Menwith Hill
Independence from America Day
text: martin deane | photography: sam duffy, andy welford, abbie holdworth
Friday July 4, 2003
"Liberation? My arse!"
Click on images to enlarge
These were the words on a sticker passed out by a well and traditionally dressed Muslim gentleman at Friday's party. The occasion was the 4th of July, the party was Independence Day FROM America, the venue the wilds of the North York Moors, 8 miles west of Harrogate on the A59, a place called Menwith Hill.
The party had been organised by CAAB, the Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases, and leading lights Lindis Percy and Anni Rainbow were both well in evidence, and decked out in elbow length gloves. The day was spectacular not least because of the dress code. Most people there were either in jackets and bow ties or in frocks and ballroom dresses. Mark Thomas was in a fetching floral print number that my aunt might have worn in her reckless youth!
A variety of speakers kicked off the proceedings hosted by Mark Thomas. Mark Hill from the Green Party spoke first, Rebecca from the Board of Atomic Scientists herself a veteran campaigner from Greenham Common - now largely returned to common land we were told. A woman from the Scottish Socialists Party spoke and invited us all to Faslane to demo against the Tridents there. Carol Naughton, CND, was there looking rather resplendent as a Fairy Queen. Penny from Crass spoke some of his writings well and loud. There was a march round the base. Well, actually, about a quarter way round then back again - the 4 horseman (protecting the apocalypse!) from the West Yorkshire Constabulary had to turn round and one fell off! The march was good-natured with 2 arrests of people who insisted on walking on paths which "hofficer"" would prefer them not to.
We returned, basking in the sunshine, to the music lorry and were greeted by the sounds of an Imam calling the people to prayer - a fitting reminder of one culture and world religion being downtrodden by the modern American one.
Lindis calls the base NSA Menwith Hill, rather than "RAF", as it is run by and for America. It is a National Security Agency base rather than a Royal Air Force one; there are no planes there. It gained distinction for its running of the Gulf War in 1991 and will have played a key part in the Iraq War. It has the dubious merit of being able to handle 200 MILLION intercepts PER HOUR. Of EVERYTHING - phone calls, texts, faxes, emails, data transfer, you name it, Menwith Hill can snoop on it. It has 20 plus radomes - the big golf balls hiding satellite dishes so you can't see what satellite they're pointed at. All the intelligence gathering from satellites all around the world goes through here before being relayed to the Pentagon, Washington and Langley (CIA). For any serious contender to American strength (none - unless you count the Nicaraguan threat to invade Texas in the 1980s..., or a mass invasion by hijacked aircraft by large numbers of Western trained Saudi Arabians) then this makes the people living in nearby towns and Harrogate itself a premier league target. Menwith Hill is the biggest spy base in the world.
CAAB wants full accountability for American bases and what they get up to here. Even their staff on the base are not subject to British Law. I’m sure many of us would prefer them just to go home and take their bats with them. America remains 6% of the world population and consumes over 60% of the WORLD’S produce. You need incredible weaponry to maintain this level of greed. And they do.
There was more news of a weapon used in the battle for Baghdad Airport. Clues point to it being a battlefield high intensity microwave bomb. Iraqi dead were burned to a crisp and disintegrated to the touch. However their uniforms were unharmed. It was good to be at Menwith.
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Page uploaded: 29 November 2003
