Issue No. 9 - Mar 1999
Produced by: Anni and Lindis
Indigo, 8 Park Row, Otley, West Yorkshire, LS21 IHQ, UK
Tel No. 01943 466405 or 01482 702033
Fax No. 01482 702033
E-mail: caab.lindis_anni@virgin.net
Dear Friends,
The 'insidious' US/UK war against Iraq continues to have a devastating effect on the men, women and children of Iraq…and Kosovo holds its breath as we write.
American bases in this country play a crucial role in the worrying conflicts around the world, so putting everyone's security at risk.
The 'special relationship' has meant that Britain with unseemly haste falls in behind the Americans with no democratic debate.
This newsletter reflects the way the Americans have a firm foothold in this country; they are allowed to do what they like - unchecked.
Night after night we are subjected to the terrible sufferings of peoples around the world whose accident of birth puts them in the path of wars and weaponry.
Alternatives to violence and the methods of settling conflicts has to be pursued in the face of such terrifying prospects as deadly wars on the land, on the seas and now in space.
Planning Applications
(See CAAB 7 and the continuing story - CAAB 11).
It would seem that the safety of the children attending the American school at Menwith; the reported cases of attempted child abduction; the amount of criminal damage committed on base by some women protesters, and the security of NATO, the US and Britain (all reasons sited by Mr Sumner) have somehow lost their urgency since this meeting!
... Work on the 6-lane athletics track, lighting and equipment storage building has not progressed much since December. Mounds of earth and a temporary contractor's fence has gone up on the base side of the public footpath which runs diagonally across the sportsfield. It gives a foretaste of how visually intrusive and ugly the proposed security fence will be and what a mockery it will make of the surrounding Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
... There have been no new Planning Applications since the last newsletter.
Continuing Byelaws Saga
We have not yet been informed as to whether the CPS are to continue bringing the byelaw cases which were adjourned sine die until the appeal in the High Court.
Permanent Injunction
This time the Secretary of State for Defence and the MOD have brought 114 breaches with evidence of 14 videos which all involved Lindis taping 'INVALID' signs across the invalid bye-laws notices which the MDP refused to remove from public display during the period leading up to their Appeal against Judge Crabtree's ruling.
More Court News
This happened on the night that the US and British governments sent aircraft to bomb Iraq again (16 December 1998). Because of sub judice rules we will let you know more about this in the next newsletter. Once again Britain came in behind the Americans without a debate in Parliament or full UN sanction.
Nominal RAF Presence
[Just to say that a few years ago a Wing Commander RAFLO at another American base in the South of England said that he was 'a parrot on the shoulder of the Americans'.]
United States Marine Corps
Extensive experience with communications systems, including both voice and data systems, both satellite and RF systems (HF,VHF,UHF), and landline systems. Applied knowledge and electromagnetic theory through field maintenance of communications equipment, design of jury-rigged antennas in the field, establishing communications in hostile RF environments, and the practice of electronic- counter and counter-counter -measures (ECM & ECCM).
Specific Assignments
Operated highly advanced computer systems controlling electronic warfare and signals intelligence equipment. Trained incoming personnel on computer and electronic systems and electronic warfare equipment. Help develop and implement new strategies and procedures for successful exploitation of new targets. Recommended by NSA for a Joint Service Commendation Medal for personal performance'.
[Just a glimpse at the activities of one American at NSA MHS]
NSA Declassified Document
Date: 14 February 1997
(U)-INFORMATION MEMORANDUM
1. Under Public Law 86-36 NSA is empowered to protect "the fact of NSA presence at Menwith Hill Station (MHS)" with the Caveat "FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY." After consultation with GCHQ and SUSLO London, we have mutually determined that there is not sufficient cause or justification of continue to protect this fact. Therefore, effective immediately, "the fact of NSA presence at MHS" will be treated as unclassified information and will no longer require protection with the FOUO caveat. The fact of an [approx four words deleted] will continue to be protected at the CONFIDENTIAL level. Procedures and guidance for the disclosure of unclassified NSA/CSS information are set forth in NSA/CSS Regulation No 10-11, Release of Unclassified NSA/CSS Information.
2. (FOUO) If you have additional questions, my point of contact is Ms. [name deleted], N5P6, on 963-4582 or [deleted] @n.nsa.
JAMES P. CAVANAUGH
[The presence of the National Security Agency at Menwith Hill was only officially acknowledged in June 1994 in a letter correcting an answer to a Parliamentary question to Max Madden (previously MP Bradford West) from the then Minister of State for the Armed Forces Jeremy Hanley MP. He stated:
' ... .Menwith Hill Station operates as a field element of the National Security Agency [of America] but the Agency does not release into the public record any details about specific personnel assignments ....'
