Parliamentary briefing
A stark reminder of the decisions on National Missile Defence that must be made by Tony Blair during this Parliament were presented to him shortly after the Election as President Bush touched down in Europe for meetings with the allies Star Wars and Kyoto were top of the agenda. Whilst political leaders welcomed Bush, civil society was much more hostile with protests following the President from meeting to meeting across the continent.
Throughout Europe Greenpeace made it clear that Bush's unilateralist policies were not welcome. As Airforce One arrived in Brussels activists blockaded the exit gates at the airport and called on allied leaders to stand up to Bush and "Stop Star Wars". A further demonstration involved a motorised parachute circling NATO HQ during the heads of state meeting, trailing a "Stop Star Wars" banner. And in Slovenia while the US and Russian leaders met, Greenpeace launched a giant kite flying a "Stop Star Wars" banner over the meeting venue.
