US Nuclear Weapons Are Not Safe in the Netherlands

Washington – The storage depot for U.S. nuclear weapons in the Netherlands does not meet U.S. security requirements. This is evident from a report by the U.S. Air Force that Time magazine was able to get its hands on.

The nuclear bombs are allegedly at the Volkel air base. The base in the province of Brabant is, for that matter, not the only storage place that fails to meet the requirements. Safeguarding is also weak at bases in Belgium, Germany and Italy. There is a shortage of properly trained personnel and fences are in urgent need of repair.

The U.S. Air Force visited the bases in Europe after several near-accidents in the U.S. The inspectors concluded that “most locations need significantly more resources to meet the requirements of the Department of Defense.” The Air Force advised that the weapons be “consolidated.”

Analysts think that what is meant by this is that the U.S. will create its own storage depots in Europe to store the bombs. However, this is contrary to the current state of affairs, where the U.S. is the owner of the bombs, but the responsibility for the storage of the weapons rests with the NATO countries.

The U.S. stores approximately 350 nuclear bombs in Europe, in six NATO countries. Safeguarding is done partly by American personnel and partly by security forces of the host country.

Krista van Velzen, weapons specialist of the Socialist Party in the Lower House, said Friday that she would ask questions in the House on this matter. “The Cabinet must immediately implement security measures at the military base of Volkel,” she said during the KRO [Dutch TV/radio station] program “Things That Happen.”

The Dutch Ministry of Defense has never confirmed that the weapons are stored at Volkel. According to Van Velzen, such secrecy leads to “irresponsible risks” and “the Cabinet must inform the Lower House about this disturbing American investigation and take action.”