Afghanistan Victory! Results of House National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Amendments

Peace Action was one of the few organizations to oppose the invasion of Afghanistan and we have been working ever since to end America’s longest war.

Last week, the House of Representatives took a big step in bringing all troops home.  While considering the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the House passed an amendment that stated in part:

[requires] the President to complete the accelerated transition of combat operations from U.S. Armed Forces to the Government of Afghanistan no later than by the end of 2013; the accelerated transition of military and security operations by the end of 2014, including the redeployment of U.S. troops; and to pursue robust negotiations to address Afghanistan’s and the region’s security and stability.

Offered by long-time allies Representatives Walter Jones, R-North Carolina; Barbara Lee, D-California, and John Garamendi, D-California, the amendment passed overwhelming, 305-121 (you can see how your Rep. voted here).  Only nine democrats voted against and a majority of Republicans supported this very clear message to the administration to end the war.

Your calls, emails and protests over the years have quickly swayed public opinion and pressured the administration and lawmakers to bring this war to a close.

Our work opposing the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have made the U.S. Government much more weary of putting boots on the ground.  Take Libya and the current situation in Syria as examples.

Additionally, other amendments to the NDAA we supported passed such as language making clear that there is no authorization for a war with Iran.

Unfortunately house Republican leaders did not allow amendments that might of cut wasteful weapons systems like nuclear weapons.  There were a number of amendments that Peace Action took a stance on. You may see the outcomes below.

The next step on the NDAA will be when the Senate brings it to the floor sometime in the fall where we expect allies to offer similar Afghanistan language and opportunities to reduce the swelling Pentagon budget.

In the next few weeks the house will take up the “Defense Appropriations” bill where the Congress decides how much to fund projects that it has authorized.  We expect amendments to cut unneeded, wasteful weapons systems.

Thanks again for your hard work and support.  Let’s use this Afghanistan victory to help cut wasteful Pentagon spending.

Here are the results from last week:

The National Defense Authorization Act of 2014 is $54 billion above what current law (Budget Control Act) allows.  It continues funding the war in Afghanistan, which we think should end as soon as possible.  During tough budgetary times, this bloated bill takes from important domestic programs.  Hence, Peace Action opposed the bill as a whole and urged a no vote.

Notwithstanding our opposition to the bill, we gave vote recommendations on various amendments listed below.  These votes may be used for our yearly voting record and as considerations for endorsements.

The NDAA passed the House last week.  We had a major victory with Afghanistan and some minor victories with Iran and Drones.  We suffered defeats on nuclear weapons, Iran, Syria and top line cuts.  Below is the outcome of each of the amendments we took a stance on:

NDAA bill FY2014 Passed 315-108

Amendments

Floor #, Orig #, Sponsors, Summary, Peace Action Position, Outcome (linked to Roll Call vote)

2 #222 Blumenauer (OR) , Mulvaney (SC), Bentivolio, (MI)   Reduces from 11 to 10 the statutory requirement for the number of operational carriers that the U.S. Navy must have.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS Failed 106-318

3 #115 Lummis (WY), Daines (MT), Cramer, Kevin (ND)   Requires DOD to preserve currently active ICBM silos in warm status.  PEACE ACTION OPPOSES Passed 235-189

10 #118 McGovern (MA) , Jones (NC), Smith, Adam (WA), Lee, Barbara (CA), Garamendi (CA) Revised  Requires the President to complete the accelerated transition of combat operations from U.S. Armed Forces to the Government of Afghanistan no later than by the end of 2013; the accelerated transition of military and security operations by the end of 2014, including the redeployment of U.S. troops; and to pursue robust negotiations to address Afghanistan’s and the region’s security and stability. Establishes the sense of Congress that should the President determine the necessity for post-2014 deployment of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the Congress should vote to authorize such a presence and mission by no later than June 2014.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS Passed 305-121

11 #196 Goodlatte (VA) Requires the government, in habeas proceedings for United States citizens apprehended in the United States pursuant to the AUMF, to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the citizen is an unprivileged enemy combatant and there is not presumption that the government’s evidence is accurate and authentic.  PEACE ACTION OPPOSES Passed 214-211

12 #71 Radel, Trey (FL) , Amash (MI), Massie (KY), Salmon, (AZ) Requires the Department of Defense to submit to the Congress a report every year containing: (1) the names of any U.S. citizens subject to military detention, (2) the legal justification for their continued detention, and (3) the steps the Executive Branch is taking to either provide them some judicial process, or release them. Requires that an unclassified version of the report be made available, and in addition, that the report must be made available to all members of Congress. PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS Passed by voice vote

13 #73 Smith, Adam (WA) , Gibson (NY) Amends Section 1021 of the FY2012 National Defense Authorization Act to eliminate   indefinite military detention of any person detained under AUMF authority in the United States, territories or possessions by providing immediate transfer to trial and proceedings by a court established under Article III of the Constitution or by an appropriate state court. Strikes section 1022 of the same Act (which provided for mandatory military custody of covered parties).  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS Failed 200-226

