David Cameron yesterday attacked the Government over St Athan plans!

 Why are Plaid so quiet ....no comment or debate?

David Cameron attacks Government over St Athan plans Jan 09 2010

CONSERVATIVE leader David Cameron yesterday attacked the Government for not making a clear decision about the future of the proposed £13bn Defence Training College in St Athan ahead of this year’s general election.Read

video of Cameron on wales on line

CONSERVATIVE leader David Cameron yesterday attacked the Government for not making a clear decision about the future of the proposed £13bn Defence Training College in St Athan ahead of this year’s general election.

He did not pledge to support the landmark project – predicted to create more than 5,000 jobs – but condemned Labour’s stance as “disingenuous”.

On Thursday, the MoD confirmed the final sign-off would not take place until after the election, meaning the decision may fall to an incoming Conservative government.

Armed Forces Minister Bill Rammell said: “Plans have advanced considerably, but the work has exceeded the assumptions made in 2008 and hence the change to when the investment decision will be taken...the project is on track for an investment decision in the summer.”

Mr Cameron said: “We recognise the importance of this project and totally see the logic of bringing together these services. I think the Government is being disingenuous with their announcement.

“They are still the Government and they have had plenty of time to make a decision about this. After all, the Vale of Glamorgan council granted planning permission for the scheme last September.

“We will have a proper strategic defence review if we win the election.”

This drew a fiery response from Labour Rhondda MP Chris Bryant.

What Chris Bryant said

He said: “He’s the man who’s been refusing to sign on the dotted line. He’s the person committed to swingeing cuts.

“He’s the person who’s been saying that in this present year we should be making cuts.”

Mr Bryant was adamant the proposed training centre, which was suggested as a possible target for cuts by Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable last year, would save money.

He said: “It wouldn’t save any money not to do it, which is why I think Vince Cable was so daft when he said what he said and why I think Cameron and the Tories have not understood the situation.”

Mr Cameron also stood by proposals from Conservative members of the Assembly to end universal free prescriptions and free school breakfasts, saying: “This is devolution and it is their decision. By returning to modest prescription charges for those who can afford to pay, Welsh Conservatives will put more money into hospices and stroke services.”

When asked what Conservatives would do to combat binge drinking, he said: “We need to stop the deep discounting of drinks by supermarkets and a thorough reform of the licensing act – we’ll do both.”

He insisted it was also right to reduce the number of MPs, saying: “I think that we should cut the size of the House of Commons by 10% and reduce the cost of politics. After all, we are going to be asking other parts of the public sector to find efficiencies and cost savings so why should politics be any different?

“Clearly, this must apply in Wales as elsewhere.”

Mr Cameron would not rule out taking military action against Iran to stop the country joining the nuclear club.

He said: “We should not rule things out but we must first try dialogue as President Obama is currently doing and if this fails we should implement very tough sanctions. It’s important that all European countries join in these endeavours and that we persuade both the Russians and Chinese that a nuclear armed Iran would be a cause of great instability.”

He also stressed the need to ensure that all the countries taking part in the military effort in Afghanistan fully signed up to a “common strategy and programme”. Mr Cameron strongly denied that measures to cut the deficit would kill off hopes of growth as the country pulls out of the recession.

He said: “I don’t believe that getting to grips with the appalling budget deficit and getting the economy growing are alternatives – one depends on the other. Even the Chancellor admitted that this week.

“If we don’t deal with the deficit the danger is that interest rates, mortgage rates and taxes will all have to rise and that would wreck the recovery.”

Adam Price back rowing on military academy?

Adam Price MP has a regular column in the weekly news magazine Golwg. That of 13 November was titled Y ddadl o blaid academi filwrol – ‘The debate in favour of a military academy’.

Much of it discusses the history of militarism in Wales, a comparison with the Scots, and the number of Welsh people in the armed forces historically and today. The part about St Athan actually only comes in the final few sentences as follows, with a translation of it below

Welcome to Adam's new-found sensitivity to Welsh opposition in principle to this major facility for the British military machine (part of Bush's USA in military adventures around the world)... What touching fantasy over changing a military academy run by major arms companies Raytheon, Qinetiq... into a Peace Academy!

Yn yr un modd, tra bod protestio yn erbyn polisiau a rhyfeloedd a dulliau ac arfau milwrol yn ddilys, ydi gwrthwynebu academi hyfforddiant (Academi Filwrol Sain Tathan ym Mro Morgannwg) fel y cyfryw yn gwneud synnwyr? Onid natur yr hyfforddiant ddylai fod ffocws ein gwrthwynebiad ni?

