North Atlantic Treaty Organization NATO

NATO was founded ostensibly to defend the “free” West against Soviet expansion. Why then did not NATO dissolve when the Soviet Union disintegrated and Warsaw Pact dissolved? The reason is quite simple: because it had become the main vehicle for the coordination of Western military strategy. What follows is a call for peace activists to commit ourselves to raise the demand for the dissolution of NATO.

This action is part of the protests against the Lisbon NATO summit in November

Saturday, Oct. 30th 2010

15 ANTIMILITARIST ACTIVISTS MAKE THEIR WAY INTO THE NATO MILITARY BASE OF BÉTERA (VALENCIA) AND TURN IT INTO A PLAYGROUND TO DEMAND ITS CLOSURE, TROOP WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN AND ABOLITION OF ARMED FORCES

Nonviolent direct action against militarism all over Europe

The European Antimilitarist Network is not a fixed entity, but a flexible network of antimilitarist groups, based on the principle of nonviolent direct action. It inclu­des, but is not limited to, groups formally affiliated to War Resi­sters' International. As a net­work, it aims to keep an infor­mation flow going between ac­tions, and also to take decisions jointly on the focus for the coming months/year(s).

The vast unpopulated areas in Northern Sweden are increasingly used for war preparation and trainings. North European Aerospace Testrange (NEAT) is Europe’s largest overland test range and consists of an area 360 by 100 km of restricted air space and 1,650 sq km of restricted land area (expandable to 3,000sq km). It is a cooperation of the Swedish organisations FMV (the Swedish Defence Material Administration) and SSC (the Swedish Space Corporation).

Reflections on strategic issues for the antimilitarist movement

In
most NATO countries public opinion is either divided over, or in
favour of, the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan. Only in
very few countries can NATO count on support for its war (see
illustration 1). However, neither does this turn into a massive
mobilisation against the war in Afghanistan, nor does it – for now
– translate into opposition to the organisation fighting this war –
NATO (see illustration 2). So are we successful?

Counter-summit

Location: To Be Determined

19/11/2010 - Friday

11.00-11.15: Welcome
Vitor Lima (PAGAN) confirmed
Reiner Braun (ICC) confirmed
11.15-13.00: Lectures
1. NATO’s War in Afghanistan (Malalai Joya, Afghanistan) (TBC)
2. The New NATO Strategy and Global Crisis (Vitor Lima, PAGAN, Portugal) confirmed
3. Nuclear Weapons in the New NATO-Strategy (Joseph Gerson, AFSC, USA) confirmed
4. NATO and Latin America (Eduardo Melero, UAM, Spain) confirmed
5. Missile Defense Systems in Eastern Europe / Russia (Jana Glivicka, No Bases, CR) confirmed

Activist Conference, Lisbon, 16/17 October 2010

The No to War – No to NATO Activist Conference will be embedded in the con­ference of the Portuguese organisation “CULTRA”.

In April 2009, as part of the mobilization against the NATO Summit in Strasbourg, No-to-NATO organized a two-day counter-conference, in the course of which some forty women from NATO member states held a workshop on ‘a feminist case against NATO’.[1] Some of us have continued to work together by e-mail, and we hope to mark the forthcoming NATO Summit in Lisbon, Portugal, this November, with women’s protest actions.

At the 2009 Strasbourg-Kehl summit, NATO members agreed to produce a new Strategic Concept for the alliance. The Strategic Concept (SC) is usually the guiding policy document for NATO for the coming decade. In November, at the NATO summit in Lisbon, NATO countries hope to agree on a document that is “short and crisp”. The main content will to a large extent re­peat the 1999 SC, but it will be shorter overall. Insiders expect a document of 12 pages max.

Without any doubt, geo-strategical and economic interests played and play an important role in the military intervention of NATO in Afghanistan. But there is much more at play in the Hindu Kush. From the point of view of the West, nothing less than the future of NATO will be decided there.

Three Christian peace activists were arrested at AWE Aldermaston after opening the base for disarmament. The three, Fr. Martin Newell (43), Passionist priest from the London Catholic Worker, Susan Clarkson (63) of the Oxford Catholic Worker, and Chris Cole (47) also from Oxford , cut a doorway into the outer fence of nuclear base. They group then attached a sign saying ‘Open for Disarmament: All Welcome’.

This map shows most of NATO's headquarters in Europe. You can click on a symbol to find out more. Clicking again will make the description disappear.

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