By IRNA,
London : American troops are stationed at nine military bases in the UK that are symbolic of the country’s subservience to the US, according to Stop the War Coalition (STWC), Britain’s biggest peace group.
“You can only see these bases as part of a continuing strategy by the Americans to control militarily; not just their own military in their own country but also Britain and other countries in Europe,” said STWC joint convener Lindsay German.
US troops have remained stationed at military bases in the UK since World War Two, over 50 years ago, that symbollised the rise in American power and a decline in Britain’s.
The number of American military personnel is estimated at more than 10,000, the highest in Europe apart from Germany and Italy, the defeated nations of the war. Over half are deployed at USAF Lakenheath in eastern England, where there are three squadrons.
German, who stood at the only left alternative candidate in May’s London mayoral elections, said the bases represented the postwar position of considerable client age to Washington in terms of foreign policy and much else.
“I don’t think it was necessary for America to keep these bases here after the war and I think we are actually very suspicious of their motives, just as today any talk about withdrawal from Iraq also comes with the threat that they will keep 58 bases there,” she said.
“Now we know what that means,” the convener told IRNA.
“These bases are being used for all sort of things including support for wars when they take place all around the world,” she said.
The bases have been subjected to numerous campaigns over the years, including the stationing of US nuclear arms, which reportedly have only recently been removed. But this has not been confirmed by the UK government, which refuses to comment on security issues.
German said that the existence of American bases was not in favour of UK national interests. “I don’t think America has the right to effectively have bases which occupy parts of the British soil which can act independently of the British democratic process,” she said.
She also said that Britain cannot even use its own nuclear weapons “without the permission of the Americans and that effectively British military bases are completely integrated into the American military strategy.”
STWC, which was set up at the beginning of the so-called war against terrorism that started with the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, believes that the US has benefited from lack of publicity about its military role in Britain.
“I think if they knew that they would be much more unhappy about it,” German said. This, she said, would be especially the case if people were aware of their role, including support for wars around the world.
“It was originally about the Cold War. Now they’re using them for their new missile shield that they are developing in Eastern Europe and also in Fylingdales and Menwith Hill” bases in northern England, she said.