March to Stop the St Athan’s Military AcademyUKWatch.net - 19 Apr 2008The Government is spending 14 billion building a huge, privatised UK Military Academy to train the latest recruits to the ‘war on terror’ and foreign militaries and mercenaries, funded by our taxes, the profits will pour into the coffers of companies like Raytheon. It looks set to become Britain’s ‘School of the Americas’ – a centre for counterinsurgency training and future imperialist adventures abroad. A mass-demonstration is planned for this month called by the Stop the St Athan’s Military Academy Campaign & supported by local peace groups, anarchists, socialists, trade unions, UK Stop the War Coalition and CND Cymru and anti-war campaigners from across the length and breadth of Britain! Imagine a world in which the armed forces are trained by arms dealers. And we subsidise their profits. That world will become reality unless we stop the proposed school of death at St Athan. The creation of a military super-academy at St Athan, between Cardiff and Swansea, was announced as a done deal in January 2007. Despite the fact this represented the biggest PFI in history, involving 14 billion of taxpayers’ money, there had been no debate in either Westminster or the Welsh Assembly (Senedd). A promise of 5500 local jobs was trumpeted loudly by an uncritical news media and presented as a great victory for Wales. No wonder the politicians didn’t want any debate. The new super-academy, replacing many smaller centres, means that military training will now be in the hands of shameless profiteers. The winning bidders for the project were the Metrix consortium. This consortium includes Qinetiq, the privatised research and development wing of the MoD. Qinetiq was recently the subject of intense criticism by the National Audit Office. Its privatisation was proposed by MoD managers ? who then saw their shares rise 10,000% on the day of the sale! 33.8% of Qinetiq was also bought by the US-based Carlyle Group, a sinister lash-up of politicians and arms dealers with a vested interest in promoting war. Former members of its board include one George W. Bush. Then there is the US arms manufacturer Raytheon. Raytheon make the missiles which deliver cluster bombs, the horrendous weapons which are estimated to have killed 100,000 people ? 98% of them innocent civilians. The world can also thank Raytheon for the depleted uranium weapons which have led to thousands of horribly deformed babies and large increases in cancers in war zones and beyond. Raytheon, Qinetiq and friends will not just be training UK armed forces at St Athan. They will train any soldiers, sailors and air force personnel that are willing to pay for the privilege. And like all PFIs, the St Athan academy will be subsidised by the taxpayer, and if necessary, bailed out with public money. There has never been a detailed breakdown of the jobs the academy will bring. However, even Metrix admit that many of the military trainers will relocate from elsewhere. Every PFI has secured profits by cutting costs. St Athan will mean less MoD jobs overall, and the poorest pay and conditions for lowskilled workers. In any case, imagine what else could be done with 14 billion! With hospitals and schools closing throughout Wales and the UK, with a desperate need to improve social facilities, create sustainable sources of energy etc, such public money could be invested in socially useful projects rather than the preparation for future wars of occupation like Iraq. If this development goes ahead, 21 st century Wales will be become a militarised, security-obsessed nightmare. If you want to stop the war profiteers in their tracks, support the campaign and raise it in your union, student union, workplace and community. The March to stop the St Athan’s Military Academy will take place on Saturday 26 April. Assemble 1.30 pm, Cathays Park (opp. City Hall & Museum), Cardiff City Centre. Demo at 2pm. To join the mailing list, email no2militaryacademy@inbox.com , or write to:
Stop The St Athan Academy c/o Temple of Peace, Cardiff, CF10 3AP. For more details visit www.cynefinywerin.org.uk/index.php?docid=265
The other evangelicalsElectronic Intifada - 19 Apr 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rLast week in The Guardian’s Comment is Free, Lee Marsden wrote about how Republican US presidential candidate John McCain has managed to pick up the support of Christian Zionist heavyweight John Hagee. While Hagee praises McCain’s position on Israel, McCain himself is presumably happy to receive the endorsement of a man whose Christians United for Israel organization links up with thousands of potential voters. Ben White comments on a different strain of American evangelicals seeking to counter the impact Christian Zionists have on US foreign policy.
