bases

Iran has just attacked a base in Europe. The paradox of Spain is that it condemns the war, but the US does not need to ask to use its bases

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In 1953, in the middle of the Cold War and at a time of international isolation, Spain signed with the United States the so-called Madrid Pactsan agreement that opened the door to the installation of North American military bases on Spanish soil in exchange for economic and military aid. That decision, taken in a completely different geopolitical context, ended up becoming one of the longer lasting pillars of the bilateral relationship and a structural element of Western defensive architecture in southern Europe. Rota, Morón and a return. The operation American and Israeli against Iran has returned to place the Rota and Morón bases in the center of the strategic board. Destroyers permanently deployed in Cádiz They sailed to the Mediterranean Eastern, strategic transport planes and tankers took off towards the area and the Aegis system embarked on ships of the Arleigh Burke class It once again acted as an anti-missile shield. Rota is not just another base: it is part of the naval component of the NATO missile shield and, in practice, it has served on several occasions as a direct reinforcement of the defense of Israel in the face of Iranian salvos. Far from being reduced, the American presence has expanded in recent years, with five destroyers already stationed and a sixth on the wayconsolidating the Cádiz base as a structural piece of Washington’s military projection in the Middle East. Europe closes ranks with Washington. France, the United Kingdom and Germany have declared your disposition to take proportionate defensive actions against Iran and have coordinated your posture with the United States. London has explicitly authorized the use of British bases to neutralize missiles at source, while Paris and Berlin have supported the defense of European interests in the region. This position of the so-called E3 represents a political and operational support to the US strategy and confirms that, on a military level, Western Europe has not distanced itself from the offensive. Beyond diplomatic nuances, the message is clear: the main European powers are willing to provide infrastructure and resources if escalation demands it. First attack on Europe. Hours after Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his decision to authorize the United States to use bases in the United Kingdom to launch attacks on Iranian missile depots, a drone has impacted against the RAF military installations at Akrotiri, on the island of Cyprus. In this way, a more than relevant event occurs on the continent: Iran has attacked a European base. The Spanish paradox. For its part, Spain has condemned publicly the intervention and has appealed for de-escalation and respect for international law. However, the paradox is evident: while the Government criticizes the operation, US ships and media stationed in Rota have participated in the military device. The key is in the current legal framework. The US forces are not in Spain by specific authorization of the Executive in power, but by virtue of that bilateral agreement that regulates their presence and use of facilities. Because the United States does not need ask permission on a case-by-case basis for each ordinary operational movement within the agreed framework. In essence, Spain may express political rejection, but infrastructure is already part of the US strategic architecture in Europe and the Mediterranean, and its activation does not depend on an improvised consultation in the middle of a crisis. What Spain can do legally. The bases of Rota and Morón are governed by the Convention of Defense Cooperation between Spain and the United States, which is periodically renewed and establishes the conditions of use. Spain could in theorydenounce the agreement, not renew it or demand substantial modifications, which would open a complex diplomatic process that would require formal deadlines and prior notifications. It could also try to limit certain activities if it considers that they exceed what was agreed or violate international law. However, the real chances of that scenario materializing are rather few. The bases are part of NATO’s defensive framework, generate employment and investment, and are integrated into broader strategic commitments. Abruptly breaking or restricting the agreement would imply a political, military and diplomatic cost of great magnitude, both in the bilateral relationship with Washington and within the Atlantic Alliance. Between sovereignty and interdependence. If you also want, the current situation reveals the structural tension that exists between formal sovereignty and strategic commitments. Spain retains ultimate legal power over its territory, but has voluntarily linked part of its military infrastructure to a collective defense system. In this way, when a crisis breaks out like Iranthat interdependence becomes visible: the decisions made in Washington, London or Paris are immediately reflected in Spanish ports and runways. The political condemnation can modulate the discourse, but strategic reality shows that Rota and Morón are nodes integrated in a network that transcends the current debate and that places Spain, want it or notwithin the operational perimeter of the US strategy in the Middle East. Image | US Naval Forces Central Command/US Fifth Fleet, Navy In Xataka | The US threatened to take the Rota base to Morocco. Spain has buried it with an unbeatable offer: more territory In Xataka | A disturbing idea for the US is beginning to gain strength: if the war with Iran lasts more than five days it will not win it

