Spiegel Online: Doubts about Security: German Politicians Want Nukes out of Europe
German Politicians Want Nukes out of Europe
Following the release of confidential information from a US Air Force report claiming that US nuclear weapons in Europe are not properly taken care of, German politicians from across the political spectrum are calling for the weapons' removal. "Atomic weapons in Germany are relics of the Cold War and need to go," Guido Westerwelle, head of the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP), told the Berliner Zeitung. This is just "one more reason to remove all of the tactical atomic weapons stored in Germany," Westerwelle added. Note EU-Digest: The United States still keeps as many as 480 nuclear weapons at air bases across Europe, more than twice what independent military analysts previously estimated, according to a new study that says the weapons' presence is hurting efforts to curb nuclear proliferation worldwide. Capt. Curry W. Graham, a spokesman for the military's European Command, said the United States still maintained a sizable nuclear arsenal in Europe to support NATO's strategic deterrence mission to "maintain peace and stability in the region." Pentagon policy prohibits the disclosure of the amount or location of American nuclear weapons.
Labels: EU, Germany, Nuclear weapons, US
