ment calling for national strike acIon. the conterence was arceiv a victory for those who saw the labour movement as the crucial ally of CND. The conference expressed a refreshing sense of urgency in the fight against the missiles.
THE DENSE PACK SCENARIO The first of a group of Soviet warheads (1) knocks out some of the closely packed MX missiles in their silos. But the explosion destroys or disables nearby incoming warheads, which are forced into close proximity by the smail target area of the Dense Pack site, in the following ways: shock waves and fireball (2), debris and dust-cloud friction (3), and electromagnetic pulses (EMP) along with X rays, gamma rays and neutrons that interfere with computer guidance systems and throw the warheads off course (4).
Now CND is in a good position to take a really mass campaign forward. As Dick Withecombe said: The really crucial event will be the joint CNDTUC-Labour Party day of action. We need to bring a million people on the streets next August."
100 MX missiles, deployed 1,000 fL apart 103IL0 10 re-ambry 1425730045 closer, 1. A Labour the missiles governmental decision.
how unpopular, Thatcher replies "ditto'.
still in office.
mitment of the Labour Surance.
his commitment to American bases fight tor of Labour leaders.
Lttack by mament and NATO.
Therefore 1s an DE4 9099 mass 3. Political strikes missiles.
missiles. stronger within the anti-missiles movement. This response is understandable. But it would be a mistake for the movement to become panicked by the shortening time scale.
Although our first target must be to prevent the deployment of the missiles, nonetheless we must stick to a strategy which can be successful, even if it means settling for sending back the missiles once they are already deployed. Here we outline an activists guide to stopping the missiles.
government can stop Sending back Cruise requires a teaches us that the Tories, no matter will stick to their slavish policy of following Reagan: as Michael Foot says, in defence matters when Reagan says something, then This means that even if there are tion huge mass actions against the missiles twisted. in "83, there is still a strong possibility that they will actually be deployed -always assuming that the Tories are The most important political victory won by CND has been the comParty conference to no Cruise and for unilateral Although the two-thirds majority for unilateralism at the Labour Party conference does manifesto, Foot has repeatedly stated closing down and sending back August, Overwhelming the most imporant decision for unilateralists is the election of a Labour government. The conditions for pressing forward the unilateral would be immeasureably improved by a Labour government, with so many commitments having been made. 2. A mass movement Like the overwhelming majority anti-missiles movement, however, Socialist Challenge would oppose giving a blank cheque to the In the past conference decisions have been flouted on a multitude of important issues — and we can be sure that Labour's right wing will fight tooth and nail against closing down American bases. eye.
Even Denis Healey and company however are against Trident: they will try to use the cancellation of Trident as a sop to the movement. Our task in the event of the election of a Labour government would be to demand that the movement is carried further, up to and including unilateral nuclear disarwithdrawal continuing mass movement, before during and after the election of a Labour government absolute necessity Equally, there is no guarantee that we shall have a Labour government at all. But guarantee for pressuring whatever movement IS the -DC51 government comes to power against the missiles unions.
Over six million trade unionists are affiliated to CND. Many major umons are in favour of unilateral disarmament and more are against the The unions are in a strong position to strike a blow against the stop it.
REWBUR Newbury against the missiles - a few miles from the cruise base.
As the date for the installation of Cruise comes closer, it will become the central issue in British politics. Already a clear majority Ol the population are against their installation. Nearly 80 percent of Labour voters are against the missiles.
The time has come therefore for the unions to begin to use their muscle to stop the missiles. But CND must give a lead: there is no way in which the union leaders will initiate such acwithout having their 4. Step up and internationalise the campaign Mass action remains the key to winning wider public support. Two tunity for huge mprisations. Pist. tunity for huge mobilisations. YCND has called an International Youth Congress, originally scheduled for Easter but now to take place in May. Second, the Labour Party conference called for an international day of action against the missiles for 8 Both these dates provide us with focuses for building big actions. But 1983 has to be the year of the anti-missiles movement. This means that mass demonstrations of the type held in preceding years must take place 5. Permanent pickets of the Defence Ministry and the missiles bases throughout '83 There is no doubt that the peace camps of the women at Greenham Common has done much to publicise the campaign. Given the emergency character of the campaign, it needs to be permanently kept before the public The defence ministry and the missiles bases should be permanently picketed throughout the year. 6. No tactics of despair: deeper into the Labour movement!
Steelworkers march for CND.
The imminence of the arrival of the missiles will push many into arguing for the most outlandish of direct action tactics. But these tactics will not stop the missiles. even if they dramatise the campaion Only the campaign's mass character can assure political victories.
The key strategic ally of CND is the labour movement. Numerically, it provides overwhelmingly the majority of CND's affiliates The campaign nas to be taken deeper into the That means not being satisfied with conference resolutions and affiliations to CND, but taking the campaign into the workplaces, with perspective of political action. If the labour movement is collectively determined to stop the missiles nothing can Socialist Challenge 3 December 1982
Challenge
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INFERENCE rchfor future
AS THE prospect of the installation of Cruise missiles gets ever the partisans of non-violent direct action are getting