18 #43 Radel, Trey (FL) , Amash (MI), Massie (KY), Salmon, (AZ) Prohibits the use of lethal military force, including the use of unmanned aircrafts, against U.S. citizens on U.S. soil, absent narrow exceptions for imminent and significant national security threats.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS Not offered

19 #23 Walorski, Jackie (IN) Prohibits the Secretary of Defense from using any funds authorized to the department for the transfer or release of Guantanamo detainees to Yemen.  PEACE ACTION OPPOSES Passed 236-188

20 #74 Smith, Adam (WA) , Moran, James (VA), Nadler (NY) Provides framework to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by December 1, 2014 PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS Failed 174-249

21 #19 Turner (OH) Requires the President of the United States to convey to Congress the details of any proposed deals with the Russian Federation concerning the missile defense or nuclear arms of the United States.  PEACE ACTION OPPOSES Passed 239-182

22 #40 Holt (NJ) Strikes all of subtitle C of title II except section 237 (Iron Dome program).  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS Failed 61-362

23 #217 Polis (CO)  Revised  Limits funding for advanced procurement of inefficient ground-based interceptor rocket motor sets, and the costly refurbishment of Missile Field 1 at Fort Greely, Alaska, until the Secretary of Defense makes certain certifications to Congress, including that the Commander of the United States Northern Command has full confidence in the homeland missile defense system.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS Failed 146-278

25 #21 McCollum (MN) Prohibits any funds authorized in the bill from being used to sponsor Army National Guard professional wrestling sports sponsorships or motor sports sponsorships. The amendment does not prohibit recruiters from making direct, personal contact with secondary school students and other prospective recruits.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS Failed 134-289

32 #91 Nolan (MN) Reduces total funds authorized in this Act by $60 Billion.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS Failed 71-353

33 #136 Cooper (TN) Reinstates the New START funding.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS Failed 195-229

36 #132 Gibson (NY) , Garamendi (CA) Strikes section 1251, Sense of Congress on the Conflict in Syria.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS Failed 123-301

37 #210 Coffman (CO) , Griffith (VA), Polis (CO), Blumenauer (OR) Directs the President of the United States to end the permanent basing of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment (2CR) in Vilseck, Germany and return the Brigade Combat Team currently stationed in Europe to the United States, without permanent replacement, leaving one Brigade Combat Team and one Combat Aviation Brigade–nothing in this amendment should be construed as directing the removal of Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, nor certain quick-reaction forces.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS Failed 110-313

39 #247 Van Hollen, Chris (MD) , Moran, James (VA), Mulvaney (SC), Woodall (GA) Revised  Matches the President’s budget request for Overseas Contingency Operations.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS Failed 191-232

104 #198 Conyers (MI) Clarifies that the assessment mandated in Section 1036(3) includes associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners for purposes of interpreting the scope of the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS Passed en bloc

106 #101 Braley (IA) , Jones (NC) Directs the President to submit to Congress a report on the long-term costs of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn, and Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS Passed en bloc

116 #17 Lewis, John (GA) Require the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service and the Director of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, to post to cost of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to each American taxpayer on the Department of Defense’s website.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS Passed en bloc

122 #273 Lynch (MA) Requires an assessment of the Afghan National Security Force’s (ANSF) ability to provide proper Operations & Maintenance for U.S.-funded ANSF infrastructure projects after January 1, 2015.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS Passed en bloc

124 #274 Johnson, Hank (GA) , Lee, Barbara (CA) Prohibits funding to construct permanent military bases in Afghanistan.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS Passed en bloc

134 #63 Rigell (VA) Reaffirms Congress’ constitutional war powers by clearly stating that nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize any use of military force.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS Passed en bloc

129 #120 Ros-Lehtinen   (FL) Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to deploy assets, personnel and resources to the   Joint Interagency Task Force South, in coordination with SOUTHCOM, to combat transnational criminal organization, drug trafficking, bulk shipments of narcotics or currency, narco-terrorism, human trafficking and the Iranian presence in SOUTHCOM’s AOR.  PEACE ACTION OPPOSES Passed en bloc

135 #114 Ellison (MN) Prohibits the authorization of Defense Department funds for tear gas and other riot control items to Middle East and North African countries undergoing democratic transition unless the Secretary of Defense certifies to the appropriate Congressional committees that the security forces of such countries are not using excessive force to repress peaceful, lawful and organized dissent.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS Passed en bloc

136 #261 Broun (GA) Prohibits the Department of Defense from using a drone to kill a citizen of the United States unless they are actively engaged in combat against the United States.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS Passed en bloc

