Very pleased to be here to share discussions on a subject of such enormous importance.   And also one that, frankly, has been conspicuous by its absence from the ongoing political debates.

And that’s despite the fact that this Government has all but said that it will support the US initiative.

As member of European Parliament, I’ve been doing all I can inside and outside the parliament to help raise people’s awareness and understanding about the real and devastating consequences of introducing a Missile Defence system.  I’ve put down parliamentary questions as well as the equivalent of an early day motion to try to stimulate debate.  And I’m now working on trying to get the issue on the formal agenda of the Parliament’s Strasbourg session.

Because what still astounds me is how little people know about MD , and how little its impacts have been properly discussed – even here in the UK, which will be effectively putting itself in the line of fire by any decision to go ahead and use Menwith Hill or Fylingdales as part of the US project.

Because at this time of increasing global insecurity it is ever more urgent that we stand up to plans for a Missile Defence programme.  There's nothing defensive about this programme - it's a deeply offensive weapons system, specifically designed to bring about fear and instability, which will trigger a major new arms race.  It is essentially the military wing of the economic globalisation project, driven by corporate interests and concerns, to maintain their global control. 

But if September 11th has taught us anything, it is that true security does not lie in Missile Defence systems, or in ever greater military hardware, or ever increasing defence budgets.  We will only be more secure when poverty and injustice are eradicated.  Until we understand the violence of our economic policies, our military policies, and our foreign policies, we will continue to foster the conditions that make terrorism and war possible.

When listening to arguments for and against MD, struck by how, more than anything, I'm hearing a clash of visions, of world views so hugely different that it's actually very hard to engage in dialogue between them.  On one side, we have the vision of the proponents of missile defence, the vision of, let's say, US Space Command.  They want to control space, to dominate space, to fight in and from space.  And, hugely significantly, they want to use this technology to protect their corporate interests and investments around the world from the insecurities borne of a world based on increasing divisions.  A key rationale for this project now, US military documents acknowledge, is to protect the global economy  - of which the US is the engine. Look at their “Vision for 2020” report – its cover shows a laser weapon shooting a beam down from space zapping a target below, with the words “The globalisation of the world economy will continue – with a widening gap between haves and have-nots”.  From space, the US would try to keep those “have-nots” in line, to protect the wealth of those "who have".

On the other hand, we have the vision of a world at peace, free of the threat of war and free of weapons of mass destruction.  It is a world where conflicts are settled non-violently; where human and natural resources are used constructively and sustainably; where all individuals live with human dignity, compassion and respect for one another.

But this latter vision isn’t just a cosy motherhood and apple-pie agenda.  It’s a realisation that peace is more than an absence of war, and a recognition that until the root causes of conflict are addressed, there can be no lasting peace.

If only President Bush would put a fraction of the resources and enthusiasm he puts into defending himself from spurious "rogue countries" instead into defending the world from climate change or into reducing world inequalities and injustices, the world would be a far safer place. 

We need to redefine security.  And top of the list of current sources of human insecurity  would be poverty and inequality and injustice.  1.3 billion people in developing countries live in poverty. 800 million people have inadequate food supplies – 500 million of them are chronically malnourished.

So measures to build true security mean measures to address global injustices , making international institutions like the World Bank and the WTO more open and democratic.  They include fundamentally rethinking our economic system which persists in putting profits before people; it involves cancelling debt and promoting human rights. And they include the promotion of peace education , because until we have systematic education for peace, we won’t learn the skills of conflict resolution, mediation, and non-violent social change.

And so it seems very clear that the US impetus for NMD has got very little to do with genuinely dealing with real threats to security - and a lot more to do with lining the pockets of the aerospace and defence firms who are the real drivers of this process – Boeing and Lockheed Martin, for example, who both stand to gain billions from this project, and are looking for paybacks for their contributions to Bush’s election campaign. 

And so I think we should go away from here resolved never again to call it missile defence – it’s an incredibly offensive system, specifically designed to bring about fear and instability.

So that's why we're here, and why it is right and urgent to be demanding independence from US policy and US bases.  President Bush ought to understand!  After all, the current US administration position is to declare independence from the rest of the world on an almost daily basis.   It becomes more and more insular, mocking the views of the rest of the world on human rights, the International Criminal Court, peacekeeping, and climate change - the list goes on.

It's time for Mr Blair to stand up to the US

It's time for him to demand the removal of US bases from UK soil

And it's time for both he and Bush to start discussing how to make peace, not how to wage war.

Martin Luther King said  "A time has come when silence is betrayal.  That time is now."

This rally is a vital part of the ongoing quest to inspire people to know the powers of their own involvement - of their ability to make a difference.  Of the necessity of each person standing up and speaking out. 

It will make a difference

It's the only thing that does.

(See also: Report on the day of action )

www.caab.org.uk