On 12 July 1995 Nicholas Soames the then Minister of State for the Armed Forces confirmed that:
' ... in 1996, with the agreement of Her Majesty's Government Menwith Hill Station became a field element of the National Security Agency.']
Menwith on TV again
Quaker Meeting for Worship:
This will be the 36th Meeting and Ffriends are welcome to join in an hour of Quaker Worship followed by hot drinks, nibbles and an update on the base.
Bring something to sit on and wear warm, waterproof clothing as the weather can be rather a challenge at times!
Contact Anni or Lindis for more details.
On one of our research visits just before Christmas we discovered that a 10 foot high electrified security fence had recently gone up around the base. Notices warning the public of the electrification and voltage were positioned near the top of the fence well out of range of normal vision. This was brought to the attention of the MDP.
The MOD say the fence became necessary 'when criminal damage had to be repaired at public expense in 1996 after peace campaigners broke into the base' (Whitby Gazette 8.1.99)
The electric fence apparently conforms to all national and international safety standards and a spokesman for the base says that ' ... The whole idea of the fence is that it gives a powerful pulse to deter an individual and this particular type of fence is used in civilian circles - it is not a military fence.'
Rachel Julian, co-ordinator for Yorkshire CND, wrote to the base asking specific questions about the safety aspect of the new fence and RAF Squadron Leader P.J. Maguire replied:
'…the fence is commercially available and I can confirm that its voltage rating has not been changed from that originally set by the manufacturer. The fence is apprx 10 ft high and is positioned on MOD property inside the existing fence; accordingly, there is no danger to the public. Furthermore, highly visible safety signs are placed on the fence at regular intervals to warn of its presence. Formal planning permission was received and the fence was erected between October and December 1998.'
A Press Release from the Station Commander, Wing Commander C.N. Romney states that 'extensive on-site tests have confirmed that the new fencing has no effect on the operation of the space-tracking radar at the base.'
Due to contractual and commercial confidentiality the cost of the fence has not been revealed. We have asked Norman Baker MP to ask questions about this.
Noise Pollution
Surety Inspection
SMSgt. Bo Singh (Base Personnel Reliability Program Monitor) at USAF Lakenheath says: 'the personnel reliability program is serious business. Its purpose is to ensure each individual performing duties involving special weapons meets the highest possible standards of reliability.'
'It is by far the most critical personnel program we have - and we, the Liberty Wing, are responsible for the largest PRP in US Air Forces in Europe.'
Digging in
Meanwhile at Beck Row construction has started on a further 100- home-estate after a ground-breaking ceremony. The two bases have approximately 5,400 families to house and have a current deficit of 1,900 housing units. Further USAF housing estates are planned for Thetford and Ely. [See CAAB No. 6]
Complaints Review Board (CRB) Saga
The American CRB was the culmination of attempts to bring the Americans to account for their unlawful actions against peaceful protesters. The legal route, both criminal and civil has been painstakingly pursued through all levels of the English legal system. The final hope lies in Europe when 'the certificate' which was first entered in the Magistrates' Court will be tested.
(See also Issue 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8).
Security Fence
The section of fence from the housing area to the officer's club is being funded by the MOD at a cost of £50,000 while the US funded section will be started as soon as the money is forthcoming.
Interesting to see that the Queen's highway side is included as this was where a serious assault took place on Lindis (with Anni) by two American security police on a public road and which is the subject of the case going to the European Court of Human Rights.
(See also Issue 8)
Ouside the fence:
Meanwhile the inside of the base which is occupied and controlled by the Americans and is crucially tied into Menwith Hill continues to be monitored.
Prohibited
Development
Previously occupied and controlled by the Americans and now the National Intelligence Centre you have a chance to visit the recently restored Chicksands Priory. As from Easter Sunday 1999 it will be open to the public on the 1st and 3rd Sundays between April - October. It has been wonderfully restored at the cost of £4 million after being left in a bad state when the Americans departed in 1995.
For security reasons this is BY APPOINTMENT ONLY.
Contact Roger Ward - Telephone No: 01234-824195 or e-mail address
Outcome of B-52 Bomber protest:
There were statements by two members of the B-52 crew who were witnesses when Lindis quietly talked very openly and publicly to them under the wings of the B-52s.
The case was subsequently discontinued by the CPS as apparently 'there was insufficient evidence' . What a pity ... a lost opportunity to continue the gentle conversation with the American crew in the witness box!
