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Are Turkey, Germany, Belgium, The
Netherlands and Italy Nuclear Powers?
by
Michel Chossudovsky -
Global Research,
February 12, 2010
According to a recent
report, former NATO Secretary-General George Robertson confirmed that
Turkey possesses 40-90 "Made in America" nuclear weapons at the Incirlik
military base.(en.trend.az/)
Does this mean that Turkey is a nuclear power?
"Far from making Europe safer, and far from producing a less nuclear
dependent Europe, [the policy] may well end up bringing more nuclear
weapons into the European continent, and frustrating some of the
attempts that are being made to get multilateral nuclear disarmament,"
(Former NATO Secretary-General George Robertson quoted in
Global Security, February 10, 2010)
"'Is Italy capable of delivering a thermonuclear strike?...
Could the Belgians and the Dutch drop hydrogen bombs on enemy
targets?...
Germany's air force couldn't possibly be training to deliver bombs
13 times more powerful than the one that destroyed Hiroshima, could
it?...
Nuclear bombs are stored on air-force bases in Italy, Belgium,
Germany and the Netherlands — and planes from each of those countries
are capable of delivering them." ("What to Do About Europe's Secret
Nukes." Time Magazine, December 2, 2009)
The "Official" Nuclear Weapons
States
Five countries, the US, UK, France, China
and Russia are considered to be "nuclear weapons states" (NWS), "an
internationally recognized status conferred by the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)". Three other "Non NPT countries" (i.e.
non-signatory states of the NPT) including India, Pakistan and North
Korea, have recognized possessing nuclear weapons.
Israel: "Undeclared Nuclear
State"
Israel is identified as an "undeclared nuclear state". It produces and
deploys nuclear warheads directed against military and civilian targets
in the Middle East including Tehran.
Iran
There has been much hype, supported by scanty evidence, that Iran might
at some future date become a nuclear weapons state. And, therefore, a
pre-emptive defensive nuclear attack on Iran to annihilate its
non-existent nuclear weapons program should be seriously contemplated
"to make the World a safer place". The mainstream media abounds with
makeshift opinion on the Iran nuclear threat.
But what about the five European
"undeclared nuclear states" including Belgium, Germany, Turkey, the
Netherlands and Italy. Do they constitute a threat?
Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands, Italy and Turkey: "Undeclared
Nuclear Weapons States"
While Iran's nuclear weapons capabilities are unconfirmed, the nuclear
weapons capabilities of these five countries including delivery
procedures are formally acknowledged.
The US has supplied some 480 B61 thermonuclear bombs to five non-nuclear
NATO countries including Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and
Turkey. Casually disregarded by the Vienna based UN Nuclear Watchdog (IAEA),
the US has actively contributed to the proliferation of nuclear weapons
in Western Europe.
As part of this European stockpiling, Turkey, which is a partner of the
US-led coalition against Iran along with Israel, possesses some 90
thermonuclear B61 bunker buster bombs at the Incirlik nuclear air base.
(National
Resources Defense Council, Nuclear Weapons in Europe , February
2005)
By the recognised definition, these
five countries are "undeclared nuclear weapons states".
The stockpiling and deployment of tactical B61 in these five
"non-nuclear states" are intended for targets in the Middle East.
Moreover, in accordance with "NATO strike plans", these thermonuclear
B61 bunker buster bombs (stockpiled by the "non-nuclear States") could
be launched "against targets in Russia or countries in the Middle East
such as Syria and Iran" ( quoted in
National Resources Defense Council, Nuclear Weapons in Europe ,
February 2005)
Does this mean that Iran or Russia, which are potential targets of a
nuclear attack originating from one or other of these five so-called
non-nuclear states should contemplate defensive preemptive nuclear
attacks against Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Turkey? The
answer is no, by any stretch of the imagination.
While these "undeclared nuclear states" casually accuse Tehran of
developing nuclear weapons, without documentary evidence, they
themselves have capabilities of delivering nuclear warheads, which are
targeted at Iran. To say that this is a clear case of "double
standards" by the IAEA and the "international community" is a
understatement.
Germany: Nuclear Weapons
Producer
Among the five "undeclared nuclear
states", "Germany remains the most heavily nuclearized country with
three nuclear bases (two of which are fully operational) and may store
as many as 150 [B61 bunker buster ] bombs" (Ibid). In accordance with
"NATO strike plans" (mentioned above) these tactical nuclear weapons are
also targeted at the Middle East.
While Germany is not categorized
officially as a nuclear power, it produces nuclear warheads for the
French Navy. It stockpiles nuclear warheads (made in America) and it has
the capabilities of delivering nuclear weapons. Moreover,
The European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company - EADS , a
Franco-German-Spanish joint venture, controlled by Deutsche Aerospace
and the powerful Daimler Group is Europe's second largest military
producer, supplying .France's M51 nuclear missile.
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The stockpiled weapons are
B61 thermonuclear bombs. All the weapons
are gravity bombs of the
B61-3, -4, a
nd -10 types.2 . Those
estimates were
based on private and
public statements
by a number of government
sources
and assumptions about the
weapon
storage capacity at each
base
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