Wedi’r cwbl pan ffurfiwyd West Point gan yr Americanwr o Gymro, Thomas Jefferson, academi heddwch oedd ei weledigaeth e. Oni allwn ni ganolbwyntio ar greu, mewn cysylltiad a’r datblygiad hwn, pwyslais newydd a chanolfan rhyngwladol o ragoriaeth mewn ymdrechion i gadw heddwch.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

In the same way, while it is correct to protest against military policies and means, against wars and arms, does it make sense to oppose a training academy as such (St Athan Military Training Academy in the Vale of Glamorgan)? Should it not be the nature of the training being provided that forms the focus for our opposition?

After all, when West Point was established by that Welsh American, Thomas Jefferson, his vision was of a peace academy. Can’t we concentrate, in relation to this development, on creating a new emphasis on an international centre of excellence in peace keeping activities.

Cllr Hodges fears World War 3 in Wales

Cllr Nic Hodges Plaid

PRESS RELEASE

News of a massive military exercise in Wales appears to be the thin edge of
the wedge according to Plaid Cymru Councillor Nic Hodges.

Cllr Hodges leader of the Plaid Cymru group at the Vale of Glamorgan Council
said "I see once again our coast and air space is being used for a multi-national military playground for "war games" on a greater level than ever before."

"A two-week exercise code named "Joint Warrior" will see the whole of Wales
including large sections of our coast and air space used as a playground for
the forces. With the leaked plans to build the privately funded Military
Academy at St Athan on the cards I fear Wales will become an all year round
military playground. I continue to be concerned that there are still no
answers on the question of cost and possible job creation at St Athan. I
have no doubt I will once again be attacked for asking these questions by
Labour MP's and aspiring Tories. "

"I want to see promises from the Ministery of Defence that if the
privately funded training academy at St Athan goes ahead it will not be used
to train soldiers from some of the unsavory regimes in the world. I've
raised these concerns with Chris Franks my Assembly Member and have urged
him to take these forward."

PHOTO -shows Nic Hodges raising his concerns with Chris Franks AM.
Nic Hodges

World War III

Sep 28 2008 by Robin Turner, Wales On Sunday here

FIGHTER jets, infantry troops, destroyers and submarines will converge on Wales next month for one of the largest military exercises of all time.

The two-week exercise – codenamed Joint Warrior – is designed to recreate a scenario in which Britain and other sovereign nations go to war against a “state-sponsored terrorist movement” – using a vast array of lethal modern weapons.

Taking place between October 6 and October 16, it will provide coordinated training for all three UK Armed Services, plus forces from EIGHT allied nations.

The whole of Wales has been designated as a flying area for the exercise, while so-called “managed danger area” ranges at Castlemartin and Manorbier in Pembrokeshire and Pembrey near Llanelli will be used for ground strafing, bombing and missile practice using live ammunition.

An area of the West Wales coast has also been earmarked as a maritime “warfighting” area for Joint Warrior.

The exercise is aimed at giving pilots, ships’ crews and ground troops vital training before they deploy to war zones like Iraq or Afghanistan.

According to the RAF, Joint Warrior will be particularly useful for Forward Air Controllers (troops directing airborne missile strikes), the role made famous by Prince Harry who became known by his call sign Widow Six Seven while directing fire against the Taliban.

Six companies of infantry, 29 surface and four sub-surface maritime units and 60 aircraft – flying at a rate of about 80 to 100 sorties a day – will be involved in the exercise.

An MoD spokesman said: “The two weeks will develop through a period of tension into simulated warfighting/open hostilities.”

The exercise aims to provide opportunities for all warfighting disciplines including:

Close Air Support (CAS) – executed by fast jet aircraft and Forward Air Controllers, often using live weapons;

Convoy Support, Time Sensitive Targeting (TST) and urban close air support scenarios – “in order to replicate current Middle-East operational missions”;

Large Force Element (LFE) missions – which will target fixed and mobile targets including inflatable Scud Decoys and Electronic Warfare (EW) emitters simulating surface-to-air threats;

Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Anti-Surface Warfare (AsuW) and also, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions – all carried out by Maritime Patrol Aircraft;

Joint fires – involving live weapons on ranges in Welsh Wales;

Submarine training – boats will complete sub-vs-sub and sub-vs-ship exercises.

The MoD spokesman said: “The exercise will accommodate a squadron of Tornado GR4s from 12 Sqn, RAF Lossiemouth and a squadron of Gripen aircraft from 171 Sqn, Swedish Air Force plus asso-ciated support personnel drawn from support units throughout the RAF.

“This is a particularly important exercise for the Tornado GR4 deployment as this will also act as a full mission rehearsal for their forthcoming deployment to Afghanistan.”

But Squadron Leader Peter Sinclair of the RAF in Wales moved to allay fears about the impact on people – and the environment.

He said: “Some of the exercise areas overlap environmentally-sensitive conservation zones, which contain a wide variety of marine wildlife, sea bird breeding grounds and protected fauna and flora.

