division in its farcical aspects, while hoping this can limit a bit NATO's capacity for tragedy.

NATO continues to put a nuclear deterrence doctrine in practice, in unofficial terms known as MAD or Mutual Assured Destruction. The video interview exposes the logic behind NATO's nuclear policy in less sanitized language as commonly used by NATO.

Where islamist suicide terrorists are considered as irrational fanatics, the interview challenges the viewer to question if the only difference between so-called rational and irrational behaviour is institutionalized group think.


NATO's Nuclear weapons

By approving the new Strategic Concept NATO is deciding about its future. This future seems to consist of continuing old recepies like nuclear weapons. 20 years after the end of the Cold War, NATO decides it still needs nuclear weapons for its safety.

At the same moment it is not even capable of naming an enemy against which nuclear deterrence is a necessity. No political interest proves capable of legitimating the use of nuclear weapons. By consequence NATO is, in the new as in the old Strategic Concept, only able to point to hypothetical dangers as legitimation for its nuclear posture. Although it will prove lip service to nuclear disarmament, NATO is rather an obstacle for the new nuclear disarmament dynamic.

The only interest served by the 150-250 tactical nuclear weapons at NATO's disposal are the interests of the NATO bureaucrats. These nuclear weapons serve no military purpose anymore, but give NATO diplomats an opportunity to discuss nuclear strategy with the US. In other words, these bombs deliver prestige to some NATO bureaucrats and they do not want to lose it. But with security these nuclear bombs have nothing to do.

Even the US military, who have these weapons under control, state that these nukes are useless and a waste of money. A report of a Defense Secretary Task force on nuclear weapons management quotes a USEUCOM senior leader: "We pay a king’s ransom for these things and . . . they have no military value.” and states that according to USEUCOM "there is no military downside to the unilateral withdrawal of nuclear weapons from Europe" and that "strategic nuclear capabilities outside of Europe are more cost effective". (source: Report Task Force on DoD Nuclear Weapons Management (dec 2008), p.59 - http://www.defense.gov/npr/docs/DOD%20NW%20Management%20Phase%20II%20Schlesinger.pdf)

A similar attitude can be found at the European air forces with nuclear tasks. Result is that the military continues to do nuclear tasks, but try to spend as little money on it as possible. Security problems are the logical consequence of this gap between the military reality and the bureaucratic power games.

Bombspotting exposed the security problems in the video 'Nuclear Terrorism: Proof of Concept', showing the weak security at the nuclear weapon base in Belgium. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1fnDhwWm-U)

NATO's Cold war recepies do not bring security but are rather a source of insecurity. NATO brings no solution but is part of the problem. If Europe wants more security, it can better give NATO a burial: NATO Game Over. NATO keeps Europe catched in a military approach of international relations. NATO has no future anymore, it merely can prolong the past. Europe would be better of without NATO.


www.bombspotting.org - www.vredesactie.be

Text Fwd: US Integrates Black Sea, Asian NATO Air Forces

* Text informed at the StopNATO on May 23

* Image source/ description: same as the source link below*

'New Zealand air force Chief Master Sgt. Keith Gell speaks with U.S. Air Force trainees at Camp Bullis, Texas, during the 2009 Worldwide Senior Enlisted Leaders visit May 12-15. The visit was hosted by U.S. Air Force senior enlisted leaders to give their foreign counterparts a look at a U.S. Air Force enlisted member's career from start to finish. (U.S. Air Force photo/Rich McFadden)

Maj. Gen. Anthony Przybyslawski talks with senior enlisted leaders from partner nations during the 2009 Worldwide Senior Enlisted Leaders visit May 12-15 at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. The visit was hosted by U.S. Air Force senior enlisted leaders to give their foreign counterparts a look at a U.S. Air Force enlisted member's career from start to finish. General Przybyslawski is the Air Education and Training Command vice commander, (U.S. Air Force photo/Rich McFadden)'


http://www.usafe.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123150438
Air Force Link American Forces News Service:
Senior enlisted leaders strengthen international bonds by Capt. Rose Richeson
May 21, 2009

RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas - Senior enlisted leaders from nine countries met
in the San Antonio area for a closer look at Air Education and Training Command
programs and processes during a visit May 12-15.

As part of the 2009 Senior Enlisted Leader Summit, international enlisted
leaders from Australia, Bulgaria, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Romania and Singapore partnered with command chiefs from U.S. Pacific Air Forces, U.S. Air Forces in Europe and AETC while they visited Randolph and
Lackland Air Force Bases.
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The two-week summit began in Hawaii and moved to central America with stops in
Alabama, Mississippi and Texas.

"Building partnership capacity is USAFE's business in the European area of
responsibility," Chief Derrow said. "Since 2007 we've been working with these
countries to help them build their respective air forces, with a lot of focus
also on their enlisted forces."
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By way of institutionalizing international training and education in the Air
Force command structure, U.S. and partner nations conduct numerous exchange
programs annually, said Col. David Snodgrass, AETC International Training and
Education director.

"In 2008, AETC provided training to 144 countries around the world instructing
close to 5,000 students," he said.

Not only do partner nation members travel to the U.S. for this training, but
AETC also sends teams to overseas locations to conduct observations and
training. Last year 133 teams traveled abroad and trained more than 4,300 personnel from 55 different countries, Colonel Snodgrass said.
....
One lesson learned for the Romanian air force attendees was the U.S. Air Force
instructors' ability to pass their knowledge to the younger Airmen.
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