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No Nukes II
Well, looks like we're now on the front of a reheating arms buildup. Economist Ann Markusen talked about the "Rise of the Gunbelt" not too long ago, and I hope that we're not now seeing a renewed "Arming of the Missile Launchers" in Europe. (I heard a speech from a rich European businessman who had it that war's been permanently eradicated from Europe, but let's be a bit more pragmatic, shall we?) A while back I mentioned the rumors of American intentions for missile bases in central Europe. Proposed radar stations around the Czech Republic may be a forerunner of the new silent arms race. According to a story today at Radio Prague,
Hang on to your hats, people, or should I say don your tinfoil helmets and crawl under your desks? According to a May 2006 article in the NYTimes, this is probably part of a plan to build an antimissile defense shield around Iran. It seems like this all should be an issue of wider concern, not just in the Czech press, but I've heard little about it. This may be a little tiff in a minor European country, but the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has moved its Doomsday Clock ahead recently (once for growing arms danger in the Middle east and again for dangers of climate change), and the clock now stands at five minutes to midnight. Of the immediate problem near Brno, Sergei Ivanov (Russian defense minister) suggested in May 2006 that an antimissile site in Poland would have a "negative impact on the whole euro-Atlantic security system," and moreover, "the choice of location for the deployment of those systems is dubious, to put it mildly."
Technorati Tags: europe, military, us, atomic weapons
The proposed radar installation is just one component of a missile defense plan that would also include anti-missile defense rockets, possibly to be located in Poland. While the Czech government has indicated its willingness to negotiate with the United States, opinion polls show that the plan is controversial among Czechs. It's thought the base could create jobs, but many fear that it could also make the country a target for attacks by America's enemies.
Hang on to your hats, people, or should I say don your tinfoil helmets and crawl under your desks? According to a May 2006 article in the NYTimes, this is probably part of a plan to build an antimissile defense shield around Iran. It seems like this all should be an issue of wider concern, not just in the Czech press, but I've heard little about it. This may be a little tiff in a minor European country, but the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has moved its Doomsday Clock ahead recently (once for growing arms danger in the Middle east and again for dangers of climate change), and the clock now stands at five minutes to midnight. Of the immediate problem near Brno, Sergei Ivanov (Russian defense minister) suggested in May 2006 that an antimissile site in Poland would have a "negative impact on the whole euro-Atlantic security system," and moreover, "the choice of location for the deployment of those systems is dubious, to put it mildly."
Technorati Tags: europe, military, us, atomic weapons
Posted 26 January 2007 at 23:25.
A graduate student in music and anthropology writing a dissertation about music in Moravia, the eastern third of the Czech Republic. At some point, the Czech Republic's "second city" (that would be Brno) captured my attention, and I've since been blogging about events, arts, music, and other stuff—basically whatever interests me in and around the cityscape. I'm not living in Brno now, but I keep up with the cultural pulse from afar as best I can.
Comments:
scary times indeed. "America" is definately full of itself...So how about that extended visit to hungary? it seems better there, where there is music and happiness for the time being. :)
9:03 AM, January 27, 2007
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