“Furthermore, the farming, fishing and tourist industries are important economic activities, which benefit from the natural beauty and relative isolation of some of the exercise areas. Against this background, the MoD recognises the impact of military activity and takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously.

“During the planning of the exercise, Environmental Impact Assessments are conducted for all potentially damaging activities, such as the use of active sonar and live weapons. Furthermore, close working relationships with landowners and key national stakeholders, combined with engagement with local communities, ensure that appropriate environmental mitigation procedures are put in place and then adhered to.

“It should be noted that the MoD has decreed that environmental considerations are always to take priority over the achievement of training objectives. This direction remains a primary consideration throughout exercise planning and execution.”

The director of the exercise, Capt Paddy McAlpine OBE said: “Joint Warrior will offer high-quality joint tactical training with maximum tactical interaction, tailored to meet the participants’ requirements across the whole of the UK whilst creating as little impact on the environment as possible.

“I am sure that the high-fidelity joint tactical training environment provided by JTEPS within Joint Warrior will ensure that UK and allied participants are rigorously prepared for operational tasks in theatres world-wide.”

squaddies rampaging around llanwit major?

In the current edition of The Gem (vale of glamorgan's free newspaper) John Smith MP and Tory AM Alun Cairns (whats he got to do with the Vale) launch a dual attack on Plaid Cllr Nic Hodges who apparently made remarks at the st.athan public meeting about 'squaddies rampaging around llantwit major' as well as questioning the academy. The headline of the article is 'Critics ask Plaid: do you really want St. Athan?'."

Raytheon 9 Solidarity

A Show of Solidarity with the Raytheon 9!
Stop the St Athan Military Academy Campaign, supported by Cardiff Stop the War Coalition, Cardiff CAAT and other peace groups gathered on 27th May at Transport House, Cardiff .



Raytheon - banned by Liverpool Council, the Norwegian and Belgian government, manufacturer of cluster bombs and lethal weapons are a key part of the new, privatised UK Military Academy being built in Wales.By welcoming Raytheon, our politicians are complicit with war crimes.Rhodri Morgan, First Minister of Wales has defended Raytheon and attacked anti-war campaigners as liars.

for more videos see here

Wyn Jones ..What happened to the party of Lewis, Valentine and Williams?

Sue Fortune Member no 77615 Ruabon Branch, Clwyd South


Dear Mr Wyn Jones

Twice now I have written to you, both in Caerdydd and at your own address, about the grave concern Plaid’s public welcome to the St Athan military training centre has caused me and many others. You have not bothered to reply. Perhaps you have more important correspondents than rank-and-file party members, who are only good for shoving leaflets through doors on rainy weekends just before elections, and putting tenners in the hat at conference after the rousing feel-good session on Friday afternoon.

Perhaps letters from people whose family have been English-speakers for three generations are at the bottom of the in-tray – although I notice no words of Cymraeg on cheques and banknotes, and they seem to move quickly enough. Perhaps someone whose membership of the Party is based purely on political conviction, and not family, chapel or business connections is simply too naïve to be worth a reply.

But naïve or not, I have a few points I’d like you to address, and as you don’t choose to do so, perhaps they’d form the basis of a diverting discussion in public.

Plaid has joined with Labour in welcoming the plans for a military training establishment (please don’t let’s dignify it with the misnomer “academy”; we are talking here about training hired killers, not philosophers) at St Athan. For a while it displayed this welcome on its website, as if it was something to be proud of.

It will cost £14,000,000,000 of public money. Taxpayers’ money.

It will be run in conjunction with Metrix, a consortium of arms manufacturers including the notorious Raytheon, a company famed for its cluster bombs (condemned by the UN and the EU), “bunker-busters (like the ones responsible for the massacres of civilians at Qana and Baghdad), the “Silent Guardian” heat ray weapon (whose potential for use in torture has alarmed Amnesty International and the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture) and depleted uranium missiles (have you seen the child victims dying of leukaemia years after such bombs explode? They are pitiful).

And among the indispensible public services it will offer are training for the crews of Trident and its replacement, as well as armed forces from around the world, many with appalling human rights records.

So much for Plaid’s environmental, human rights and anti-nuclear commitments.

But what about all the jobs, I hear you reply. Well, I haven’t got a job, and, as I’m expected to live on £20 a week, naturally I’d like one. But you propose to spend £14,000,000,000 to “create” (and we’ll come to that in a minute) 5,000 jobs, at most. That’s £2,800,000 per job. Well, you give me a tenth of that, and even if I put it in the bank and do nothing but buy new shoes and good wine, I’ll generate plenty of economic growth, without going to the trouble of mass murder and nuclear aggression.

