GERMANY:GERMANY'S THREE main opposition parties have called for the removal of US nuclear weapons from the country after serious safety shortcomings were uncovered at storage sites.
A declassified US air force report, seen by the Federation of American Scientists, says "most sites" storing US nuclear weapons in Europe do not meet the safety regulations of the US Department of Defence.
The report was commissioned after six nuclear warheads went missing for 36 hours in August 2007 as they were flown across the US.
During visits to European sites, the report's authors noted a pattern of "inconsistencies in personnel, facilities and equipment provided to the security mission by the host nation . . . Areas noted in need of repair at several of the sites include support buildings, fencing, lighting and security systems."
Of particular concern to the authors was the practice of letting the weapons be protected by conscripts with as little as nine months' active duty experience.
The US keeps up to 350 nuclear weapons stationed in Nato partner countries in Europe.
The bases are not mentioned in the report by name, but are believed to be in Germany, Belgium, Holland, Italy and the UK.
"Since September 11th, 2001, billions of dollars have been poured into the Homeland Security chest to increase security at US nuclear weapons sites . . . but apparently, the nuclear deployment in Europe has been allowed to follow a less stringent requirement," noted the report on the military study.
"This contradicts Nato's frequent public assurances about the safe conditions of the widespread deployment in Europe."
Opposition politicians in Berlin called for a complete removal of the weapons yesterday.
"Atomic weapons in Germany are a holdover from the cold war. They must go," said Guido Westerwelle, leader of the liberal Free Democrats.
He found support among the Greens, the Left Party and even among some members of the ruling Social Democrats (SPD). But the SPD's grand coalition partners, the Christian Democrats (CDU), ruled out such a move yesterday.
"We cannot do without them, as long as there are nuclear weapons in the world," said CDU foreign affairs spokesman Eckart von Klaeden. "They protect us, too."