MAW is firmly opposed to the installation of new nuclear weapons at Lakenheath.
We support the nationwide protests called by CND and others against US plans to site deadly B61-12 nuclear bombs in the UK. As CND says: ‘These new bombs have been designed specifically to fit F35a fighter jets already stationed at RAF Lakenheath. With tensions still dangerously high between NATO and Russia, this puts Britain on the front line of a nuclear war’. Furthermore, not allowing the public to have a say on this fundamental issue goes against the grain of democratic discourse. It is particularly important to ensure these decisions are subject to transparency and accountability.
The approval of these new deployments implies acceptance of the doctrine that storing more and more nuclear weapons on UK bases will prevent an attack by Russia. In fact it is likely to provoke further armament by Russia, and other large states, which will in turn stimulate NATO to follow suit. Thus we risk finding ourselves in the same nuclear-escalation spiral that so nearly brought about armageddon during the first Cold War. The Ukraine war resembles less Europe in 1939, when no-one possessed nukes, than Cuba in 1962. Moreover, Trump is no Kennedy!
The only solution is to find ways to seek an accommodation with Russia, and indeed China, so that we can continue to share this planet and work together on common problems. Far from easy when dealing with dictatorships – but desperate competition for global dominance is a recipe for collective suicide. Jaw-jaw, not war-war!