137 #168 DeLauro (CT) , Granger (TX), Moran, James (VA), Kingston (GA), Ellison (MN), Wolf (VA), Connolly (VA) Prohibits the Defense Department from continuing to purchase equipment from the Russian arms dealer Rosoboronexport unless the Secretary of Defense certifies that the firm is cooperating with a Defense Contract Audit Agency audit, not delivering S-300 missile defense batteries to Syria, and that no new contracts have been signed by the firm with Syria since January 1, 2013. Provides a national security waiver with a requirement that the Secretary justify the waiver in a report to Congress 30 days prior to the purchase of any equipment from Rosoboronexport.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS Passed 423-0

138 #185 Connolly (VA) , Granger (TX), Diaz-Balart, Mario (FL), Gingrey (GA), Sires (NJ), Carter (TX)   Directs the President to sell 66 F-16 C/D aircraft to Taiwan.  PEACE ACTION OPPOSES Passed en bloc

139 #249 Roskam (IL) Requires the President to submit to the appropriate committees every 90 days a report that identifies that the United States has taken all necessary steps to ensure that Israel possesses and maintains an independent capability to remove existential threats to its security and defend its vital national interests.  PEACE ACTION OPPOSES Passed en bloc

144 #55 Gosar (AZ) States that Congress fully supports Israel’s lawful exercise of self-defense, including actions to halt regional aggression.  PEACE ACTION OPPOSES Passed en bloc

146 #197 Conyers (MI) , Jones (NC), Johnson, Hank (GA), Ellison (MN) Clarifies that nothing in the bill shall be construed as authorizing the use of force against Iran.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS Passed en bloc

147 #30 Walorski, Jackie (IN) , Lamborn (CO) Expresses the sense of Congress in support of fully implementing U.S. and international sanctions on Iran. Reiterates that it is U.S. policy to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon capability, and declares that the U.S. has a vital national interest in the survival and security of the State of Israel.  PEACE ACTION OPPOSES  Passed en bloc

148 #228 Fortenberry (NE) Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a strategy to modernize the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program in order to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and related materials in the Middle East and North Africa region. PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS Passed en bloc

168 #96 Franks (AZ) Establishes the sense of Congress that the paramount security concern of the United States is the ongoing and illegal nuclear weapons programs of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.  PEACE ACTION OPPOSES Passed en bloc

170 #239 Garamendi (CA) Withholds the $2.6 billion dollars in additional funding that have been added to the Afghan National Security Forces Fund this year for acquisition of aircraft, vehicles and other equipment until the Secretary of Defense submits a report to Congress confirming when these systems would be delivered, the ANSF’s capabilities of operating and maintaining these systems, and the impact of such acquisitions on the future US costs of funding the ANSF.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS  Passed En Bloc

Results of House National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Amendments

Please click here for results of NDAA.

Amendments should be debated in the order listed below, though some will not be debated and voted “en bloc” (a bunch of amendments voted in one vote together that will pass).  Also, because of some members schedules they might debate out of order.  The only other votes scheduled which should include amendments should start around 3:00 end around 6:00 PM and debate will continue late into the evening.  They will reconvene at 9:00 AM on Friday with some likely votes and try to end by 3:00 PM.

Call your Representative at 877-429-0678 (Thanks to FCNL for number) and say:

I would like Rep. XXX to vote against the National Defense Authorization Act and support amendment #10 to end the Afghanistan war, amendment #32 to cut Pentagon budget by $60 Billion and any other amendment that reduces Pentagon spending.

You may be interested in the letter we sent to Congress.  Feel free to forward to your Member of Congress.

Dear Congressional Staffer,

The National Defense Authorization Act of 2014 is $54 billion above what current law (Budget Control Act) allows.  It continues funding the war in Afghanistan ,which we think should end as soon as possible.  During tough budgetary times, this bloated bill takes from important domestic programs.  Hence, on behalf of our over 100,000 paid members, Peace Action is opposing the bill as a whole and urges a no vote.

Notwithstanding our opposition to the bill, we have vote recommendations on various amendments listed below.  These votes may be used for our yearly voting record and as considerations for endorsements.

We look forward to hearing on how your boss plans on voting.

Sincerely,

Paul Kawika Martin

Political Director

Peace Action

pmartin@peace-action.org

Peace Action Position on Selected Amendments to NDAA 2014

Floor #, Orig #, Sponsors, Summary, Peace Action Position

2 #222 Blumenauer (OR) , Mulvaney (SC), Bentivolio, (MI)   Reduces from 11 to 10 the statutory requirement for the number of operational carriers that the U.S. Navy must have.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS

3 #115 Lummis (WY), Daines (MT), Cramer, Kevin (ND)   Requires DOD to preserve currently active ICBM silos in warm status.  PEACE ACTION OPPOSES