There are only two places in Spain from which you can see the eclipse of the 21st: the Spanish Antarctic Bases

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Eclipses have given much to talk about in recent months. In April of last year millions of Americans saw an eclipse whose total concealment path furrowed from south to north the country. Something closer, in March of this year we had a small snack of the row of eclipses that we can see in the coming years. But some eclipses go unnoticed. A new eclipse. On Sunday there will be a new partial eclipse of Sol. The eclipse will begin approximately At 17:30 UTC7:30 p.m. Spanish peninsular (CEST); and will last almost until 21:54 UTC, or 23:54 Cest. Like other solar eclipses, this occurs on dates close to a lunar, in this case The last day 7 September. The beginning of the eclipse will be given on Pacific waters, near the Samoa archipelago. While being a partial eclipse there will not be a moment of total concealment, it will be at 19:42 UTC (21:42 CEST) when I know the moment of maximum concealment. According to Explain the National Geographic Institute (IGN), the maximum magnitude of the eclipse will be 0.86, but the inhabited settlements can only see the sun disappear in Something more than 72% of its surface. As Ign explains, after 264 minutes of eclipse, the sun will shine fully, being the waters of the ocean, near the Antarctic Peninsula the last to see the solar concealment. The eclipse of the antipodes. Sunday’s eclipse will be almost a tracing that was seen on March 29, only will run through the antipodesthe opposite side of the globe. The partial eclipse will be visible in the islands of New Zealand and other archipelagos of the southern Pacific. Almost “refile” can also be seen on the west coast of Australia, including Sydney and on the island of Tasmania. A very small fraction of humanity will be the one that this eclipse can see. In addition to those that inhabit the mentioned areas, in Antarctica the eclipse may be seen by those residing in some bases, including the Spanish located in the Southern Shetland Islands. The areas where the eclipse will be seen are best in the south of New Zealand and in some areas of the Antarctica continent, specifically in the region known as Earth of Oates, as well as in some small archipelagos located in the region. Waiting for a turn. Meanwhile we are waiting for the three eclipses, two plots and one annular, visible in Spain and part of Europe Between 2026 and 2028. The first of these eclipses will be the August 12 of 2026 and will be a total eclipse. The second will happen on August 2, 2027 and will also be total. The last will be annulled and will arrive on January 26, 2028. Meanwhile the world will see other eclipses. The following, for example, will arrive February 17 of 2026. It will be annulled but it can also be seen only from the southern hemisphere, with its annular phase only visible from Antarctica. February 7, 2027 an eclipse, also cancel, It will travel part of South America and can be seen partially from much of Africa and southern Spain. In Xataka | Spain is very excited about the three eclipses that will arrive between 2026 and 2028. The government is worried Image | NASA/AUREY GEMIGNANI / SNOWSWAN

