Menwith Hill 4th July Protest
The Campaign for the Accountability of Ameri-can Bases evolved in 1992 out of the long campaign of protest about the American base at Menwith Hill, near Harrogate in North Yorkshire. Local people had been expressing their concerns about the base since US troops first arrived in the early 1950s.
CAAB is a small group of people with many supporters. It is grounded in non-violent ways of working and relies entirely on voluntary contributions. It aims to bring public scrutiny and awareness to the presence, roles and functions of the US Visiting Forces here and world wide.
In the UK these bases are referred to as RAF bases, but in fact they are under the control of the US military and associated agencies.
Menwith Hill is linked both with the US Air Force and with NSA, the US National Security Agency responsible, among other things, for "signals intelligence". It is the largest intelli-gence gathering and surveillance base outside the US. It has a diplomatic, military and economic role – being the hub of the ECHELON system. It can and does tap into any airborne communication – fax, telephone, emails. The base plays a crucial role in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (possible conflict against Iran) and won an award in the first Gulf War (1990) for its role.
All buildings and facilities on the site are owned and paid for by the US. In 1997 CAAB was the first campaign to discover and reveal that Menwith Hill (and later RAF Fylingdales) was to be crucially connected to the US Missile Defence system. In 2007, the Secretary of State for Defence finally announced that permission had been given for the satellite communications facilities at the base to be used as part of the "Star Wars" missile defence system.
Opponents of "Star Wars" argue that it is expensive and unworkable, and will lead to another expensive arms race and raise international tensions, predictions which appear to be coming true.
(Acknowledgements to CAAB web site)
Lancaster District CND joins CAAB every year for their 4th July protest against the US base.