On beautiful\u00a0Jeju Island, south of the Korean peninsula, the South Korean Navy is building a base that will soon harbor some of the world\u2019s most advanced weapons.<\/p>\n
But the mystery is: who inspired the base to be built on this island of pristine waters and stunning volcanic peaks in the first place?<\/p>\n
Peace activist Bruce Gagnon says all one needs to do is call the South Korean embassy in Washington\u00a0and ask.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have had four of our people tell us when they called the (South Korean) embassy to protest the naval base, they were told, \u2018Don\u2019t call us, call your own government,\u2019\u201d said Gagnon. \u201cThe US is forcing\u00a0South Korea\u00a0to build this base so to harbor Aegis destroyers. The base is a key part of Obama\u2019s \u2018Forward Base\u2019 strategy for missile defense. This is a very provocative act.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gagnon is the director Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space<\/a>, which is referred to as the \u201cGlobal Network\u201d amongst its 150 affiliates across the planet. The Global Network\u2019s mission is to raise awareness about US\u2019s emerging missile defense \u201carsenal\u201d \u2013 an arsenal they believe is a \u201cTrojan Horse\u201d the US is secretly and quietly rolling into the global courtyard.<\/p>\n Missile-defense technology, such as the Aegis-class destroyer that South Korea said will be stationed on Jeju Island, is \u201cdual use\u201d technology, claims the Global Network. An Aegis-class destroyer is equipped with the Aegis system of high-powered radar and missiles that can shoot-down intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and other warheads. But this same Aegis technology, created mainly by aerospace giant Lockheed Martin, has offensive capabilities as well, such as the ability to shoot down satellite constellations the world has become so dependent on.<\/p>\n The Global Network\u2019s dual-use theory is backed by plenty of incriminating evidence. The Pentagon has spent over $100 billion researching missile defense technology that has never proven itself in real combat. This $100 billion technology can also be deceived by balloon decoys that look like warheads, a fatal flaw the Pentagon has desperately tried to keep secret<\/a>. While billions were being pumped into so-called missile defense during the past three decades, many high-ranking officers from the US military and US Congressmen publicly stated the nation that controls space, controls earth.<\/p>\n Intimidation in the Pacific and at the White House<\/strong><\/p>\n Gagnon says the emerging Jeju island naval base, currently a construction site under heavy protest by Jeju island locals, is situated just a few miles from a Pacific sea route China uses to import oil, and that building the base is a provocative act towards China.<\/p>\n \u201cChina ships 80 percent of its oil through this transit line,\u201d says Gagnon.\u00a0 \u201c[And if a hostile confrontation were to occur] the US can successfully choke off their ability to transport oil. The US essentially holds the keys to China\u2019s economic engine.\u201d<\/p>\n What is equally disturbing, says Gagnon, is how two US defense contractors and their stock holders are salivating at the chance to make a buck off the threat of war between super powers.<\/p>\n Gagnon believes one reason the US is strong-arming South Korea to build this base on Jeju Island \u2013 a World Heritage Site designated by the UN, no less \u2013 is so General Dynamics and one of America\u2019s largest shipyards, Bath Iron Works of Maine, can continue to score huge defense contracts from either the Pentagon or South Korea. Gagnon foresees a future where Jeju Island becomes a base where US-built Aegis-equipped destroyers are also harbored.<\/p>\n Both General Dynamics and Bath Iron Works are two major defense contractors that build the destroyers that can be equipped with the Aegis system, and during the last two decades, the US Aegis-equipped fleet has gone beyond 60 ships.<\/p>\n Gagnon believes pressuring Obama to build more Aegis-class ships is the Chicago-based Crown family who helped fund<\/a> the President\u2019s political ambitions in the years leading up to his 2008 victory. The Crown family, worth $4 billion according to Forbes, is best known for nurturing General Dynamics over the past 60 years into one of the largest weapons-makers in the world. Family members today sit on its board of directors as they grow fatter and fatter from millions-of-dollars worth of General Dynamics\u2019 stock they\u2019ve hoarded.<\/p>\n According to Salon, the Crown family chipped in $500,000 for Obama\u2019s 2008 presidential run<\/a>.<\/p>\n Gagnon says the Crown family now wants some payback.<\/p>\n \u201cHe owes them,\u201d says Gagnon about Obama and his relationship with the Crowns.<\/p>\n Sputtering Orbiter? Assange Reveals the Truth<\/strong><\/p>\n There is no doubt, says Gagnon, that Sino-American posturing in the Pacific has ignited an arms race for the 21st century, as the US continues testing its missile-defense arsenal in the Pacific.<\/p>\n Recall in 2007, when China shot down one of its own satellites. The US followed suit in 2008 by using an Aegis-class destroyer to shoot down an apparent \u201cmalfunctioning\u201d satellite as it orbited over Hawaii. WikiLeaks would later reveal the Bush White House essentially had lied about the sputtering orbiter.<\/p>\n The real story, as told by a once secret US cable that was exposed by the elusive Assange, is that the US shot down<\/a> its own satellite as a direct response to China\u2019s display of space weapon capability the year before in 2007.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, peace activists of Jeju Island are being arrested and harassed by South Korean police. Ironically, the \u201cIsland of World Peace,\u201d as dubbed by its own political leaders, is turning into an \u201cIsland of No Free Speech\u201d.<\/p>\n For the past year, scores of Jeju Island peace activists, who have elicited help from Gloria Steinem and Noam Chomsky, have camped-out to block construction of the 400,000-square meter base that will harbor over 20 ships and submarines.<\/p>\n On July 15th, undercover police raided the tiny fishing village of Gangjeong where much of the protest strategy is originating. Three key figures of the protest were arrested, including Global Network member Sung-Hee Choi of Gangjeong, who was imprisoned for three months. She was holding a banner that read, “We need international solidarity. Please protest against the South Korean authorities with letters, press interviews and others.”<\/p>\n