USAF B52's Wairarapa Flyover:
Winston Peters' Letter To ABC Raises More Questions Than Answers
Chief Reporter
Press Release ABC - 7 May 2019
We have now received a letter from Winston Peters, Minister of Foreign
Affairs (attached). To say that Peters' reply surprised us is putting
it very mildly indeed. It raises more questions than answers. Here are
a couple:
How many previous US aircraft visits were from
nuclear capable
aircraft?
"New Zealand makes its own determinations regarding military aircraft
or vessel visits and does not require any state to make a declaration
on nuclear armament". This means that US military planes visiting NZ
could carry nuclear weapons and New Zealand would not know. So, where
is NZ's nuclear free law in all of this? Peters' letter makes a
mockery of it, indeed it renders that law null and void.
Murray Horton
Secretary/Organiser
Anti-Bases Campaign
Box 2258, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand
abc@chch.planet.org.nz
www.converge.org.nz/abc
www.facebook.com/AotearoaABC
Click here to view Winston Peter's letter
Press Release ABC - 27 March 2019
Bomber Diplomacy: Why Was USAF B-52 Given Permission To Do Wairarapa Air Show Flyover?
Anti-Bases Campaign (ABC) was alarmed to learn that
the "star" of the February 2019 Wings Over Wairarapa air show was
supposed to be a US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bomber flying over
Masterton (it became a no-show because it suffered operational
problems in Australia, en route from its Guam base).
ABC is Christchurch-based and we have had a US
military transport base (Harewood) at our airport for more than 60
years. We are used to US military transport planes coming and going
here, and for those planes to feature at open days at Christchurch
Airport.
But a B-52 bomber is a whole different kettle of
fish. Because it is synonymous with the systematic aerial destruction
inflicted upon Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos during the Vietnam War,
people may think that B-52s are historic relics, on a par with the
various vintage warplanes that are flown at NZ air shows on a regular
basis. But not so – although B-52s date back to 1955, they have been
in continuous use by the US Air Force ever since, and remain so today
(they have been most recently used to bomb Syria).
To quote
Wikipedia: “The
USAF continues to rely on the B-52 because it remains an effective and
economical heavy bomber in the absence of sophisticated air defences,
particularly in the type of missions that have been conducted since
the end of the Cold War against nations with limited defensive
capabilities. The B-52 has also continued in service because there has
been no reliable replacement”.
NZ has been out of the ANZUS Treaty for nearly 35
years
(the Australia, New Zealand, US military treaty that was the
foundation of all New Zealand’s defence and foreign policy from its
inception in 1951 until the US, under President Ronald Reagan, kicked
us out in 1986. It remains in force today, but only between the US and
Australia).
Soft Power
So, what was this Masterton flyover all about? It’s
aimed at softening up the New Zealand people to support further
extending the military alliance with the US, but this time on home
soil, rather than overseas. This is called “soft power”. It took until
2016 for the first US Navy warship to visit NZ since the 1980s’ “ANZUS
row”. It was invited to Auckland to take part in the multinational
celebrations to mark the 75th anniversary of the NZ Navy.
It never actually got to Auckland, instead being diverted to the South
Island to assist in the evacuation of people left stranded by the
November 2016 Kaikoura earthquake (this was propaganda gold for the US
military).
That warship visit was under the Key National
government, which is not that surprising. But this (abortive) B-52
flyover was authorised by the Ardern Labour Coalition government. The
US knows that it can keep on chipping away at NZ public opinion, aided
and abetted by a sympathetic Government. The steady drip, drip, drip
of soft power is intended to lead to the full resumption of “hard
power” i.e. NZ as a fully functional, albeit, junior, US satellite
once again (that is already the reality but it is not the perception
that is peddled to the NZ people).
“In a statement, US Ambassador Scott Brown said thousands of people
made plans based on being able to see the B-52. ‘We
know how disappointed they will be. We share that disappointment.
We're gutted’, Brown said. ‘We've been in touch with the organisers
and I personally called Defence Minister Ron Mark to convey our
apologies and regret…”.
“The Wings over Wairarapa air show has
established itself as a world class event and we were honoured to be
invited.
The US Embassy looks forward to future
opportunities to collaborate with this great show" (Stuff, 23/2/19, “B-52 Debut At Wings Over Wairarapa Cancelled Due To
Operational Issue”, Amber-Leigh Woolf,
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/110815155/b52-debut-at-wings-over-wairarapa-cancelled-due-to-operational-issue). .
ABC sees this as a dangerous precedent, and not simply a day out for all the family to watch a big plane fly overhead. B-52s have no place in New Zealand (including our airspace). Nor do any other US warplanes. We have written to the Prime Minister, with a couple of key questions: Why did the Government give permission for this to happen? Did the US Embassy satisfy the Government that this particular bomber was compliant with NZ's nuclear free law? We’ll keep you informed.
Murray Horton
Secretary/Organiser Anti-Bases Campaign.