US Bombs Out of Germany

20 Weeks of Action at Germany’s Büchel Nuclear Base

Nukewatch Quarterly Spring 2016

The Büchel nuclear base in West Central Germany, east of the border with Belgium and Luxembourg, is home to twenty US B61 nuclear gravity bombs ready for use on German Tornado fighter-bombers.

Starting March 26, 2016, and running until August 9, groups and individuals will hold vigils and take other nonviolent direct actions at the gates of the Büchel base. Groups or individuals can choose a week to organize actions on one day or more at the base. March 26 is the 6th anniversary of the bi-partisan motion calling on the federal government to pursue a withdrawal of all US nuclear weapons.

The US is the only government in the world that deploys its nuclear weapons in other countries. Beyond the 20 deployed in Germany, US B61 are at-the-ready in the Netherlands (20), Italy (40), Belgium (20) and Turkey (~80-90).

Twenty-seven years after the end of the cold war, US B61 nuclear bombs are still deployed here as part of a so-called “nuclear sharing” agreement. The B61s are kept operationally ready for use the moment the order comes from NATO, and if ordered to do so, German pilots will take off in German Tornado jet fighters and drop the US H-bombs on pre-determined targets. These B61 bombs are scheduled to be replaced by expensive, new, precision-guided “B61-[model]12s” by 2024. This is in spite of the fact that the German parliament or Bundestag took a bi-partisan or “cross-party” decision March 26, 2010, calling on the government to have the bombs permanently withdrawn.

War in Syria

Büchel air base is not just used for “defense” and nuclear “deterrence” but is also currently taking an active role in war-fighting, playing a central role in the illegal military operation against Syria. Apart from the four Tornado jets from Jagel air base in Schleswig-Holstein, two Tornados and 20 military personnel will be provided from Büchel air base. They will be deployed for one year at the Incirlik US nuclear base in Turkey (home to 80-to-90 US B61s) to undertake operations against Syria.

—GAAA (Nonviolent Action to Abolish NuclearWeapons) More info: <redaktion@pressehuette.de>

Nukewatch Quarterly Summer 2015

A 65-day-long series of protests at the Büchel Air Force Base in west-central Germany—home to 20 US nuclear bombs—culminated on May 29. Thirty-five different organizations began their string of blockades on March 26, commemorating the Bundestag’s (Parliament’s) 2010 call to the German government to advocate for removal of US nuclear weapons in Germany. The occupations ended May 29, marking the conclusion of the UN’s 2015 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. (See “Nuclear Weapons Proliferation,” Page 1.)

The actions against Germany’s Nuclear-Armed Büchel Air Base included a die-in staged to dramatize Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream by the French group Stop Nuclear Weapons. Photo by Büchel Atomwaffenfrei.

Over the course of the 65 days, over 400 people participated in 31 blockades through a wide variety of demonstrations. Local, national and international organizations came to present lively opposition to nuclear weapons and the base’s role in the US–German “nuclear sharing” agreement. The actions ranged from an orchestra concert to tripod blockades, a red carpet roll-out of peace flags, a die-in staged to dramatize Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream, and a Maypole dance. Banners galore punctuated the actions and constantly decorated the peace encampment. Birthdays and a Good Friday service were observed at the gates, contributing to what became disruption of traffic three to four days a week, preventing personnel from accessing the base, and often closing it. On the last day alone, 35 people were taken into custody as they blocked seven gates to the base. A total of 60 protestors arrived armed with toothbrushes to symbolize their willingness to remain at the blockade until there is a commitment to withdraw the weapons. The US removed its nuclear weapons from England and Greece prior to 2010. The US B61s at Büchel include 20 of the 180 bombs remaining in five European allied states. The stationing and potential use of the weapons violate the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which prohibits signatories like the United States from transferring nuclear

weapons to non-nuclear states like Germany; Büchel is charged with the nuclear missions of NATO and the B61 bombs would be delivered by German Tornado aircraft. Contrary to a move toward fulfilling international obligations under the NPT, there are plans to upgrade the B61s to “smart” bombs, giving them the embarrassing distinction of being the only such nuclear weapons on European soil. In a move that some have called a “new arms race,” the upgrade plan will further endanger Russia’s trust in disarmament talks with NATO.

—Atomwaffenfrei, May 30; Büchel Atomwaffenfrei, May 26; Rheinische Post, Mar. 24, 2015 —KL

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