But “create” jobs? We’re told (loudly) that all sorts of skilled technicians will be working at St Athan for meatily high wages (rejoice!) – and then (more quietly) that actually these peole are already doing these jobs, for these wages, in England. They’ll move to St Athan, handsomely kitted out with generous relocation allowances which they’ll spend on local properties, thus inflating house prices ever further beyond the reach of local people. Is lining the pockets of a few Caerdydd estate agents really such a priority for a responsible and principled party? Meanwhile the jobs paradise will consist of the chance to fry chips, clean toilets and serve pints to hordes of squaddies, for the minimum wage. Rather a contrast to the £270,792.67 in expenses alone claimed by a certain AM!

And why are we arguing the toss about the “jobs bonanza” anyway? I’m sure building Auschwitz created many jobs, but surely that didn’t make it right?

I joined Plaid because I wanted to be a member of a principled organisation that was committed to making a change for the better and was unafraid to speak up for what was right. A party that wouldn’t have its head turned by a taste of power in the Assembly; that would be mature and responsible enough to resist the snouts-in-trough blandishments of vested interests. Naïve indeed to think so, I fear. Sure, there was a flutter of embarrassment last autumn, when Jill Evans tried to discuss what was wrong about St Athan. But although a placatory form of words was found, it seemed to make as much difference as Clare Short MP’s opposition to the Iraq war.

What happened to the Party of Lewis, Valentine and Williams?

Many a young lady has had to open her legs from dire necessity, and it’s understandable if deplorable that this in certain cases becomes a habit of rather less than last resort. I’ve no illusions about the whorish propensities of the country I love. I can forgive without condoning.

But never, never, never will I join in with those who pimp for her. And that, Mr Wyn Jones, is what Plaid and its adherents will become, if they lack the guts to to stick to their principles and oppose the disgrace of St Athan..

I won’t be out in the rain pushing Plaid leaflets through voters’ doors this time. Nor will I be voting. And my membership card will be returning to you in the post.

Yours in shame and sorrow

Sue Fortune
Member no 77615
Ruabon Branch, Clwyd South

St Athan PFI Decision made in London

Not a single politican from WAG is challenging the UK government ability to have this sort of power over Wales - to make this decision for Wales?

Q. Did the 'Wales Office' not have to approve the St Athan PFI?

Paul Murphy : Written Answers - Wales: Departmental Private Finance Initiative (3 Mar 2008)
The Wales Office has not initiated or approved any private finance initiative projects in the last three years.http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2008-03-03a.190810.h&s=speaker%3A10454#g190810.r0

A. Its not a Welsh PFI. Remember that MC3 package 1 solution was based around Bordon and Cosford and Portsmouth. It was instigated by Mod with Ministerial backing. However the Welsh politicians did help Metrix win the bid by hard lobbying and the WDA provided human resources to METRIX.

St athan Blatent Jobs Lies

Dispute update: DTR activists meet MEP

http://www.pcs.org.uk/Templates/Internal.asp?NodeID=915899

9 Jan 2008

Following the lessons learned from the Make Your Vote Count campaign and recognition of the importance of getting our messages heard by politicians, activists from the MoD instructional officers committee met MEP Jill Evans to discuss ongoing concerns over the defence training review.

As well as being an MEP, Jill is also vice chair of Plaid Cymru so this was an important first for the instructional officers. Representing PCS at the meeting were negotiations officer Paul Bemrose, Roy Weston, chair of the St Athans branch, and H O'Harney, branch secretary at Cosford.

H said: “The purpose of the meeting was to highlight the blatant distortion being expressed by a number of Welsh MPs as to the number of new jobs being created in south Wales as part of this multi billion pounds private finance deal.”

During the two-hour meeting activists explained that the thousands of new high skill jobs promised by Welsh MPs were a fallacy because existing civil servants were already employed in them. This means that only low paid and low skilled jobs would be on offer.

As part of the programme, some 1,100 civil servants have been identified as being likely to be transferred across to a private consortium called Metrix. Yet the Welsh Assembly had frequently gone on record as stating that somewhere in the region of 6,000 new jobs were being created.

The involvement of companies whose motives are to generate profits for shareholders was also discussed, as was the issue of privatisation. Mrs Evans pointed out that Plaid Cymru had concerns about the DTR programme but wanted an honest and open debate about the key issues.

It was agreed that we would maintain contact and a meeting be arranged between Plaid Cymru MPs and PCS reps to discuss the issues raised in more detail.

H added: “Campaigning now needs to be multi-faceted. Yes it is important to get members and the public on your side but equally important is getting your message heard by all the political parties who are involved.

“They are usually keen to meet you since many of them will have only heard one side of the story from the department or management. We expect to get many more such meetings in the months ahead."

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For more about the campaign visit the instructional officers website, and sign up to the No to St Athan Military Academy group on the social networking website facebook

DTR = Defence Traing Review