US Bombs Out of Germany

December 10, 2016 by Nukewatch Leave a Comment

“Modernization” of Cold War-Era B61 Proceeding Over Broad Objections

Nukewatch Quarterly Winter 2016-2017

The Obama administration has approved, and Congress in January 2014 fully funded, production of a new thermonuclear warhead under a program dubbed “Life Extension”—the latest version of the B61 known as the B61-12. If completed, it is to be used in war plans involving gravity bombs, as Hans Kristensen and Robert Norris reported in the May 2, 2014 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

The $537 million 2014 authorization is only a down-payment on the new B61. With a projected cost of $12.2 billion (up from $4 billion in 2010, and $8 billion in 2012), the authors note, the B61-12 is probably the most expensive nuclear bomb in US history. At approximately $25 million apiece, and weighing 700 pounds, each one is estimated to cost more than if it were made of solid gold ($14.6 million).

Reportedly a 300-to-500 kiloton “variable yield” thermonuclear device, the B61-12 will have 24 to 40 times the destructive power of the bomb that turned seven square miles of Hiroshima into powder and ash in 1945. Yet in the jargon of today’s nuclear war planners, the B61 is called a “low yield” nuclear weapon.

For 50 years the B61 has been a reliable federal jobs program for the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, which has engineered 15 different versions. Five B61 types are still in the US arsenal: the B61-3, -4, -10 and -7; along with the B61-11 “earth-penetrating” bomb. The administration has announced plans to retire three of these and “convert” the B61-4 into the B61-12.

Of the roughly 820 B61s still in use today, the Bulletin reports, 300 are kept at bases with B61-capable aircraft, “including 184 B61s deployed in Europe.” About 250 B61-7 and 50 B61-11 bombs are stored at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico.

The B61-12 has been in an engineering phase since 2013, and the first production bombs are set to roll out in 2020. About 480 could be built through the mid-2020s.

Storage depots at Büchel Air Base in west-central Germany where up to 20 US Air Force B61 thermo-nuclear gravity bombs are stored for use on German Tornado jet fighter/bombers. The base has been the object of nuclear weapons protests for 20 years.

The US Air Force ‘s B61-3s and -4s are deployed at European NATO bases in Belgium, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, and Turkey—the United States being the only state in the world to deploy its nuclear weapons in other countries.

In their July/Aug. 2014 Foreign Affairs article “Bombs Away: The Case for Phasing Out US Tactical Nukes in Europe,” Barry Blechman and Russell Rumbaugh point out that “One NATO exercise in 1962 estimated that 10-15 million German civilians would be killed in a tactical nuclear exchange.” This self-destructiveness of nuclear war plans helps explain why the US European Command (EUCOM) has given up “advocating for maintaining nuclear weapons in Europe,” the authors report. EUCOM leaders told an oversight task force in 2008 there would be “no military downside to the unilateral withdrawal of nuclear weapons from Europe.” Indeed, “prominent critics … have long argued that the military rationale for keeping nuclear weapons in Europe is an anachronism,” they wrote. In its 2012 posture review, NATO’s ministers pledged to work for a world without nuclear weapons.

In “The Problem With NATO’s Nukes,” in the Feb. 9, 2016 Foreign Affairs, Richard Sokolsky and Gordon Adams report that Gen. James Cartwright, former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has called the B61s “redundant,” and that Gen. Colin Powell favored eliminating them in the 1990s when he was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

Rush to Deploy Before Critics Kill Program

Opposition to the rebuild program is gaining depth and breadth in the US and Europe. US Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., and Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., tried to curtail the program in 2013. In 2010, five of the US’s NATO partners (Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, The Netherlands and Norway) asked that the B61s be permanently removed from Europe. In Germany, every major political party has been forced by popular demands to formally call for the permanent withdrawal of the 20 bombs still in Germany.

Major US allies in Europe and high-level European politicians have said that the B61s are “militarily useless.” In a widely published op/ed in 2010, former NATO secretary-general Willy Claes and three senior Belgian politicians wrote, “The US tactical nuclear weapons in Europe have lost all military importance.”

Another reason for the push to deploy rather than retire is that Germany is planning to replace its fleet of Tornado jet fighter/bombers. The enormous expense of building in a B61-12 capacity for the new replacement jet is not lost on the German parliament.

As Der Spiegel online reported Dec. 9, 2016: “By becoming a signatory to the Non-Proliferaton Treaty in 1975, the Germans committed ‘not to receive the transfer of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices or of control over such weapons or explosive devices directly, or indirectly.’

“During negotiations over German reunification in 1990, then-Chancellor Kohl also affirmed Germany’s ‘renunciation’ of the manufacture, possession and control of nuclear weapons.’”

May 2, 2016 by Nukewatch Leave a Comment

“Büchel is Everywhere”

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>

July 15, 2015 by Nukewatch Leave a Comment

65-Day Protest at Germany’s Nuclear-Armed Büchel Air Base

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

October 18, 2013 by Nukewatch Leave a Comment

German Bomber Base, With 20 US Nuclear Weapons, Shut Down by Ambitious Blockaders

Nukewatch Quarterly Fall 2013

By John LaForge

BÜCHEL AIR FORCE BASE, Germany — Over 750 people converged here at the government’s largest air force base to condemn the deployment of 20 US nuclear weapons, in open violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty which prohibits a nuclear state from transferring nuclear weapons to a non-weapon state, and prohibits a non-nuclear state from receiving such weapons. In a show of organized popular rebellion, 150 hearty war resisters blockaded traffic at all nine base entrances for 24 hours.

