Fairford Jan 26th - join the protest
Gloucestershire Weapons Inspectors | 25.01.2003 09:27
In the early hours of the war on Iraq B-2 Stealth bombers will fly from USAF Fairford to attack targets in and around Baghdad.
On Sunday 26th January - the Gloucestershire Weapons Inspectors will lead a mass weapons inspection at Fairford - the biggest bomber base in Europe.
Fairford is 10 miles north of Swindon.
http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?X=410000&Y=200000&scale=200000
For full details see http://www.gwi.org.uk
12.00 noon - assemble Fairford village - Mill Lane.
Carnival procession to USAF Fairford main gate - with 100s of white suited weapons inspectors, Rinky-Dink cycle powered sound system, samba band and giant B-2 Stealth bomber model.
1.00pm - theatrical performance requests permission to inspect the base. Everyone join in!
1.30 - 3.30pm - turn Fairford fences into a giant billboard for peace. BRING BANNERS and MESSAGES to leave on the fences. Dance party at the main gate with Rinky-Dink.
An opportunity to spread out around the fences and inspect the base, meet other groups and plan further action.
3.30pm return to Fairford.
Notes on the B-2 and it's role in the attack on Iraq - from USA Today:
By placing some of the Air Force's 20 B-2s at bases in England (Fairford) and on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, the Air Force will multiply the number of smart bombs it can rain on Iraqi targets.
A single B-2 can strike 16 separate sites with 2,000-pound satellite-guided bombs and unleash as much destruction as a squadron of 24 attack jets during the Gulf War.
The Air Force recently tested a 500-pound smart bomb that — if ready in time for Iraq — would allow each B-2 to strike 80 different targets per mission.
"The B-2 has enormous value," says John Warden, a retired Air Force colonel who was one of the architects of the Gulf War bombing campaign.
"If we can put 10 B-2s in the air at once, that's 160 targets you can destroy. If you choose the targets correctly, you could shut down Iraq in a few days."
GWI comment - ...of course target selection is all important - just how many air raid shelters, hospitals and power stations will become precision collateral damage?
The US record in recent wars suggests it'll be more than they like to admit.
The B-2 is the delivery system of choice for bunker busting mini-nukes like the B61-11. This makes the B-2 officially a weapon of mass destruction.
On Sunday 26th January - the Gloucestershire Weapons Inspectors will lead a mass weapons inspection at Fairford - the biggest bomber base in Europe.
Fairford is 10 miles north of Swindon.
http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?X=410000&Y=200000&scale=200000 For full details see
http://www.gwi.org.uk 12.00 noon - assemble Fairford village - Mill Lane.
Carnival procession to USAF Fairford main gate - with 100s of white suited weapons inspectors, Rinky-Dink cycle powered sound system, samba band and giant B-2 Stealth bomber model.
1.00pm - theatrical performance requests permission to inspect the base. Everyone join in!
1.30 - 3.30pm - turn Fairford fences into a giant billboard for peace. BRING BANNERS and MESSAGES to leave on the fences. Dance party at the main gate with Rinky-Dink.
An opportunity to spread out around the fences and inspect the base, meet other groups and plan further action.
3.30pm return to Fairford.
Notes on the B-2 and it's role in the attack on Iraq - from USA Today:
By placing some of the Air Force's 20 B-2s at bases in England (Fairford) and on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, the Air Force will multiply the number of smart bombs it can rain on Iraqi targets.
A single B-2 can strike 16 separate sites with 2,000-pound satellite-guided bombs and unleash as much destruction as a squadron of 24 attack jets during the Gulf War.
The Air Force recently tested a 500-pound smart bomb that — if ready in time for Iraq — would allow each B-2 to strike 80 different targets per mission.
"The B-2 has enormous value," says John Warden, a retired Air Force colonel who was one of the architects of the Gulf War bombing campaign.
"If we can put 10 B-2s in the air at once, that's 160 targets you can destroy. If you choose the targets correctly, you could shut down Iraq in a few days."
GWI comment - ...of course target selection is all important - just how many air raid shelters, hospitals and power stations will become precision collateral damage?
The US record in recent wars suggests it'll be more than they like to admit.
The B-2 is the delivery system of choice for bunker busting mini-nukes like the B61-11. This makes the B-2 officially a weapon of mass destruction.
Gloucestershire Weapons Inspectors
e-mail:
info@gwi.org.uk