Europe's Five "Undeclared Nuclear Weapons States"
Autor: ovidiov | Publicado: 2010-02-13T07:32:00-08:00



Are Turkey, Germany, Belgium, The  Netherlands and Italy Nuclear Powers?  
By  Michel   Chossudovsky 
  Global  Research, February 12, 2010 
  
According to&nbsp;a recent  report, former NATO Secretary-General George Robertson confirmed that  Turkey possesses&nbsp;40-90 "Made in America" nuclear weapons&nbsp;at the Incirlik  military base.(en.trend.az/)
&nbsp;
Does  this mean that Turkey is a nuclear power? 

"Far from  making Europe safer, and far from producing a less nuclear dependent  Europe, [the policy] may well end up bringing more nuclear weapons into  the European continent, and frustrating some of the attempts that are  being made to get multilateral nuclear disarmament," (Former  NATO Secretary-General George Robertson quoted in Global Security,  February 10,&nbsp;2010)

"'Is Italy capable of delivering a  thermonuclear strike?... 

Could the Belgians and the Dutch drop  hydrogen bombs on enemy targets?... 

Germany's air force couldn't  possibly be training to deliver bombs 13 times more powerful than the  one that destroyed Hiroshima, could it?...

Nuclear bombs are  stored on air-force bases in Italy, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands  — and planes from each of those countries are capable of delivering  them."&nbsp;("What to Do About Europe's Secret Nukes." Time Magazine,  December 2, 2009)

The "Official" Nuclear Weapons States

Five  countries, the US, UK, France, China and Russia are considered to be  "nuclear weapons states" (NWS), "an internationally recognized status  conferred by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)".&nbsp;Three other  "Non NPT countries" (i.e. non-signatory states of the NPT)  including&nbsp;India, Pakistan and North Korea, have recognized possessing  nuclear weapons.&nbsp;Israel: "Undeclared Nuclear State" 

Israel is  identified as an "undeclared nuclear state". It produces and deploys  nuclear warheads directed against military and civilian targets in the  Middle East including Tehran.
Iran
There has been much hype, supported by  scanty evidence, that Iran might at some future date&nbsp;become a nuclear  weapons state. And, therefore,&nbsp;a pre-emptive defensive nuclear attack on  Iran to annihilate its non-existent nuclear weapons program should be  seriously contemplated "to make the World a safer place". The mainstream  media abounds with makeshift opinion on the Iran nuclear threat.&nbsp; 
But what about the five European "undeclared nuclear states"  including Belgium, Germany, Turkey, the Netherlands and Italy. Do they  constitute a threat? 

Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands,  Italy and Turkey:&nbsp;"Undeclared Nuclear Weapons States"
While  Iran's nuclear weapons capabilities are unconfirmed, the nuclear  weapons capabilities of these five countries including delivery  procedures are formally acknowledged. 

The US has supplied some  480 B61 thermonuclear bombs to five non-nuclear NATO countries including  Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey.&nbsp;Casually  disregarded by the Vienna based UN Nuclear Watchdog (IAEA), the US has  actively contributed to the proliferation of nuclear weapons in Western  Europe. 

As part of this European stockpiling, Turkey, which is a  partner of the US-led coalition against Iran along with Israel,  possesses some 90 thermonuclear B61 bunker buster bombs at the Incirlik  nuclear air base. (National Resources  Defense Council, Nuclear Weapons in Europe , February 2005)&nbsp;
By the recognised definition, these five  countries&nbsp;are "undeclared nuclear weapons states".&nbsp;

The  stockpiling and deployment of tactical B61 in these five "non-nuclear  states"&nbsp;are intended for targets in the Middle East. Moreover, in  accordance with&nbsp; "NATO strike plans", these thermonuclear B61 bunker  buster bombs (stockpiled by the "non-nuclear States") could be launched&nbsp;  "against targets in Russia or countries in the Middle East such as  Syria and Iran" ( quoted in National Resources  Defense Council, Nuclear Weapons in Europe , February 2005)

Does  this mean that Iran or Russia, which are&nbsp;potential targets of&nbsp;a nuclear  attack originating from one or other of these five so-called  non-nuclear states should contemplate defensive preemptive nuclear  attacks against Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Turkey? The  answer is no, by any stretch &nbsp;of the imagination. 

While these  "undeclared nuclear states" casually accuse Tehran of developing nuclear  weapons, without documentary evidence, they themselves have  capabilities of delivering nuclear warheads, which are targeted at  Iran.&nbsp; To say that this is a clear case of "double standards" by the  IAEA and the "international community" is a understatement.


Click  to See Details and Map of Nuclear Facilities located in 5 European  Non-Nuclear States

The stockpiled  weapons are B61 thermonuclear bombs.&nbsp; All the weapons are gravity bombs  of the B61-3, -4, and -10 types.2 . Those estimates were based on private  and public statements by a number of government sources and assumptions  about the weapon storage capacity at each base

.(National  Resources Defense Council, Nuclear Weapons in Europe , February 2005)&nbsp;&nbsp;

Germany:&nbsp;Nuclear  Weapons ProducerAmong the five "undeclared nuclear states", "Germany  remains the most heavily nuclearized country with three nuclear bases  (two of which are fully operational) and may store as many as 150 [B61  bunker buster ] bombs" (Ibid).&nbsp;In accordance with "NATO strike plans"  (mentioned above) these tactical nuclear weapons are also targeted at  the Middle East. While Germany is not categorized officially as a  nuclear power, it produces nuclear warheads for the French Navy. It  stockpiles nuclear warheads (made in America) and it has the  capabilities of delivering nuclear weapons. Moreover,&nbsp; The European Aeronautic Defense and Space  Company - EADS , a Franco-German-Spanish&nbsp; joint venture, controlled  by Deutsche Aerospace and the powerful Daimler Group is Europe's second  largest military producer, supplying .France's M51 nuclear missile. Related Article
Rick Rozoff, NATO's Secret Transatlantic Bond: Nuclear  Weapons In Europe,&nbsp;Global Research, December  4, 2009&nbsp;