10 #118 McGovern (MA) , Jones (NC), Smith, Adam (WA), Lee, Barbara (CA), Garamendi (CA) Revised  Requires the President to complete the accelerated transition of combat operations from U.S. Armed Forces to the Government of Afghanistan no later than by the end of 2013; the accelerated transition of military and security operations by the end of 2014, including the redeployment of U.S. troops; and to pursue robust negotiations to address Afghanistan’s and the region’s security and stability. Establishes the sense of Congress that should the President determine the necessity for post-2014 deployment of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the Congress should vote to authorize such a presence and mission by no later than June 2014.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS

11 #196 Goodlatte (VA) Requires the government, in habeas proceedings for United States citizens apprehended in the United States pursuant to the AUMF, to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the citizen is an unprivileged enemy combatant and there is not presumption that the government’s evidence is accurate and authentic.  PEACE ACTION OPPOSES

12 #71 Radel, Trey (FL) , Amash (MI), Massie (KY), Salmon, (AZ) Requires the Department of Defense to submit to the Congress a report every year containing: (1) the names of any U.S. citizens subject to military detention, (2) the legal justification for their continued detention, and (3) the steps the Executive Branch is taking to either provide them some judicial process, or release them. Requires that an unclassified version of the report be made available, and in addition, that the report must be made available to all members of Congress.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS

13 #73 Smith, Adam (WA) , Gibson (NY) Amends Section 1021 of the FY2012 National Defense Authorization Act to eliminate   indefinite military detention of any person detained under AUMF authority in the United States, territories or possessions by providing immediate transfer to trial and proceedings by a court established under Article III of the Constitution or by an appropriate state court. Strikes section 1022 of the same Act (which provided for mandatory military custody of covered parties).  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS

18 #43 Radel, Trey (FL) , Amash (MI), Massie (KY), Salmon, (AZ) Prohibits the use of lethal military force, including the use of unmanned aircrafts, against U.S. citizens on U.S. soil, absent narrow exceptions for imminent and significant national security threats.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS

19 #23 Walorski, Jackie (IN) Prohibits the Secretary of Defense from using any funds authorized to the department for the transfer or release of Guantanamo detainees to Yemen.  PEACE ACTION OPPOSES

20 #74 Smith, Adam (WA) , Moran, James (VA), Nadler (NY) Provides framework to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by December 1, 2014 PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS

21 #19 Turner (OH) Requires the President of the United States to convey to Congress the details of any proposed deals with the Russian Federation concerning the missile defense or nuclear arms of the United States.  PEACE ACTION OPPOSES

22 #40 Holt (NJ) Strikes all of subtitle C of title II except section 237 (Iron Dome program).  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS

23 #217 Polis (CO) Revised  Limits funding for advanced procurement of inefficient ground-based interceptor rocket motor sets, and the costly refurbishment of Missile Field 1 at Fort Greely, Alaska, until the Secretary of Defense makes certain certifications to Congress, including that the Commander of the United States Northern Command has full confidence in the homeland missile defense system.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS

25 #21 McCollum (MN) Prohibits any funds authorized in the bill from being used to sponsor Army National Guard professional wrestling sports sponsorships or motor sports sponsorships. The amendment does not prohibit recruiters from making direct, personal contact with secondary school students and other prospective recruits.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS

32 #91 Nolan (MN) Reduces total funds authorized in this Act by $60 Billion.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS

33 #136 Cooper (TN) Reinstates the New START funding.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS

36 #132 Gibson (NY) , Garamendi (CA) Strikes section 1251, Sense of Congress on the Conflict in Syria.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS

37 #210 Coffman (CO) , Griffith (VA), Polis (CO), Blumenauer (OR) Directs the President of the United States to end the permanent basing of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment (2CR) in Vilseck, Germany and return the Brigade Combat Team currently stationed in Europe to the United States, without permanent replacement, leaving one Brigade Combat Team and one Combat Aviation Brigade–nothing in this amendment should be construed as directing the removal of Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, nor certain quick-reaction forces.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS

39 #247 Van Hollen, Chris (MD) , Moran, James (VA), Mulvaney (SC), Woodall (GA) Revised  Matches the President’s budget request for Overseas Contingency Operations.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS

104 #198 Conyers (MI) Clarifies that the assessment mandated in Section 1036(3) includes associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners for purposes of interpreting the scope of the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS

106 #101 Braley (IA) , Jones (NC) Directs the President to submit to Congress a report on the long-term costs of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn, and Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS

116 #17 Lewis, John (GA) Require the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service and the Director of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, to post to cost of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to each American taxpayer on the Department of Defense’s website.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS

122 #273 Lynch (MA) Requires an assessment of the Afghan National Security Force’s (ANSF) ability to provide proper Operations & Maintenance for U.S.-funded ANSF infrastructure projects after January 1, 2015.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS

124 #274 Johnson, Hank (GA) , Lee, Barbara (CA) Prohibits funding to construct permanent military bases in Afghanistan.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS

