Saturday 10 November 2007

On Sain Tathan - from the Western Mail

One of my commenters has suggested an "Academy for Peace" in place of a Military Academy". A good idea, in my opinion, and more in keeping with the spirit of Cymru Fydd.

Weapons firm’s role in St Athan academy condemned

Nov 9 2007 by Martin Shipton, Western Mail

CAMPAIGNERS have condemned the Assembly Government for backing a huge military training project, despite the involvement of a weapons company previously linked to cluster bombs.The St Athan Defence Academy is due to create 5,000 jobs in the Vale of Glamorgan by 2013.
But an anti-military group called the Cluster Munition Coalition says that one of the major companies involved in the academy, Raytheon, has been involved in manufacturing devices that carry cluster munitions. Raytheon, a leading American arms firm, insists it no longer produces weapons capable of carrying cluster bombs. But campaigners say they remain concerned. Anne Greagsby, co-ordinator of the campaign to stop the St Athan academy from being built, said, “In 2005 a European Parliament resolution was introduced to ban investments in companies, such as Raytheon, that have produced cluster munitions. In response to this, Norway and Belgium have already endorsed this call. Liverpool City Council has also recently adopted a similar position. “Yet the Welsh government has ignored all of these concerns, and instead launched a high profile development project with Raytheon.“Raytheon is a central member of the Metrix Consortium that was awarded the St Athan Defence Training Academy contract in January 2007. The St Athan Defence Academy has been supported by all of the main political parties in Wales and sold to the public on the basis of alleged benefits to the economy. “The involvement in the project of the world’s largest arms companies has so far not received any attention.” Ms Greagsby added, “Given the evident public concern over cluster bombs and the arms trade more generally, I am sure that most people would be shocked to hear that the Assembly has laid a welcome mat for such companies, especially after other governments have turned their backs on them.”
In 2005, the Advisory Council on Ethics for the Norwegian Government Pension Fund excluded Raytheon from the fund’s investment portfolio, along with other manufacturers associated with cluster munitions. In 2007, Belgium passed a law banning all investments in any companies still producing cluster munitions. Raytheon is still producing the AGM154 Joint Standoff Weapon, which according to its website,“is a family of low-cost, highly lethal weapons that can engage a wide spectrum of targets – from soft targets to hardened point targets – over a range of threat environments by using highly integrated Global Positioning System and Inertial Measurement System guidance.” Ms Greagsby said, “It has been reported that a Raytheon device hit the Shu’ale market in Baghdad in 2003, killing at least 62 civilians, and that a Raytheon device hit Qana in Lebanon in 2006, killing at least 28 civilians, including 16 children.” Veteran former Labour MP Tony Benn has signed a petition opposing plans to build the £14bn defence training academy at RAF St Athan. The project has also been criticised by CND Cymru.
A spokesman for Raytheon said, “Raytheon does not manufacture cluster bombs or any associated delivery vehicles. Any assertion to the contrary is based on dated information that is no longer valid or correct. “To clarify, Raytheon has never manufactured cluster bombs, but in the past we have been associated with their manufacture because of our contract to produce a missile that can carry different types of munition payloads, determined by the customer. One configuration allowed it to carry cluster bomb payloads, which were not produced by Raytheon. “But in any case, Raytheon has completed its contracted production run for this particular missile, and we have no plans to resume production. Furthermore, Raytheon has no other products in development that are designed to dispense cluster submunitions.”First Minister Rhodri Morgan said, “The development at St Athan is vital if our armed forces are to have the best possible training to equip them to deal with any threat to the safety and security of this country and its people. “The training activities at St Athan are related to engineering and IT skills, which are also useful in civilian life as well. “Under the Metrix consortium’s proposals, the army, navy and air force will get better training to protect the UK from enemies, both now and in the future. “Raytheon is one of the partners in the consortium. They have made it clear to the Welsh Assembly Government that they do not manufacture cluster bombs or any missiles capable of delivering the weapons, and they have no plans to do so in future Any claim to the contrary is wrong and based on old information. “The UK government is committed to banning the production, stockpiling and use of cluster bombs, and has signed a joint declaration with 45 other countries to achieve this aim.”

When will mankind come to its senses and see that war is destructive and obscene?
Wales should declare a state of neutrality and outlaw all forms of warfare as detrimental to the human race.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

So what would you have done about Hitler Alan?

womensvoice said...

Twon more bloggers have excellant articles on St Athans: 1. Raytheon admit cluster bomb connection
2. St Athan, Raytheon and the Cluster Bomb
articles which you can read on press coverage on our website
http://www.cynefinywerin see also our blog
www.metrixconsortium.blogspot.com
email for more information or if you want to get involved. Nest meeting at the temple of peace 18th Nov 2007 2pm
no2militaryacademy@inbox.com

Unknown said...

Anon
Had Wales been independent Hitler would not have bothered us - remember Ireland at that time?

landsker said...

A little "googling" soon shows that raytheon do indeed manufacture cluster bombs.
Also nuclear capable cruise missiles.
Also "Ray guns", microwave technology that cripples all in its` path.
Their main client is the United States military, who seemingly have no scruples about where and when they use these munitions.


Hitler was also a major client of the same american arms trade, in fact ITT owned a 30% share in Focke-Wolfe, and Standard oil was busy bringing fuel technology to the Luftwaffe.
Henry Ford was proud to supply the Germans with trucks from his French plants.
IBM supplied the Nazis with early punch card filing systems, to register the adresses and identities of european jewry, in short, Wall street was right behind the march of European Fascism.
American business saw the war in Europe as a means to gaining control over the resources and trade in Europe and Russia.

There is an excellent book, (available on line, by one Anthony C. Sutton... Wall street and the rise of Hitler.

The whole idea of waging war to bring peace is surely no longer plausible, or indeed is it defensible to construct the means of war.
How about an academy for peace? Somewhere for planners and scientists to work on renewable energy projects, and sustainable development, to create a constructive society rather than a destructive one.

Anonymous said...

landsker - War certainly brought peace to Germany and Japan

Alan - you're daft - Hitler didn't bother Ireland because he never got past Britain. If he had have invaded Britain then perhaps he would have allowed a puppet regieme to exist in Ireland - as long as they handed over a few Jews of course.

landsker said...

A nony mouse.
"War certainly brought peace to Germany and Japan".

And great profits to Wall street, who had encouraged, nay begged, for war.
Still, there you go, what is the death of a few million compared to the riches of the arms trade.

Raytheon are proven liars and the cluster bomb is an abomination.