29 MARCH 2008: NO US BASES IN POLAND/CZECH!

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h2. CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL MOBILIZATION AGAINST US MILITARY BASES IN CENTRAL EUROPE. NO TO ANTI-MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM!

_*The Campaign against Militarism, Poles for a Referendum, the Anarchist Federation and other groups are "calling for a large-scale mobilization":http://cia.bzzz.net/call_for_international_mobilization_against_us_military_bases_in_central_europe_no_to_anti_missile_defense_system against the installation of missiles and the building of the US base in Poland. The action, called for March 29, can be seen as part of a larger anti-militarist struggle which is taking place throughout Europe, including the NATO Game Over action to be held in Brussels on March 22 and the anti-NATO Summit to take place in Bucharest at the beginning of April. Let's come together and show that we are not indifferent to the politics of militarism!*_

Over the past forty five years, the US has been developing various missile defense systems in its pursuit of global military domination. The basic idea is to combine satellite technology with the use of anti-ballistics missiles (ABMs)which would counter first strike missile attacks. The most famous of the US projects was SDI, Reagan's infamous "Star Wars" program. Its current incarnation, the US National Missile Defense Program, is being sold to the world as a necessary element in the "war against terror". The US claims that, in order to protect itself from missile attacks from such "rogue states" like Iran, *it needs to install elements of its anti-missile defense system on bases in Europe.* Most notably, it wants to build *two bases in Central Europe, one in the Czech Republic to house radars, and another in Poland to house missiles with nuclear warheads.*

Much of the negotiations are done in secret, despite demands of citizens and even some political parties to hold a public referendum
on the issue of US bases. The system is being heavily sold to the public but without providing reliable information. The US and its
cronies fail to address the fact that in tests of the system, first strike missiles and not always intercepted, meaning that the system
does not provide total safety. They fail to mention that the system is vulernable to other types of strikes, for example from the sea. They
talk about all the "rogue states" in the "axis of evil" that these missiles are supposed to be protecting people against but fail to
mention that the bases are really useless against missiles that might be shot from North Korea since the trajectory would be different.
(Since North Korea doesn't have long-range missiles anyway, it's a moot point.) It also does not address certain issues such as what
happens if a weapon with a nuclear warhead is shot down.

Critics of the missile bases have maintained that housing the bases may actually increase the likelihood of attack on the countries that
houses them as well as creating new geopolitical problems. It is often
noted that these missiles may be used for offensive, as well as defensive purposes. In the concrete case of Poland, the buildup of
missiles, including nuclear missiles, on the borders of Poland in Kaliningrad and Belarus are a direct result to the possible location
of the missiles in Poland. The location of these bases in Poland and the Czech Republic may signal the beginning of a whole new arms race.

The militarization of Europe, the new arms race, the imperative to develop new military technology serves the interests of the state and
the military industrial complex, but not normal people. Attacks and hostility between civilians are symptomatic of the sick policies of
states and profiteers. A long-term solution to such conflicts cannot be found by bombing people in submission, by military force and
intimidation.

The Campaign against Militarism, Poles for a Referendum, the Anarchist Federation and other groups are calling for a large-scale mobilization against the installation of missiles and the building of the US base in Poland. The action, called for March 29, can be seen as part of a larger anti-militarist struggle which is taking place throughout Europe, including the NATO Game Over action to be held in Brussels on March 22 and the anti-NATO Summit to take place in Bucharest at the beginning of April. Let's come together and show that we are not indifferent to the politics of militarism!

h3. STOP THE SHIELD ACTION IN POLAND

The action in Poland will take place mainly in the city of Slupsk,
near the Baltic Sea Coast. They want to build the base in Redzikowo, 4
kms from the city. We will go to this town for some direct actions
but also will do some things in Slupsk. To follow up, we would like to
hold some public and activist meetings in other, larger cities nearby
Slupsk, namely Szczecin and Gdansk.

A meeting for planning the actions will take place on Jan 19th in
Silesia, in the south of Poland. For people who would like to take
part in planning the actions, we invite you. Please write to us if you
would like to come and we can send you information on how to get
there. We suspect that some people may also want to continue planning
on the next day but this will depend on how many people can stay into
the afternoon.

Many details have not been set yet, but we suspect that there will be
room for people who want to take place in different types of
activities, for both those who want to engage in the direct actions
and those who want to limit their participation to other activities
such as meetings and a protest march.

h3. CURRENT SITUATION WITH THE POLISH BASE AND CHANCE FOR SUCCESS

Currently, the situation with the Polish base in Redzikowo is up in
the air, which increases our chances of getting the message across.
There is still a chance that the base will not get built and a
determined opposition to it will only help those chances.

The former government(s) of Poland led by the SLD and then PiS were
determined to have the bases on Polish territory and to lead pro-US
policy but some people in the new government are not so certain. More
importantly, the tide is changing in the US. Democrats in the House of
Representatives voted to cut funds for building this base in Poland.
Without allocation of the funds, the base won't get built. As the main
proponents of such military investments have tended to be Bush, his
cabinet and cronies in the military industry, there are some chances
that the new government next year may reconsider this strategy. In any
case, during the election year when the Democrats (falsely) present
themselves as some less militaristic alternative, international voices
against the proposed bases are more likely to be heard as issues such
as these are on the political agenda and people are looking for a
change in US military policy.

p=. *YOU CAN SUPPORT THIS ACTION ALSO BY TRANSLATING THIS CALL AND/OR SPREADING IT IN YOUR LOCAL NETWORKS.*

h3. SAY NO TO MILITARISM!

*SUPPORT THE ANTI-MILITARIST ACTIONS IN EUROPE:*
* March 22, NATO Game over in Brussels
* March 29-30 STOP THE SHIELD! Actions against the US Anti-Missile
Shield/ US Base in Poland
* "April 2 – 4 ANTI-NATO SUMMIT PROTESTS IN BUCHAREST":http://contra-doxa.com/

* E-mail: tarcza at bzzz.net
* http://www.tarcza.org Anti-Missile Shield Page (Only in Polish. English shortly!)
* http://www.vredesactie.be NATO Game Over
* http://contra-doxa.com/ Page of Romanian Activists

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