Protesters gather outside an air force base on November 19, 2022 in Lakenheath, England.
Campaigners Warn Return of US Nukes to UK Would 'Make Britain a Guaranteed Target'
The U.S. is reportedly planning to deploy nukes "three times the strength of the Hiroshima bomb" to an air base in Suffolk.
Nuclear weapon abolitionists sounded alarm Friday in response to fresh evidence that the United States is planning to station nukes in the United Kingdom for the first time in more than 15 years, a move that opponents said would only heighten the risk of an atomic war.
The U.S. removed more than 100 nuclear bombs from Royal Air Force Lakenheath, a base in Suffolk, in 2008 following sustained protests from the U.K.-based Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and other nonproliferation advocates.
CND warned in a statement Friday that the redeployment of nukes to Lakenheath would "make Britain a guaranteed target in the event of any war between NATO and Russia."
"We encourage both the media and the public to increase pressure on the British government to be honest about this deployment," said Kate Hudson, CND's general secretary.
"It's shameful that our government continues to take us for fools on this serious matter."
The Telegraph reported last week that "procurement contracts for a new facility at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk confirm that the U.S. intends to place nuclear warheads three times the strength of the Hiroshima bomb at the air base."
"The return of American weapons to the U.K. is part of a NATO-wide program to develop and upgrade nuclear sites in response to heightened tensions with the Kremlin in the wake of the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine," the U.K. newspaper continued. "Russia has stated that the placement of U.S. weapons in Britain would be viewed by Moscow as an 'escalation' and would be met with 'compensating counter-measures.'"
CND said Friday it has "strongly suspected" that the Lakenheath base was being prepped for the return of U.S. nukes for nearly two years. Last August, Matt Korda and Hans Kristensen of the Nuclear Information Project highlighted U.S. Air Force budget documents for fiscal year 2024 that "strongly imply" the Biden administration is moving toward reestablishing American nuclear presence in the U.K.
As the pair explained:
The Air Force's FY 2024 budgetary justification package, dated March 2023, notes the planned construction of a "surety dormitory" at RAF Lakenheath, approximately 100 kilometers northeast of London. The "surety dormitory" was also briefly mentioned in the Department of Defense's testimony to Congress in March 2023, but with no accompanying explanation. "Surety" is a term commonly used within the Department of Defense and Department of Energy to refer to the capability to keep nuclear weapons safe, secure, and under positive control...
Construction of the facility is scheduled to begin in June 2024 and end in February 2026.
CND said it has questioned the U.K.'s Defense Ministry and local officials about the "lawfulness of the planning rights used to allow the building of the surety dormitory."
"The Lakenheath upgrades form part of a wider effort to upgrade U.S./NATO nuclear infrastructure across Europe, which has preceded—and likely provoked—Russia's deployment of its own nuclear weapons to Belarus," the group said. "Despite this, neither the U.S. nor U.K. government have given information to the public about this deployment."
Hudson argued that "far from making us safer, this deployment has escalated the dangers, brought Russian nukes to Europe, and made us a nuclear target."
"It's shameful that our government continues to take us for fools on this serious matter," said Hudson. "They are refusing to give us crucial information about our security."
FINAL DAY! This is urgent.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just hours left in our Spring Campaign, we're still falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Nuclear weapon abolitionists sounded alarm Friday in response to fresh evidence that the United States is planning to station nukes in the United Kingdom for the first time in more than 15 years, a move that opponents said would only heighten the risk of an atomic war.
The U.S. removed more than 100 nuclear bombs from Royal Air Force Lakenheath, a base in Suffolk, in 2008 following sustained protests from the U.K.-based Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and other nonproliferation advocates.
CND warned in a statement Friday that the redeployment of nukes to Lakenheath would "make Britain a guaranteed target in the event of any war between NATO and Russia."
"We encourage both the media and the public to increase pressure on the British government to be honest about this deployment," said Kate Hudson, CND's general secretary.
"It's shameful that our government continues to take us for fools on this serious matter."
The Telegraph reported last week that "procurement contracts for a new facility at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk confirm that the U.S. intends to place nuclear warheads three times the strength of the Hiroshima bomb at the air base."
"The return of American weapons to the U.K. is part of a NATO-wide program to develop and upgrade nuclear sites in response to heightened tensions with the Kremlin in the wake of the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine," the U.K. newspaper continued. "Russia has stated that the placement of U.S. weapons in Britain would be viewed by Moscow as an 'escalation' and would be met with 'compensating counter-measures.'"