134 #63 Rigell (VA) Reaffirms Congress’ constitutional war powers by clearly stating that nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize any use of military force.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS

129 #120 Ros-Lehtinen   (FL) Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to deploy assets, personnel and resources to the   Joint Interagency Task Force South, in coordination with SOUTHCOM, to combat transnational criminal organization, drug trafficking, bulk shipments of narcotics or currency, narco-terrorism, human trafficking and the Iranian presence in SOUTHCOM’s AOR.  PEACE ACTION OPPOSES

135 #114 Ellison (MN) Prohibits the authorization of Defense Department funds for tear gas and other riot control items to Middle East and North African countries undergoing democratic transition unless the Secretary of Defense certifies to the appropriate Congressional committees that the security forces of such countries are not using excessive force to repress peaceful, lawful and organized dissent.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS

136 #261 Broun (GA) Prohibits the Department of Defense from using a drone to kill a citizen of the United States unless they are actively engaged in combat against the United States.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS

137 #168 DeLauro (CT) , Granger (TX), Moran, James (VA), Kingston (GA), Ellison (MN), Wolf (VA), Connolly (VA)

Bi-Partisan

Prohibits the Defense Department from continuing to purchase equipment from the Russian arms dealer Rosoboronexport unless the Secretary of Defense certifies that the firm is cooperating with a Defense Contract Audit Agency audit, not delivering S-300 missile defense batteries to Syria, and that no new contracts have been signed by the firm with Syria since January 1, 2013. Provides a national security waiver with a requirement that the Secretary justify the waiver in a report to Congress 30 days prior to the purchase of any equipment from Rosoboronexport.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS

138 #185 Connolly (VA) , Granger (TX), Diaz-Balart, Mario (FL), Gingrey (GA), Sires (NJ), Carter (TX)   Directs the President to sell 66 F-16 C/D aircraft to Taiwan.  PEACE ACTION OPPOSES

139 #249 Roskam (IL) Requires the President to submit to the appropriate committees every 90 days a report that identifies that the United States has taken all necessary steps to ensure that Israel possesses and maintains an independent capability to remove existential threats to its security and defend its vital national interests.  PEACE ACTION OPPOSES

144 #55 Gosar (AZ) States that Congress fully supports Israel’s lawful exercise of self-defense, including actions to halt regional aggression.  PEACE ACTION OPPOSES

146 #197 Conyers (MI) , Jones (NC), Johnson, Hank (GA), Ellison (MN) Clarifies that nothing in the bill shall be construed as authorizing the use of force against Iran.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS

147 #30 Walorski, Jackie (IN) , Lamborn (CO) Expresses the sense of Congress in support of fully implementing U.S. and international sanctions on Iran. Reiterates that it is U.S. policy to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon capability, and declares that the U.S. has a vital national interest in the survival and security of the State of Israel.  PEACE ACTION OPPOSES

148 #228 Fortenberry (NE) Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a strategy to modernize the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program in order to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and related materials in the Middle East and North Africa region.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS

168 #96 Franks (AZ) Establishes the sense of Congress that the paramount security concern of the United States is the ongoing and illegal nuclear weapons programs of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.  PEACE ACTION OPPOSES

170 #239 Garamendi (CA) Withholds the $2.6 billion dollars in additional funding that have been added to the Afghan National Security Forces Fund this year for acquisition of aircraft, vehicles and other equipment until the Secretary of Defense submits a report to Congress confirming when these systems would be delivered, the ANSF’s capabilities of operating and maintaining these systems, and the impact of such acquisitions on the future US costs of funding the ANSF.  PEACE ACTION SUPPORTS

Action Alert: Sign our petition to the president on Syria – Escalate the Talk, Not the War

Last week we sent you an action alert urging support for our campaign to Escalate the Talk, Not the War, in Syria. We were grateful to get a strong response, and many other peace organizations are also working on this issue; together, our efforts are sorely needed to counteract calls in the media and by right-wingers in Congress for military escalation, including the nonsensical, dangerous notion about needing to be tough with Syria to “send a message” to Iran (those same folks want a war on Iran, too! Will they ever learn?).
Won’t you join us by signing the petition, and forwarding it to family, friends and colleagues, asking them to join you to help build support for the campaign we launched last week?

Below are some articles from the mainstream media as well as some from sources advocating a diplomatic solution including an important report from a peace delegation recently in Syria led by Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire.

For the national Peace Action staff,

 

Kevin Martin
Executive Director
Peace Action

1. Report from Peace Delegation to Syria – Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire

2. Good articles on de-escalating the crisis through negotiations  and renewed diplomatic efforts from the European Council on Foreign Relations:
De-escalating the Syrian conflict
Arming Syria’s rebels
3. Mainstream media coverage:
NYT Op-Ed

Washington Post Opinion

Take Action: Tell the President, “Escalate the Talk, Not the War, in Syria.”

