NATO and the Nuclear Umbrella – A View

“One of the ironies in the whole debate about nuclear weapons in the UK is that Scotland, who have them, don’t want them, and England who don’t have them, want Scotland, who don’t want them, to keep them”

George Robertson and the Unionists Scaremongering

Robertson, his Unionist politician colleagues and “better together” campaigners spread their “we’re all doomed” lies and warned that should an independent Scotland instruct an early removal of Trident from the Clyde it would be denied NATO membership.

Absolute piffle!! and they knew it! In 2010, Robertson criticized a German government instruction to remove US long-range nuclear weapons from German territory as damaging not only to Germany but to the NATO alliance as a whole. He said that the proposal was driven more by populist sentiment than any long-term strategic goal. But the weapons were removed and Germany remained its membership of NATO

Tactical Nuclear weapons in Europe

U.S. and Russia bilateral negotiations to reduce long-range weapons did not cover weapons in Europe and it has around 150 tactical nuclear gravity bombs stationed in Belgium, Germany, Holland, Italy, and Turkey.

There is a NATO agreement in place allowing the bombs to be transferred to the control and use by a NATO nation in time of conflict.

In 2001 the Greek air force ordered a new fighter jet and chose a model that could not carry nuclear gravity bombs which forced the U.S. to withdraw its weapons. Greece is still a member of NATO.

The U.S. still stores gravity bombs in Turkey, but the Turkish air force is no longer involved. Turkey is still a member of NATO.

Canada gave up its support of nuclear weapons many years ago. Canada is still a member of NATO.

UK aircraft cannot carry tactical nuclear bombs

The UK decided upon replacing its Tornado, tactical nuclear bomb carrying fleet before the end of 2020. The chosen successor aircraft, the Eurofighter (Typhoon) a joint European venture, is in service in, the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, and has been sold worldwide in ever-increasing numbers. It is not capable of carrying tactical nuclear bombs. And not one country has been threatened with expulsion from NATO.

A spokesperson for the Centre for Strategic and International Studies commented: “NATO’s hidden nuclear arsenal is unpopular, potentially unsafe and a hindrance to global nonproliferation efforts and it’s time for it to be removed”.