kinda interesting considering the US has refused military ties with NZ due to our anti nuke stance....but it's fine to have a spy base here....

Greens demand inquiry into Waihopai spy base
26 August 2005

The Green Party is calling for an inquiry into the role the Waihopai spy base played in the United States-led invasion of Iraq.


The Greens have brought former Australian intelligence analyst and Australian Greens candidate Andrew Wilkie across the Tasman to warn of the risks of aligning New Zealand's foreign policy too closely with that of the United States.

Mr Wilkie said today New Zealand had given tacit assistance to the Iraq invasion by participating in a communications surveillance network linking the US, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The Waihopai base, near Blenheim, was part of the "signals intelligence system".

"New Zealand is a fully paid up member of this alliance, so the country is a tacit accomplice in each and every act of mischief attempted by its signal intelligence partners."

Mr Wilkie said New Zealand was not in control of the system.

Other countries had designed and built some to the equipment and programmed the computers, which managed what information was collected and where it was sent.

Greens co-leader Rod Donald said an inquiry was needed.

"Andrew Wilkie's comments confirm what we have long suspected: that information gathered by the Waihopai spy base is automatically sent to the United States.

"The only justification for Waihopai would be if it were under complete New Zealand control and if it operated exclusively in New Zealand's interests."
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3390732a10,00.html

Intresting is all i can say but why do they have a spy base in our country not that i care

Originally Posted by xander

Intresting is all i can say but why do they have a spy base in our country not that i care

"They" don't have a "spy" base here, it is part of a global network of communications monitoring systems (think of it more as eavesdropping than spying), there are a bunch of them worldwide and Waihopai is simply a link in the chain.

Unfortunately the Greens and the left see anything with a connection to the US as some big brother world domination conspiracy however I guess thats balanced by the rights insistence that the our anti-nuclear treat makes communist invasion imminent.
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