Despite calls to the contrary from unsuccessful presidential candidate John McCain and other “when your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail” know-nothing war-mongers, who apparently thought the disastrous Iraq and Afghanistan wars were just ducky, the Obama Administration has so far held off on a military escalation in Syria.

Of course, we are very concerned about the horrific humanitarian crisis there, the allegations of chemical weapons use (by the Assad government? the rebels? both? we just don’t know), Israel’s illegal bombing of alleged Syrian weapons sites (perhaps also meant as a warning to Iran?), and possible covert action or arming of rebel factions by the U.S. or its allies.

However, to date, the Obama Administration has wisely not proceeded with establishing a “no fly zone” or other direct U.S. military escalation, and there is at least hope for an international/regional peace conference led by the U.S. and Syria’s main ally, Russia. Such a conference should include other key countries in the region, including Iran (France opposes Iran’s inclusion).

Such a conference should address a wide array of concerns – an immediate cease fire, an agreement to stop arming all sides in the conflict, access for United Nations inspectors to investigate conflicting claims of chemical weapons use, accountability for Israel’s illegal bombing, a possible Syrian national unity government, establishment of a weapons of mass destruction-free zone in the region and other national, regional and international concerns.

Our goal here is not, however, to present some sort of ten point peace plan, but to push back on reckless calls for war or military escalation.
Tell the president, “we need to escalate the talk, not the war.” Please sign our petition, and feel free to add your own thoughts, and to forward it to your friends and family.

Humbly for Peace,

 

Kevin Martin
Executive Director
Peace Action

Tax Day and The Pentagon. Op-Ed on Common Dreams

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/04/14-1

Published on Sunday, April 14, 2013 by Common Dreams

Tax Day and the Pentagon

by Kevin Martin

This month, as budget and policy issues in Washington muddle along inconclusively as usual, grassroots peace activists are busy organizing, educating, protesting and lobbying.

Last weekend, Historians Against the War hosted an ambitious, illuminating conference at Towson University north of Baltimore on “The New Faces of War” with speakers and participants examining rapidly-changing foreign and domestic policies.

Anti-Nuclear activists will converge on Washington next week for the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability’s D.C. Days, for strategizing, training and lobbying on nuclear weapons, power, waste and cleanup issues.

Around the country, peace and social justice organizers will convene local actions on Tax Day, April 15, to educate taxpayers on the country’s skewed budget priorities that favor the Pentagon over human and environmental needs. This year, April 15 is also the Global Day of Action on Military Spending, with activities around the world and in over 30 U.S. states drawing attention to the world’s addiction to militarism and exorbitant “defense” budgets. If you can’t organize or attend a Tax Day event, you can still join our Thunderclap “It’s Our Tax Day, Not Theirs” online social media action.

The prestigious, independent Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) will release its annual report on world military expenditures on Monday, which will show the United States continues to spend over 40% of the world’s $1.7 trillion annually allocated to weapons and war. Randy Schutt of Cleveland Peace Action put together an impressive article titled Our Tax Dollars are off the War – 2013 edition on Daily Kos with charts, graphs and citations comparing U.S. military spending to the rest of the world, and to domestic spending, which serves as a nice complement to the upcoming SIPRI report.

Lastly, an impressive national coalition has come together to organize days of action throughout the month to stop U.S. drone warfare.

All these actions focus on crucial issues, and they come at a time when there is hope not just to impact those specific policies, but when a confluence of events give us an opportunity not seen in at least a decade to fundamentally question the mission and role of the U.S. military in both domestic and foreign policy.

In short, it’s time for the Pentagon to stop weaving all over the road, to get back in its lane, and to stay there.

On domestic policy, the most obvious issue is the metastasis of the Pentagon budget, which has doubled since 9/11. The total “national security budget,” which includes not just the Pentagon but also intelligence agencies, Department of Homeland Security and nuclear weapons spending under the Department of Energy is over $1 trillion per year. Globally, the U.S. accounts for about 43% of total military spending, and more than the next 13 countries (most of which are U.S. allies) combined. The opportunity cost of this Pentagon pig-out is investment in the things we really need to make our country more secure – improved education, health care, jobs, rebuilding our infrastructure and addressing climate change.

While not necessarily the fault of the Pentagon, a creeping militarization of social policy, as seen in policing, prisons, the “war on drugs” and immigration, among other areas, is cause for grave concern and corrective action.

Constitutionally, the arrogation of power by the Obama Administration to assassinate anyone, anywhere on the planet, anytime it wants to by drones or other weapons with little or no congressional or judicial oversight can hardly be what the president ran on as “change you can believe in.”

(The president’s home state senator and former colleague, Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin, plans a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing later this month to address this issue, including the Administration’s assertion of the Authorization of the Use of Military Force after 9/11 as the legal justification for drone strikes in countries with which we are not at war.)