Russia is expanding up to five secret nuclear bases

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At the end of May some satellite images discovered which were Russia’s intentions on the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. Now, in the midst of nuclear tensions in the wake of the war in Ukraine, new images from space have revealed an alarming pattern of expansion and renewal in five Russian nuclear bases that until now operated largely outside the international scrutiny. Secret, or almost. I told it in an extensive INSIDER REPORT Through the images captured by the American company Planet Labs and analyzed by experts in strategic armament. The photographs show a series of new structures, reinforced roads, buried bunkers and multiple security perimeters that point to a systematic and stealthy investment in Russian nuclear infrastructure. Although part of these improvements could be considered ordinary maintenance, the scale, the rhythm and nature of the constructions reveal something deeper: a reaffirmation of Russian nuclear power as deterrence toolinfluence and survival before the decline of their conventional forces. Asipovichy base Asipovichy: The new nuclear enclave. The berous base of Asipovichywho has gained notoriety since Putin and Lukashenko They announced What Belarusia could house Russian nuclear weapons, now presents triple fence, camouflaged inputs, covered ramps for eye discharge and a hidden bunker between trees. Although there are still no indications of active presence of eyelets, the infrastructure is ready to receive them from major deposits, such as Briansk’s. A large platform and a new road suggest that rail transport It would be the chosen logistics medium, in coherence with Russian standard procedures. In addition, a Second complex In the same city shows mobile pitchers from Iskander missilescapable of carrying nuclear heads, housed in recently enlarged hangars, which reinforces the idea of a fully functional tactical node. Gadzhiyevo base Gadzhiyevo: Intercontinental missile hiding place. To the north, in the naval base of Gadzhiyevonear the Arctic, the images show an intense activity in the mountainous complex where nuclear weapons are stored For strategic submarines. Previous photographs had already captured the raid of eyelets next to specialized cranes, and the new constructions seem to be hangars or workshops for missiles not yet armed. A few kilometers, the Russian nuclear ballistic submarines of the northern fleet They expect cargoes In specially equipped springs, remembering that from this enclave attacks capable of devastating entire cities in minutes can be launched. Kaliningrad base Kaliningrad: The undercover arsenal. In the Russian enclave of Kaliningradbetween Poland and Lithuania, a deposit with multiple levels of fence has aroused for years the Analysts’ suspicions as potential tactical nuclear weapons center. The last Images confirm reforms in buried bunkers and the appearance of new structures, such as a small building identical to another in Asipovichywhose function is still not clarified. A few kilometers, a nuclear maintenance unit Inherited from the Soviet era, it gives even more weight to the hypothesis of an active storage of nuclear weapons, reinforcing the latent threat in one of the most sensitive areas of the NATO eastern flank. Kamchatka base Kamchatka: Latent threat to Alaska. On the other side of Eurasia, the remote Kamchatka Peninsulain front of Alaska, hosts facilities for the deployment of the Poseidon nuclear torpedoa weapon propelled for atomic energy capable of traveling thousands of kilometers under the sea before detonating. Although it is not clear if it is operational, the Recent constructions In this base (among them Two new buildings possibly used as ojas stores) indicate a sustained advance in their preparation. The architectural similarity with other nuclear bases and the presence of triple fences in some structures reinforce the idea that atomic weapons or their launch systems are also housed here. Novaya Zemlya: Risen test base. Finally, in the Arctic Archipelago of Novaya Zemlyahistorical Nuclear Test Center of the Soviet Union and scenario of the detonation of The TSAR pumpthe images capture a remarkable Base expansion Severny support. New buildings and tunnels excavated in the mountain, along with old sealed accesses, suggest a revitalization of the complex as Experimentation Center Subcritic or as a platform ready for an eventual resumption of nuclear tests. Although Moscow and Washington maintain a similar policy of keeping these places operational without rehearsing high -performance weapons, the intensification of work in Novaya Zemlya fems fears about the possible return of active essays. The rebirth of a career. The simultaneous modernization of These five basessome completely new (distributed between the Baltic, the Arctic, the heart of Belarus and the Pacific Coast), illustrates how Moscow is reconstructing its strategic position under the pressure of A prolonged war In Ukraine and deterioration of its power conventional. With an estimated active arsenal in 4,300 eyeletsthe major in the world, Russia is more and more relied on in its nuclear heritage as a shield and sword before NATO and the United States. While and how We have countedWashington continues with its own program of renewal of the nuclear tripod, and China increases discreetly his Atomic capacitythus configuring a global scenario where nuclear balance becomes the axis of deterrence, threat and strategic survival. Image | Google Earth, Planet Labs In Xataka | The largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine. But Russia has taken it, and space has revealed its intentions In Xataka | We already know a hole that Russia has left in Ukraine: the Chernobil shield is still open and there is no money to close it