A selection of interesting Parliamentary Questions and Answers to share with you:
Q: Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the total cost of the Space Based Infra Red System being installed at Menwith Hill Station and how much of this cost will be borne by the Exchequer?
A: Dr. Reid: This programme is funded by the United States Government. The UK contribution is limited to some administrative costs relating to professional fees and management of the works programme to which some £77,000 has been allocated to date [2..3.98]
Q: Lord Kennet: How many British defence firms are participating in United States Anti-Ballistic Missile; Ballistic Missile Defence and related programmes; and how many jobs depend on it?
A: Lord Gilbert: The Memorandum of Understanding under which UK firms are able to participate in the US Ballistic Missile Defence programmes provides for both Government to Government agreements, called Letters of Offer and Acceptance, and for contracts to be established between the US and UK firms and universities. No records are maintained by Her Majesty's Government as to the number of British defence firms involved and thus the number of jobs that might depend on any such involvement are unknown. [8.2.99]
Q: Lord Selkirk of Douglas: Whether they have asked the United States Government for financial or physical assistance with the removal of debris from the bottom of Holy Loch left as a result of United States naval activities?
A: Lord Gilbert: We have not tried to recover from the US authorities the costs arising from our current Holy Loch clearance operations and we have no plans to do so. Under NATO procedures, and agreements governing the US presence at Holy Loch, responsibility for the site's remediation rests with the UK. [11.1..99]
Q: Lord Kennet: What is the anticipated cost of removing debris related to United States naval activities in Holy Loch; and whether they will now secure the application within NATO and within all bilateral United States/United Kingdom agreements, of the Polluter Pays Principle?
A:. Lord Gilbert: The total cost of the UK clearance activity for Holy Loch is currently projected to be in the order of £8 million to £10 million.
There is currently no plan to seek to renegotiate individual bilateral agreements to embed the Polluter Pays principle, since there is no perceived net benefit to the UK for such a strategy. [26.1.99]
[Surely a 'net benefit would be to save £8 million to £10 million? The 'projected' cost has already increased from an earlier estimate of £5 million!]
'Never forget we are warriors of the air, not business men in blue. Our lives, our friend's lives, and our nation's dreams ride on our wings. We do not have a choice; we must all think like warriors…'
(Col. Carl Van Pelt - 48th Fighter Wing Commander - USAF Lakenheath)
Kofi Annan UN Secretary General urges ban on nuclear arms in space (at a 61-nation Conference on Disarmament in Geneva recently):
Slippery slope:
A deployment decision is not due until next year, but the Pentagon already is surveying possible sites in Alaska and Dakota, and President Clinton has informed Russian President Boris Yeltsin that they might decide to develop a system that conflicts with the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty 1972. If that decision is made, the US would seek to amend the ABM Treaty to permit deployment of their system, while ensuring that it would not be able to thwart a major Russian attack.
While William Cohen affirmed that 'the ABM treaty is in our overall interests', he and other US officials note that should such negotiations fail they retain the right to withdraw from the Treaty - with six months notice - if their 'supreme interests' are jeopardised.
(From the Washington Post 16 February 1999 by Joseph R. Biden Jr. Delaware Senator and Senior Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee).
We appreciate so much all the continued support that we receive.
We always need funds to keep the campaign going as we depend on this financial support.
Thank you too for all the gifts of 1st and 2nd class postage stamps - we use a great deal of them and they are always gratefully received.
Despite Squadron Leader Ted Sumner addressing the August 1998 public meeting of Harrogate Borough Council's Area 1 Planning Committee to speak of the urgent necessity for a weld mesh security fence topped with rolls of US military specification razor wire and 27 CCTV cameras, this fence has yet to be put up.
The MOD's appeal in the High Court, London, on 15 January 1999, successfully overturned Judge Crabtree's ruling which declared the MHS byelaws to be invalid [5 September 1997]. The bye-laws which had been declared invalid between these two dates are now apparently valid according to Judges Buxton and Collins. We have not yet heard whether Anne Lee and Helen John (from the Women's Camp) will appeal this decision in the House of Lords. It was an appeal by them against MHS bye-laws convictions that brought about Judge Crabtree's ruling.
Lindis has been summonsed to the High Court, London, on 12 March to say why she should not be sent to HMP Holloway for at least six months for breach of her permanent MHS injunction and breach of last April's six month suspended sentence for earlier breaches of the same injunction.