Militarization of U.S. foreign policy has been a bipartisan project since at least the end of World War II. And perhaps that’s not surprising for a country founded on and consolidated by the extreme violence of the genocide of the First Americans and imposition of slavery on Africans brought here in chains.

Quick, name the last real diplomatic success by the United States. Anything really significant since Carter’s Camp David peace accords between Egypt and Israel? That was in 1978 (and of course Palestine is still waiting for justice while Israel gets over $3 billion in U.S. military aid annually).

Look at U.S. foreign policy under our current Nobel Peace Prize laureate president. It’s less obviously and ham-handedly belligerent than Bush’s, okay. But in addition to ongoing drone strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and other countries, he says “all options are on the table” with regard to Iran’s nuclear program, when even military leaders themselves say there is no military solution, only a diplomatic one. The U.S. and South Korea evidently think putting out the fire with gasoline is the right approach to North Korea’s nuclear test and recent threats, evidenced by ongoing war games, simulated nuclear attacks on the North using B-2 and B-52 bombers, and rushing F-22 fighter jets to South Korea to beef up the already robust U.S. military presence in the region as part of the “Asia-Pacific Pivot” aimed at isolating our main banker, China. And last but not least, despite voting for the Arms Trade Treaty at the United Nations this week, the U.S. remains the world’s number one exporter of conventional weapons.

Certainly the tens of millions of dollars annually spent on lobbying and campaign contributions by the largest war profiteers — Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Raytheon and others — have a toxic effect on our national priorities. It’s doubly galling, in that their profits come almost entirely from military contracts paid for by our tax dollars, which they then use to impact legislation and elections to benefit their interests, to the detriment of those of the taxpaying public.

It is not necessary to pinpoint cause and effect on this state of affairs, where Pentagon interests and macho militarist approaches seemingly run roughshod over everything else, to declare that it is wrong, and needs to be changed. And there is no blame, only respect, for those serving in the military, who need the very best care we can provide as they return home from our misguided wars and far-flung military bases abroad (over 800 of them!).

So what is the mission of the U.S. military supposed to be? According to United States law, it is “Preserving the peace and security and providing for the defense of the United States, the Commonwealths and possessions and any areas occupied by the United States; Supporting the national policies; Implementing the national objectives; Overcoming any nations responsible for aggressive acts that imperil the peace and security of the United States.”

I see nothing there about “full-spectrum dominance” of the rest of the world, as the Pentagon’s joint Vision 20/20 doctrine released in 2000 advocates, and which has seemingly become the military’s de facto mission.

Regardless of what anyone in the military says its mission is, they work for us, the taxpayers that provide their salaries and buy their weapons. So we can overrule them and force the Pentagon to reduce its role and get back in its lane.

It shouldn’t be hard to see how we can get the Pentagon back in its lane, and let more peaceful, just and sustainable priorities prevail in our domestic and foreign policies. Slash the Pentagon budget by at least 25%, and invest those savings in human and environmental needs in order to jump start our economy. Let diplomacy take precedence in foreign policy over military threats and false solutions. I suspect many people, even in the military hierarchy, might welcome such a reduced role in U.S. policy, and in the world. It must be tiring driving all over the road. Staying in one’s own lane can have its advantages.

Kevin Martin is Executive Director of Peace Action, the country’s largest peace and disarmament organization with 100,000 members and over 70,000 on-line supporters.

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On the 10th Anniversary of the Disastrous War on Iraq, We Must Learn from and Not Repeat Our Mistakes

At a recent meeting in Washington to discuss overall peace movement strategy moving forward (more on that soon!), our colleague and friend Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies agreed to write a brief statement on the tenth anniversary of the U.S. war of aggression on Iraq. We signed on as did a number of esteemed colleagues, and The Nation published it a few hours ago. I urge you to read and circulate the whole piece, it’s not long. It begins thusly:

“It didn’t take long for the world to recognize that the US invasion and occupation of Iraq constituted a dumb war, as then Senator Barack Obama put it. But “dumb” wasn’t the half of it.

The US war against Iraq was illegal and illegitimate. It violated the UN Charter, the Geneva Conventions and a whole host of international laws and treaties. It violated US laws and our Constitution with impunity. And it was all based on lies: about nonexistent links between Iraq and Al Qaeda, about never-were ties between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, about Iraq’s invisible weapons of mass destruction and about Baghdad’s supposed nuclear program, with derivative lies about uranium yellowcake from Niger and aluminum rods from China. There were lies about US troops being welcomed in the streets with sweets and flowers, and lies about thousands of jubilant Iraqis spontaneously tearing down the statue of a hated dictator.

And then there was the lie that the US could send hundreds of thousands of soldiers and billions of dollars worth of weapons across the world to wage war on the cheap. We didn’t have to raise taxes to pay the almost one trillion dollars the Iraq war has cost so far, we could go shopping instead.