CND said Friday it has "strongly suspected" that the Lakenheath base was being prepped for the return of U.S. nukes for nearly two years. Last August, Matt Korda and Hans Kristensen of the Nuclear Information Project highlighted U.S. Air Force budget documents for fiscal year 2024 that "strongly imply" the Biden administration is moving toward reestablishing American nuclear presence in the U.K.
As the pair explained:
The Air Force's FY 2024 budgetary justification package, dated March 2023, notes the planned construction of a "surety dormitory" at RAF Lakenheath, approximately 100 kilometers northeast of London. The "surety dormitory" was also briefly mentioned in the Department of Defense's testimony to Congress in March 2023, but with no accompanying explanation. "Surety" is a term commonly used within the Department of Defense and Department of Energy to refer to the capability to keep nuclear weapons safe, secure, and under positive control...
Construction of the facility is scheduled to begin in June 2024 and end in February 2026.
CND said it has questioned the U.K.'s Defense Ministry and local officials about the "lawfulness of the planning rights used to allow the building of the surety dormitory."
"The Lakenheath upgrades form part of a wider effort to upgrade U.S./NATO nuclear infrastructure across Europe, which has preceded—and likely provoked—Russia's deployment of its own nuclear weapons to Belarus," the group said. "Despite this, neither the U.S. nor U.K. government have given information to the public about this deployment."
Hudson argued that "far from making us safer, this deployment has escalated the dangers, brought Russian nukes to Europe, and made us a nuclear target."
"It's shameful that our government continues to take us for fools on this serious matter," said Hudson. "They are refusing to give us crucial information about our security."
Nuclear weapon abolitionists sounded alarm Friday in response to fresh evidence that the United States is planning to station nukes in the United Kingdom for the first time in more than 15 years, a move that opponents said would only heighten the risk of an atomic war.
The U.S. removed more than 100 nuclear bombs from Royal Air Force Lakenheath, a base in Suffolk, in 2008 following sustained protests from the U.K.-based Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and other nonproliferation advocates.
CND warned in a statement Friday that the redeployment of nukes to Lakenheath would "make Britain a guaranteed target in the event of any war between NATO and Russia."
"We encourage both the media and the public to increase pressure on the British government to be honest about this deployment," said Kate Hudson, CND's general secretary.
"It's shameful that our government continues to take us for fools on this serious matter."
The Telegraph reported last week that "procurement contracts for a new facility at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk confirm that the U.S. intends to place nuclear warheads three times the strength of the Hiroshima bomb at the air base."
"The return of American weapons to the U.K. is part of a NATO-wide program to develop and upgrade nuclear sites in response to heightened tensions with the Kremlin in the wake of the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine," the U.K. newspaper continued. "Russia has stated that the placement of U.S. weapons in Britain would be viewed by Moscow as an 'escalation' and would be met with 'compensating counter-measures.'"
CND said Friday it has "strongly suspected" that the Lakenheath base was being prepped for the return of U.S. nukes for nearly two years. Last August, Matt Korda and Hans Kristensen of the Nuclear Information Project highlighted U.S. Air Force budget documents for fiscal year 2024 that "strongly imply" the Biden administration is moving toward reestablishing American nuclear presence in the U.K.
As the pair explained:
The Air Force's FY 2024 budgetary justification package, dated March 2023, notes the planned construction of a "surety dormitory" at RAF Lakenheath, approximately 100 kilometers northeast of London. The "surety dormitory" was also briefly mentioned in the Department of Defense's testimony to Congress in March 2023, but with no accompanying explanation. "Surety" is a term commonly used within the Department of Defense and Department of Energy to refer to the capability to keep nuclear weapons safe, secure, and under positive control...
Construction of the facility is scheduled to begin in June 2024 and end in February 2026.
CND said it has questioned the U.K.'s Defense Ministry and local officials about the "lawfulness of the planning rights used to allow the building of the surety dormitory."
"The Lakenheath upgrades form part of a wider effort to upgrade U.S./NATO nuclear infrastructure across Europe, which has preceded—and likely provoked—Russia's deployment of its own nuclear weapons to Belarus," the group said. "Despite this, neither the U.S. nor U.K. government have given information to the public about this deployment."
Hudson argued that "far from making us safer, this deployment has escalated the dangers, brought Russian nukes to Europe, and made us a nuclear target."
"It's shameful that our government continues to take us for fools on this serious matter," said Hudson. "They are refusing to give us crucial information about our security."