NATO is the US-led military alliance which brought you the Cold War, nuclear weapons bases in Western Europe and attacks on Iraq and Afghanistan. At the conference, NATO’s 26 member states, who between them control over two-thirds of the world’s military expenditure, plan to work out their ten year strategy for global military domination, focusing on nuclear missile defence, ‘energy security’ (ie controlling oil supplies), worldwide military intervention and expanding NATO.

The conference begins with NATO’s 60th birthday celebrations, followed by the talks on 3rd and 4th, with venues switching between the two cities (a distance of about 70km).

The resistance

Groups from the peace, anarchist and radical left movements across Europe are working together to oppose the conference.

Camps for activist convergence will be open in Strasbourg and Baden-Baden from 1st-5th April. Blockades, mass demonstrations, a Reclaim the Streets party and an anti-militarist counter-conference are being planned, including a day of action on militarism and climate change on 2nd April.

CND are running coaches to Strasbourg from London – www.cnduk.org or a Eurolines ticket costs about £80.

More info:
www.gipfelsoli.org
presentation on NATO, and the resistance to it:
 http://www.gipfelsoli.org/static/Media/anti-nato-2009-en-limit.pdf
info and statistics on NATO:  http://mcmilitary.org/infotour