The cooling bases for laptops were for an omnipresent time. Today they have disappeared without realizing

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The Digital photo framesYoplait yogurts, the Aquarius Cola. There are objects that disappear without warning, and in that list they may be entering the Refrigeration bases for laptopsthose armathes with fans that populated the desks a few years ago. And that now they seem to have vanished from stores without anyone saying goodbye to anyone. In the magic 2000, when Pentium 4 They turned any laptop into a reactor turbine, seemed almost mandatory, especially with the arrival of summer. Today they seem as anachronistic as the coves for disks. What happened? There are several theories that seem feasible together. One of them is the fifteen years of silent engineering. Manufacturers have refined the thermal design, optimized architectures and perfected the manufacturing process until heat a residual problem. Apple Silicon It marked a turning point, but even Intel and AMD chips have won in efficiency … although they continue to heat up with demanding tasks. But in everyday use they do not seem to need that external cooling. On the other hand, it is Our way of using computers. The majority of heavy software that required local resources has migrated to the cloud, especially consumer focused. We live in browsers, We consume Saaswe delegate in remote services. The laptops are no longer so much work stations to process as internet windows that do not require too much effort. Not the one before. Meanwhile, The mobile has absorbed a lot of screen timerelegating the laptop to specific tasks, but not to do so much and for so many hours as it is. The cooling bases are thus bind to the same accessory cemetery where the remains of Ninety liquid crystal screen protectorsthe organizing boxes of CDS, the silicone keyboard protectors, the box with lock and everything to save disks. Tempus fugit. Are The testimony of problems that technology has been solvingreminding us that real progress does not always arrive with fanfarrias. Sometimes we simply stop needing what it seemed essential. Even in full heat wave. In Xataka | The web has become a horrendous place for many people. So they are rebuilding their version 1.0 as a refuge Outstanding image | AmazonUnspash

If the question is whether Spain can deny its bases to give air support to Israel, the answer is not so simple

