Trumpery? A position is fixed until it isn’t

August 10, 2026

Marcus Reubenstein makes a good point. In one week we have had five official positions. Henderson is not a base it’s a forward rotation. But there will be 2300 Americans there full time. Henderson will only have a US presence until 2032. It’s up to the governments of the day what happens after 2032. And now, US is to decide how long it stays based on US operational requirements.

I note that a wide group of people in Jordan are asking for the removal of the US base there, as it is attracting attacks they could do without.

There is no reason to think Henderson would be any different.

The Treaty of Rarotonga applies, so no sub carrying nuclear weapons should enter Cockburn Sound as it is within the twelve mile limit.

Under the current national document for nuclear visits, a ship with a radiation problem at Henderson is to be towed out to sea, with the chance that any radioactive plume is carried on the westerly over metropolitan Perth, it notes. Then what? What happens if a nuclear sub in the Indian Ocean limps back to Henderson with a radiation problem caused by damage from whatever source?