By World BEYOND War, January 22, 2025
What’s wrong with military bases and what can be done about them?
The Earth is coated in military bases, spreading like a pandemic, foriegn ones, domestic ones, famous ones, secret ones, part of a growing and disastrous global increase in spending on wars and preparations for wars that makes wars more, not less, likely. And prime targets in wars are bases and anything near them.
Bases are many of the worst environmental disaster sites, polluting air, soil, and water, and generating horrific noise pollution.
Foreign bases are often mini-apartheid states with second-class status for locals and criminal immunity for militaries — a situation that can often be traced back to stolen land and other injustices.
Through public pressure, bases have been closed, plans for bases have been blocked, and bases have been converted to other purposes, superior environmentally, economically, and in terms of achieving peace.
On February 23 people will be protesting bases with nonviolent actions around the world: rallies, vigils, peace festivals, protests, lobby visits, demonstrations, flyering at gates, teach-ins, and celebrations where bases have been prevented or closed and converted into something useful.
Find an event near you or see how easy it is to create one at DayToCloseBases.org
Some of the many organizations involved are
- International Peace Bureau (Global)
- No to War – No to NATO Network (Global)
- Pace e Bene (U.S.)
- RootsAction (U.S.)
- Veterans For Peace (U.S.)
- War Industry Resisters Network (U.S.)
- War Resisters’ International (Global)
- World BEYOND War (Global)