“The Most Dangerous Place on the Face of the Earth”
The 16th Annual Space Organizing Conference and Protest was held in Omaha, Nebraska, USA on April 11th to 13 , co-sponsored by the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space and local hosts Nebraskans for Peace. The weekend began with a protest at Offutt Air Force Base, the home of the U.S. Strategic Command. Known as StratCom, it is considered “The most dangerous place on the face of the earth”. The command now fields eight missions – nuclear weapons; cyberwarfare; missile defense; intelligence; surveillance and reconnaissance; global strike; space; combating weapons of mass destruction; and global command and control. StratCom coordinates 6 “areas of responsibility”, dividing the world into regions to be commanded, including the new AfriCom.
Nearly 200 people from 12 countries and 28 US states attended the conference.
One of the first speakers was Jan Tamas of the Czech Republic, who helped form the “No to Bases Initiative” which unites 60 organizations which oppose the US plan to establish an NMD military base in the Czech Republic. We had hoped to hear from Damian Moran who is a co-organizer of the Polish Campaign Against Militarism, opposing the US missile base in Poland. However, he was detained and deported from the US by Homeland Security Agents at the airport. Damian was one of the Pit Stop Ploughshares, who was acquitted 18 months ago for damaging US planes that were refueling on their war to Iraq.
The conference included panels where we heard about StratCom's New Mission: From Waging the War on Terror to the Domination of Space and US Bases Worldwide: Stories of Resistance to Domination. The coming together of people from various networks was an important aspect of the gathering. Workshops gave us an opportunity to further discuss topics such as: Converting the Permanent War Economy, the militarization of universities, the voices of people displaced by US Bases, and missile defense deployments in Asia.
A Sunday strategy session was intended for members of the networks to share ideas and hear new ones to take home and develop. The Global Network's board will take up several suggestions for coordinated efforts. Their website www.keepspaceforpeace.org includes more information on StratCom and opposition to US Missile Defense in Europe, among its many resources.
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