NSW: US spied on Australian peace activists over desert base

AAP General News (Australia)
02-18-1999
NSW: US spied on Australian peace activists over desert base

SYDNEY, Feb 18 AAP - The US military spied on Australian peace activists in 1989 amid fears
public hostility towards a US spy station at Nurrungar might force Washington to close the
base, it was reported today.

The Australian newspaper said US Air Force documents showed a confidential report entitled
Australian Anti-Base Groups was ordered after a series of protests at Nurrungar in the late
1980s.

The investigation offered the first proof that Australian anti-nuclear and anti-US base
movements triggered concern at the highest levels of the US military, the newspaper said.

The protests came at a time when Washington considered Nurrungar to be a vital link in its
global military network.

Nurrungar, near Woomera in central South Australia, has been the site of several protests
by peace groups claiming the 29-year-old base would be a target in a nuclear war.

The base helps track missile launches around the world, providing the US with early warning
of a nuclear attack.

The results of the secret 1989 investigation remain classified and it was not known if it
involved covert operations.

AAP lk/bwl

KEYWORD: SPIES

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