Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases

Associated Press
Aug 12, 2009

China’s Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi called Wednesday for international diplomacy to avert an “arms race in outer space.”

Space should be reserved for peaceful purposes, Yang told the 65-nation Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.

“Outer space is now facing the looming danger of weaponization,” he said. “Credible and effective multilateral measures must be taken to forestall the weaponization and arms race in outer space.”

China and Russia have been vocal advocates of a global treaty against space-based weapons and argue for this to be included in future Conference of Disarmament negotiations.

The United States has dismissed the criticism as designed to block its plans for a missile interceptor system — while leaving untouched Chinese and Russian ground-based missiles that can fire into space. …

www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gqYd7ilaVIa0UGe7wE5BsHn5CzrwD9A1A1N01

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Seattle Post Intelligencer

Boeing, industry teammates and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency have completed construction of a second interceptor test silo for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California …

Because a silo needs to be refurbished after its hot-burning interceptor is fired, having two underground test silos will allow one to support testing while the other is being refurbished, Boeing said. It said the new silo can be configured for testing or tactical operations. Vandenberg’s first test silo has been used in tests since 2006.

The Huntsville, Ala.-based Ground-based Midcourse Defense program has deployed more than 20 operational interceptors at Vandenberg and Fort Greely, Alaska, to defend against long-range ballistic missile threats.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/aerospace/archives/176792.asp?from=blog_last3

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VOA News
By Alan Boswell
August 21, 2009

The top general from the U.S. military’s Africa Command, known as AFRICOM, said on Friday that the rise of radical Islamist militant group al-Shabab in Somalia makes East Africa a central focus of the U.S. military on the continent.

General William Ward has pledged continued support to Somalia’s transitional federal government and the African Union forces operating there. He made his remarks during a visit to Nairobi, Kenya, which is a key U.S. ally in region.

The general said that al-Shabab’s alleged link to international terrorist group al-Qaida means that the region is a priority for AFRICOM on the continent. The commander thanked Kenya for its ongoing partnership with U.S. anti-terrorism efforts. …

When asked about U.S. warnings to Eritrea against its alleged support of al-Shabab, the U.S. general condemned any outside support for the Somali rebels.

“Any time a nation or a state is purposely doing things that incite, contribute to instability, insecurity – that is something that none of us would agree with. And we would hope that any legitimate government, any legitimate nation would in fact be doing otherwise,” he said. …

www.voanews.com/english/2009-08-21-voa46.cfm

The American base at Molesworth (Cambridgeshire) is crucially linked to AFRICOM.

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