It was the first time in 16 years of resistance to the base’s “sharing” of US H-bombs (used onboard Germany’s Tornado jet bombers), that the base had been completely closed to traffic by a protest. The Pentagon also “shares” the B-61 gravity bomb with Belgium, The Netherlands, Italy and Turkey.

In spite of the civilian lockdown of this large military complex, no arrests were made by any of the hundreds of civil and military police who turned out.

Peace activists who converved on Büchel quoted the University of Illinois professor of law and author Francis Boyle.

The action began Sunday, August 11, with a large “Happening” at the base’s main gate, or “Haupttor,” after which eight separate groups carrying overnight camping gear drove off to far-flung gates for the 24-hour blockade. The protest ended at noon the next day without injury to either the resisters or the shut-ins. The complicated blockade was named “Instruments for Disarmament: Rhythm Beats Bombs” after Germany’s 30-year-old radical orchestra and choir “Lebenslaute” (life sounds) offered to join in the annual protest of the US nukes.

The only leak in the ambitious base-wide blockade was through a previously unidentified entry, or ‘Tor,’ which was found by protesters for the first time late on Sunday. Organizers reported that tracks in the dirt road indicated that the Air Force had been using the secret entry to dodge the lockout for several hours. The rough, remote, dirt track access was instantly dubbed “gate No. 7,” and after two hurried cellphone conferences 12 volunteers from other blockades gathered their gear and hurried to stop the leak.

Soldiers sneak past blockaders

Just one more small break in the shut-down took place at 6:40 a.m. Monday, when about 150 camouflaged troops were rushed through a small door-sized opening in the high fence that surrounds the base. Known as “gate 6” by anti-nuke campaigners, the mostly unused, garden path-sized wire door was itself obstructed by the heavy coils of razor wire that had been placed inside all nine gates in advance of the weekend confrontation. Eye witnesses blocking gate No. 5 only 50 meters away reported that the troops ran from four large cargo transports down a steep, wooded embankment, some falling down, toward the fence and had to struggle to slash away the razor-wire before squeezing through the “kitty door.” The occupiers at gates 5 and 6 were initially unable to call for help in blocking the troop movement when their cell phone coverage was suddenly cut off. After flashing her press credentials Gina Willrich of Bikes Against Bombs, Germany’s anti-nuclear motorcycle group, was able to snap photos of the soldiers embarrassingly sneaking into their own base.

The radical orchestra “Lebenslaute” (Life Sounds) performed Aug. 11 at the main gate into Büchel Air Force Base where over 700 people converged to protest Germany’s use of US nuclear weapons there.

Because of the action’s comprehensive planning, each of the separate occupation sites was supplied in advance with lights, tents, toilets, tables and water. Two hot meals were delivered over the course of the day-long encampments where blockaders slept in sleeping bags set out like sardines across the access roads directly in front of the high steel gates.

Organized teams of like-minded and international campaigners — including representatives of Germany’s major peace organizations — took responsibility for the eight, and ultimately nine entrances. The unnumbered main gate was successfully closed overnight by about 80 resisters — self-named “Rhythm Beats Bombs” — who made use of the large stage and rock concert-style speaker system erected for the weekend events. “Tor” No. 1, the “Women’s Resistance gate,” was overtaken by women from Germany and England, and the British visitors used some of the long hours of the occupation to report on their own development of unprecedented blocking actions against the Pentagon’s nuclear-armed Cruise missile bases built in England in the 1980s.

Gate 2, the “Inter-religious gate,” was successfully closed by over 15 ethicists of various denominational stripes; gate 3 belonged to members of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) — winners of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize — who spent time explaining the economic, industrial and political connections between nuclear power and nuclear weapons; gate 4 was “Poetry gate” and featured dramatic readings of anti-nuclear verse and classic appeals from the nuclear abolition movement.

Musicians confront nuclear madness with “life sounds”

A quintet from the orchestra and choir “Lebenslaute” (life sounds) performed a musical blockade.

“Lutzerather Tor,” another unnumbered gate (named for a nearby village) which is second in size and traffic load only to the main entrance, was overwhelmed by 58 members of Lebenslaute (28 all night) which entertained the visibly amused guards on the other side of the fence with hours of classic compositions. Your Nukewatch reporter was happy to join this band of musical resisters, rehearsing with them during the week prior to the action and playing 2nd cornet in its concerts and the overnight blockade.

At the “Women’s Resistance Gate” blockaders heard from comrades who travelled from England.

Gate 5, and the adjoining previously mentioned tiny gate 6, only 50 meters away, was noisily occupied by Bikes Beat Bombs, which brought a touch of Marlon Brando and “The Wild Ones” to the mostly organic, vegan and vegetarian rigor of Germany’s anti-war Left.

Why a national news blackout?

In assessing the 24-hour blockade, Nuclear Weapons-Free Now Campaign Council member Marion Küepker of Hamburg, noted one disappointment, saying, “The national media’s black-out of the unprecedented base shutdown was a surprise.” Only local and regional news organizations have so far reported on the event.

At Büchel’s main gate following the day-long action that covered the entrance, 80 blockaders woke to the surprising absense of arresting officers.

“The presence of high-profile individuals could explains the hands-off position taken by the police. This was the first-time that office-holding members of well-established NGOs joined a partly ‘illegal’ nuclear weapons protest,” Küepker said. By not making arrests, the military also avoids the political trials that focus a lot of attention on the US weapons,” Küepker said.

Of course, the action’s successful base closure put Germany’s Air Force on notice that public opposition and resistance to the government’s embrace of the US bombs is bold enough to put it in its place, restricted to base — at least for the weekend.

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