At the time of writing this a case of alleged criminal damage to the Stars and Stripes and the Union Jack flags at Menwith will have been heard (23 February 1999) against Lindis at Harrogate Magistrates' Court. Apparently the Stars and Stripes flag is the property of the US Navy and the Union Jack belongs to the United States Government ... hmmmmmmmm ... interesting!
Squadron Leader Ted Sumner has left MHS after three years. He has been replaced by Squadron Leader Humphrey Vincent as the UK RAF Liason Officer.
An interesting extract from the CV of:
Michael L. Maguire Jnr.
(March 1987 - March 1993):
Military Occupational Specialty (MOS):
Electronic Warfare Specialist/Cryptologic-Linguist (Hebrew)
... May 1992 - November 1992:
Individually attached to National Security Agency (NSA),
Menwith Hill Station, Great Britain
(From the website of Federation of American Scientists (FAS))
Serial: N5P-005-97
REPLY TO ATTN OF:N5P
SUBJECT: Discontinuing Protection of NSA Presence at Menwith Hill Station
TO: DISTRIBUTION
Chief, Office of Policy
One of the Channel 4 TV programmes covered by the 'Mark Thomas Comedy Product' series in February concentrated on Menwith [contributions from CAAB and Privacy International].
Saturday 3 April 1999
The next bi-monthly Meeting for Worship at Menwith will take place at 2pm in its usual position on the grass verge outside the main entrance of Menwith Hill Station, the American National Security Agency Spy Base, near Harrogate, North Yorkshire.
FYLINGDALES
(Near Scarborough, North Yorkshire)
LAKENHEATH
(near Brandon, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk)
We apologise for a printing error in CAAB No 8 on Breckland Middle School and the objection to it by a member of the Association of American Forces in England. The opening date of the school should have read 1963 not 1960.
The US 48th Liberty Wing is due for another surety inspection. We understand that this annual USAFE inspection involving SPECIAL WEAPONS will start on or about 20 March 1999. The US nuclear weapons are stored in underground vaults at USAF Lakenheath.
After a 17 year lull, houses for American personnel and their families working at USAF Lakenheath and Mildenhall are again being built in the local community. The first estate of 11 houses has now been completed at Moulton and was handed over to the USAF Lakenheath housing authority at a recent ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The CRB conclusion to their investigation concerning serious violence, unlawful detention and damage to property by American military police to Anni, Juliet and Lindis over a period of nearly two years in 1994 - 1996 confirmed that the American Visiting Forces in this country can do exactly what they like. There is no legal redress for the British citizen to bring a member of a visiting force to account when a serious crime is committed if a 'certificate' of immunity from prosecution is entered into the court by them. Any complaint made against American personnel to the Ministry of Defence Police is smartly handed over to be 'investigated' by the Americans whether there have been criminal offences committed or not.
MILDENHALL
(near Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk)
The Americans are now installing the new security fence around the unfenced area between the airfield side of the base and the housing/shopping/offices/barracks etc side stretching from the housing area to the Bird in Hand pub.
MOLESWORTH
(near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire)
There is a plan to have a public ceremony to re-dedicate the 'witness for peace' sign and memorial plaque on 9 May 1999 at Peace Corner. A group of people now meet regularly to tend the garden and they have catalogued the many interesting plants that grow there. (From the Molesworth Gardeners).
ALCONBURY
(Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire)
The temporary injunction against Lindis is due to be heard in the High Court on 26 February when the MOD will apply to have it made permanent. This will be the fifth lifetime injunction banning Lindis from parts of the land of her birth.
Plans by Alconbury Development Limited to turn the Alconbury airfield (previously controlled by the USAF) into a massive freight distribution centre failed when planning permission was turned down recently. The application will now go to the full Huntingdon District Council Planning Committee for a decision. The Ministry of Defence and the Americans retain an interest.
CHICKSANDS
(near Bedford, Bedfordshire)
FAIRFORD
(near Cirencester, Gloucester)
Statements from the CPS were received ready for the case against Lindis for alleged aggravated trespass when she climbed over the fence to protest at the arrival of the B-52s in preparation for the bombing of Kosovo on 11 October 1998 (see Issue 8).
PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
SNIPPETS
He stressed the urgency because more than 30 countries already have space programmes, increasing the chance that one of them could station nuclear weapons in space. "One concept which is widely shared is that of maintaining outer space as a weapons-free environment," he said.
William S. Cohen Defense Secretary recently announced that the US projected defense budget up to 2005 would include funds for actual deployment - not just research and development - of a nation wide missile defense system.
MONEY MATTERS
Updated March 1999