No to Military Bases, No to War

National Demonstration
Vicenza, Italy
December 2, 2006

On Saturday, December 2, 2006 there will be a national demonstration in Vicenza, Italy where yet another U.S. military base is in the works. Local groups have been working tirelessly against this new base and what was a local campaign has become a national cause, "No Military Bases, No War," with activists coming from all over Italy.

And as U.S. citizens, we have been invited by the organizers to lead the march.

Why We Are Marching
The U.S. has over 700 foreign military bases which serve as "jumping off points" for U.S. foreign military interventions. The entire system serves as a global infrastructure for military domination and renders the host country an instrument of the policy of preventive war.

In the case of Italy, the U.S. is storing 90 nuclear weapons at U.S. military bases, violating the spirit of the non-proliferation treaty. In addition, the bases have been used for extraordinary rendition flights, as documented in the case of Abu Omar. And taxpayers in Italy cover 37% of the operating costs for U.S. military bases in Italy, amounting to hundreds of millions of Euro per year.

We join the call for the reconversion of military bases to civilian use, a sharp reduction in military spending, and for the Italian government to no longer be complicit in the so called "global war on terror."

Why Vicenza
There are currently 20 U.S. military installations in Italy. And there are plans to build yet another in Vicenza. Together with the existing bases of Camp Ederle, Longare and Tormeno as well as a residential village and various depots and warehouses throughout the city, this new base would make the city of Vicenza the largest U.S. military base in Europe.

The new base will house part of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, some of which are already lodged at Camp Ederle and others currently stationed in Germany. The 173rd is an airborne rapid response force. They were the first to parachute into Iraq at the start of the war. In the recent troop rotations for Iraq announced by the Pentagon, the only troops coming from bases outside the U.S. will be from Vicenza.

Logistics
The march will start at 2pm, and will go from near the existing base of Camp Ederle to the proposed new base at Dal Molin airport. See map.

Transportation options are being discussed together with some other groups in Rome, and we will either travel by train or pullman. It is possible to make the trip in one day, though it will be a long one. Overnighting in Vicenza is another possibility.

**If you are planning to come, please let us know as soon as possible so we can decide together the best way to travel based on the number of people we have: info@peaceandjustice.it

For more information, contact us via email

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