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And suddenly, Spain. Actually, and as we will see, the country’s geographical situation makes it a kind of “technical stop” for the different military conflicts in which the United States has been. The war that is taking place In the East It is another chapter, but with the exception that, quite possibly, Spain will not enter. What raises a logical question: could it refuse to use its air bases? Reinforcements from Spain. First the news. Within the framework of the growing military escalation between Israel and Iran, the United States has discreetly intensified its deployment in the Middle East with the help of key infrastructure in Europe, including Bases in Spanish territory. It is official, since the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, confirmed that Washington has begun to use the Rota bases (Cádiz) and Morón de la Frontera (Seville) To park cistern airplanes, a measure framed in the bilateral agreements in force between the two countries. Robles said that the presence of these aerial means is carried out within the limits established by the joint defense treaties. Specifically, the agreement allows the deployment of up to 15 replenishment aircraft in Morón, although international media Like BBC They have reported the arrival of “something else”: at least 30 KC-135 aircraft In recent days, distributed between Spain, England and Scotland. Logistic support for fighters. We have come counting these days. The role of these cistern aircraft It is strategic: They allow to expand the operational scope of combat aircraft such as the F-16, F-22 and F-35 that the Pentagon has mobilized towards the Persian Gulf region. According to Reutersthis aerial reinforcement would also include the deployment of a USE USERindicating a projective combat capacity in several dimensions. Although the Secretary of State for Defense, Pete Hegseth, has insisted that it is a deployment for purposes andStrictly defensiveUS military sources have confirmed that these platforms have already been used to Interception operationsdemolishing drones and missiles launched by Iran in response to the Israeli attacks initiated the previous Friday. Reactions in Spain. No doubt, the use of Spanish military facilities by the United States It has generated restlessness within the Spanish parliamentary arch itself. Podemos has presented a Question battery In Congress to demand explanations to the Executive on the arrival, last Friday, of the cistern aircraft to the base of Morón. In their brief, they express suspicions that these facilities are being used as a logistics scale in support of military operations in favor of Israel. The party led by Ione Belarra has also questioned the government about itself I was aware Of these movements and if it supervises its purpose, putting on the table the debate on operational sovereignty and indirect involvement of Spain in an international conflict of high intensity. A Eurofighter Typhoon from Ala 11 in Morón in 2015 Legal and preceding basis. The current use of the military bases of Rota and Morón by the United States is part of a strategic relationship Started in 1953when Spain, even under the Franco dictatorship, signed the calls Madrid agreements. In exchange for financial and military aid, the installation of US bases in Spanish territory was authorized, in what was a shy international opening step. This initial network It included the bases from Zaragoza, Torrejón de Ardoz, Morón de la Frontera and broken, and constituted one of the First gestures from Spain to aspire to NATO entersomething that would not be completed until 1982 with the firm, and until 1999 with full accession to the integrated military structure of the alliance. The agreed of 88. The current legal basis that regulates the shared use of Rota and Morón It was established With the Defense Cooperation Agreement Signed on December 1, 1988 Among the governments of Felipe González and Ronald Reagan, he was finally the final of the Cold War. This text has been amended Three occasions (In 2002, 2012 and 2015) to adapt to geostrategic and operational changes. According to the Ministry of Defense, the second amendment protocol set a period of validity eight years old since its entry into force (May 21, 2013), which made it expired on May 22, 2021. However, article 69 of the agreement provides for a Annual automatic extension If none of the parties expresses its opposite will six months in advance, which has been happening until today, with Some exceptions. Rattan Operational limitations. Although US jurisdiction governs certain aspects within the perimeter of the bases, Spain retains sovereignty and political control over its strategic use. In fact, the United States cannot use the facilities unilaterally, but requires express permission from the Spanish government, as stipulated The agreement. This principle has been maintained, although in practice it has not meant obstacles during, For examplethe wars of Iraq and Afghanistan, when the governments of José María Aznar and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero authorized their use No restrictions. Similarly, in 2021 Spain allowed both bases to temporarily welcome Afghan collaborators of the United States during his escape from Kabul. Military presence. According to the agreementUnited States can keep up to 2,200 military, 36 aircraft and 500 civilians in Morón, although the current contingent is around 600 troops. In rota, the allowed limit amounts to 4,250 military and 1,000 US civilians. These figures reflect a gradual reduction compared to previous decades, and in 2023 The transfer of the rapid response force for Africa was confirmed from Morón to A base in Italyevidencing an operational replication that directly affects the employment and economy of the nearby areas, which receive about two million euros per year in direct income of the State. Real veto capacity. Therefore, to the big question, could Spain deny the use of its air bases to the United States with respect to the Israel-Iran conflict? The short answer is that yes, in fact, There are examplesas with the return of Torrejón in 1991 and Zaragoza in 1992. Plus: In 1986, the government of Felipe González advertisement that would not automatically renew the pact, also demanding The withdrawal … Read more

A single island houses 70% of the US military bases in Japan. There is a weight reason for not to come out: China

