I went on the The Men’s Show with Andy, Caspar & Dan to discuss our trip to Pine Gap and a listener sent in the following question:
Great topic today and enjoyed the discussion about safety.
Thanks for asking my question but it git a bit oversimplified. I am interested in arguments about pine gap but wanted to hear realistically how does australia stay safe and indep withoyt the US as an ally? China and Russia looking a bit scary again.
Get rid of pine gap and surely US wouldn’t come to our aid if needed. Maybe not needed but wanted to hear that cplained or their argument can sound naive. To get more support i feel they need to tackle this well, cos all of us have been well brainwashed or is there truth in it tgatxwe do need US? Jenni Cargil-strong
My response:
Of course my reply on air was over simplified. You have asked an extremely complex question which is the subject of many books and debates.
So this answer will also be very simplified as there are many academics far more knowledgeable than me and many points i have probably missed
1. There is no clause in any military treaty that the US will protect Australia. None. The US is under no obligation and made no promises to provide assistance to us.
2. The US is the most aggressive state in recent history. They have been behind more war, invasions and government overthrows than any other state. A large part of the US economy is based on aggressive war. They make the entire world a more dangerous place. Our support of Pine Gap supports global US aggression and makes the world much less safe for all earthlings.
3. Where have you heard Russia and China is more scary to Australia? The scary thing that i have heard is both China and Russia feel threatened by the US.We have allowed a US marine base in Darwin, use of our ports for US nuclear attack submarines and of course Pine Gap. The US has been heavily arming neighboring states to Russia. Of course Russia and China seem scary. That’s because of the US aggression.
Here is two stories. The first one is about the aircraft that carry nuclear weapons that are in the air 24 hours a day as part of the nuclear threat program of both countries. US and Russia had a treaty to ground these flights because if you think about it, this is insane. The US actually crashed one over Spain. Russia stopped the flights but the US didn’t. SO Russia resumed them.Yes Putin is a madman and Russia is scary but they have in the past participated in disarm discussions and treaties but the US keeps up the aggression. So by us supporting the US, we make Russia more scary.
China worked out that it takes 20 nuclear weapons to blow up the world. They have around 260. The US has nearly 7000. Instead of investing in nuclear weapons, China invested in buying Americas economy. During the last financial crisis where did all that money come from for the bail out? Where is most of Americas stuff made? Hang on, who bought Cubby station and many other Australian properties? Where is most of our stuff made? China also has a sophisticated hacking arming. How does Pine Gap protect against China?
4. We have been on the brink of nuclear war a number of times. Pine Gap is part of the Nuclear War machine. Disarmament is the only protection from a global nuclear holocaust.
5. The US culture believes in guns to protect themselves. Australia believes in gun restriction. Which approach makes you feel safer? So on a bigger picture, the same applies. Disarmament, not more war infrastructure like Pine Gap makes us safer.
6. The current trend in the US military is private companies providing most technology and services to the US military including Pine Gap. The technology is coming more powerful that we now have robot armies. Do governments including the US really have control of these companies and robots? If you are scared of Russia and China, then have a think about the robotic armies controlled by Raytheon and Halliburton. Military coups have been common in the past, especially US sponsored ones. The current US military complex and technology makes this very possible. Disarmament is the only protection from this
7. Whats stopping the US from overthrowing the Australian government? They are already militarily occupying us and have a history of overthrowing governments. Much more history than China and Russia.
8. This is the most important point for me. Do we as a species invest the majority of our resources on war and military threat or do we use these resources to create a utopian future? Instead of threatening and using violence to steal, we as a planet share with each other? Isntthis what our parents and elders taught us as kids?
With the mass environmental destruction and climate change we face today, my belief is this is the only way to actually create any future for humans is to reject the military approach and rapidly disarm. This re-purposing of money, technology, resources and human creativity is the my only hopr for the future.
If you look at what a militarized future looks like, we are all doomed. Lets disarm. Pine Gap is the perfect installation to close to start this process and create a new future for our planet and people.