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At the end of January, in the Japan islands closest to Taiwan, Many places began to evacuate the area. The action was part of a series of drills that have been intensified in the last two years preparing for “the worst”, understanding this as An armed conflict between China and Taiwan. In fact, the most important island of Okinawa prefecture has a fact that attests to tension in the area: there is no other place in Japan with such a number of soldiers in the United States, and they have been there since World War II. Okinawa: trapped between two powers. For more than a century, Okinawa has been a territory in disputemarked by the conflict between Japan, the United States and China. Its history, which goes from being an independent kingdom to become a battlefield and military baseit reflects the weight of geopolitical decisions about the lives of its inhabitants. The island was originally The kingdom of Ryukyuan independent state that maintained tax relations with both Imperial China and with the Japanese domain of Satsuma. However, in the 1870s, Japan attached the archipelagoestablishing its control over the island. During World War II, Okinawa was the stage of One of the bloodiest battlesused as a shield to prevent US troops from reaching the main islands of Japan. After the war, instead of being returned to Japanese sovereignty, Okinawa was under control of the United Statesbecoming a military strategic point. Already in 1972, after 27 years of American occupation, The island was finally returned to Japan. However, the US military presence never disappeared. In fact, Okinawa houses 70 % of US military bases in Japandespite representing only 0.6 % of the national territory. It is estimated that there are 80,000 Americans on the island, of which 30,000 are uniformed military. The “slow” withdrawn. This week had the New York Times that the departure of those thousands of American marines has already begun, more or less, although With a delay of more than 20 years Regarding the original calendar. Before Christmas, a 105 Marines contingent that would normally have been sent to the island He was redirected to the new Camp Blaz base in Guam. This small movement marked the first trimming of military personnel in Okinawa within the agreement between Washington and Tokyo to reduce that US military presence on the island that goes back to World War II. According to the pact, 9,000 marines (almost half of the troops on the island) should be relocated at some point. However, due to the construction of replacement bases, its exit could take more than a decade to complete. United States maneuvers on the island A discontent agreement. Negotiation for the reduction of military presence It began in 1995when the case of three American soldiers who raped an okinawense girl caused massive protests on the island. This led to the United States and Japan They will agree to relieve the military load on Okinawa. As? In essence, by closing The Fuutema Air Base and the construction of a new installation in the north of the island. The first plan, signed in 1996, established a period of five to seven years for relocation, but almost three decades of that agreement, the original base remains operational and the new landing track is still 12 years after being completed. Geopolitics: the brake on the reduction. In any case, the delay in the withdrawal of US troops is due, in large part, to the growing military presence of China in the region. Recently and As we countthe Japan Ministry of Defense reported that Four Chinese warships sailed between Okinawa and a nearby islandincreasing concern in Tokyo and Washington about security in the Western Pacific. The rise of China, together with the threat of North Korea and tensions in Taiwan, has changed strategic dynamics. In fact, the times told that many in Tokyo and Washington wonder If they should really reduce the presence of marines in Okinawaespecially when the island is within the range of Chinese missiles and would be a key point in any conflict in the region. China’s hat. Although historically Okinawa maintained commercial relations with China, Beijing’s current influence on the region is seen with concern for many Japanese. The tensions between China and Japan by the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands They have fueled the fear that Okinawa can become a conflict point Between both countries. An uncertain future. For all this, and despite international pressure, the transfer of the Marines progress to slow pacealmost testimonial. Japan, meanwhile, has chosen to keep the status quoinvesting in the modernization of existing bases instead of accelerating relocation. In this regard, Camp Schwab, in the north of the island, will be the new home of the Marines relocated from Fuhenma. The construction includes an area of ​​land five times greater than the pentagon to house landing clues and hangars. It does not seem, therefore, that you think too much about an exit. For its part, Camp Fosterin the southern part of Okinawa, it is being remodeled with new barracks, schools and homes, consolidating the military presence in that area. Japan spends According to the New York Times1.5 billion dollars a year in the construction of new facilities, in addition to the 2.8 billion dollars already allocated to Camp Blaz base in Guamwhich, as we said, will house a part of the displaced marines of Okinawa. Yet, Pentagon still does not provide a clear calendar For relocation. And here we return to the exit box: in case of conflict in Asia, LTo Guam’s remoteness could represent a strategic problemsince the Marines would have to return to Japan crossing a combat zone. Thus, what is clear is that the island remains a key piece on the Indo-Pacific board, trapped between the strategic needs of the United States and Japan, and the own aspirations of autonomy of its population. Image | US Indo-Pacifi In Xataka | The Japan islands closest to Taiwan have begun to evacuate the area. They have been preparing … Read more

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