But behind these myths the costs were huge—human, economic and more. More than a million US troops were deployed to Iraq; 4,483 were killed; 33,183 were wounded and more than 200,000 came home with PTSD. The number of Iraqi civilians killed is still unknown; at least 121,754 are known to have been killed directly during the US war, but hundreds of thousands more died from crippling sanctions, diseases caused by dirty water when the US destroyed the water treatment system and the inability to get medical help because of exploding violence.”

Also writing on this anniversary for Time magazine, former Sane/Freeze Executive Director and Peace Action Education Fund board member David Cortright, now with the University of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for Peace, warns against the possibility of another disastrous military attack, this time on Iran, as many misguided warmongers currently advocate. Unfortunately, 63 U.S. senators already are co-sponsors of a resolution pledging U.S. support for Israel should it attack Iran. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York has gone so far as to send letters to constituents with the erroneous information that Iran has a nuclear weapons capability. Apparently he thinks he knows something the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is carrying out ongoing inspections in Iran, and the U.S. intelligence community, which not only says Iran lacks such capacity but also has not made a decision to pursue nuclear weapons capability, don’t know.

The facts are this – Iran has no nuclear weapons, while Israel has at least a few hundred.

Negotiations with Iran are currently somewhat promising, so President Obama would do well to ignore this unsolicited “advice” from the Senate.

Lastly, David’s colleague at Notre Dame, Mary Ellen O’Connell, succinctly outlines the case that an Israeli attack on Iran over concerns about its nuclear program would be illegal, published on the Syracuse University Law School’s website. 

On this sad anniversary we must acknowledge the huge debt we owe the people of Iraq, while foreswearing making the same mistake again.

Peace Action and Peace Action Education Fund’s 2013 Campaign Plans

The political frame of our work is building a new, more peaceful, less militaristic U.S. foreign policy based on democracy, human rights, justice and sustainability. This framework can help us reach new audiences, members, supporters and coalition partners, especially in our Move the Money campaign and, potentially, a new campaign of boycott and divestment targeting corporations invested in nuclear weapons.

 

Organizational Development Priorities for 2013: Goals: Increase integration between organizing, educational, legislative and organizational development efforts. Promote more effective collaboration between and among the affiliate network and national office for greater national impact. Realize a net increase of national PA/PAEF members and donors by at least 5% to approximately 10,200, also continue increase in the number of major donors. Realize a net increase of at least 5% in national PA/PAEF Action Alert e-subscriber list to approximately 71,000.

 

Key Strategies and Tactics:

 

-Implement initiatives for consistency in building the member/donor base, including major donors and online donors, building online e-activist lists, recruiting new affiliates, chapters and associate member organizations.

 

-Continue process of more coordination of campaign efforts from local to national level for bigger PA political impact.

 

-Also, related to this, continue to improve regular member/donor data exchanges between national PA and affiliates.

 

-  Continue to work with affiliates on win-win joint fundraising, member/donor acquisition and list-building strategies. Conduct pilot projects in Massachusetts and New Jersey, as well as other one-time or ad hoc efforts with other affiliates. -  Schedule next round of organizational development retreats for late summer and fall.  Proposed regions: Big Sky Country (West Coast, Rocky Mountain. Great Plains & Southwest) and Mid-Atlantic/Upper South.

 

-  Continue ongoing consultation and support for affiliates on organizational development priorities by national staff, and also affiliate to affiliate skill-share collaborations.

 

-  Coordinate communications and media work jointly with affiliate network with focus on the letter to the editor/op-ed campaign. Affiliates agreed to set goals for number of LTEs & op-eds based on the North Carolina Peace Action campaign model. A conference call briefing with North Carolina leaders will be held. Work closely with allies and media consultants on placement of LTEs and op-eds. Key is targeting Senators/Representatives in the content as part of Congressional pressure work.

 

 

Program Priorities for 2013

 

I.                   Move the Money/Cut Pentagon spending – Policy Goal: Cut Pentagon budget by at least 25%.

 

Campaign overview: A multiyear process to fulfill the Peace Action’s Long Range Strategic Plan which says, “Cutting unnecessary and self-defeating military spending will enable us to free up resources to address our real needs at home—decent jobs, quality schools for our children, universal health care, affordable housing, and a sustainable environment. In short, reordering our nation’s priorities–away from militarism and towards peace and justice–will make the world safer and our lives better. 

 

Key strategies:

• Organizing alliances and coalitions to build pressure on Congress.

• Promote grassroots organizing to demilitarize the federal budget as a critical step towards de-militarizing foreign policy.

• Develop local and national initiatives to promote solutions, programs and research into the transition from an economy dependent on military corporations for good jobs to a sustainable, green economy.

 

2013 Plans:

 

Federal budget debate: Prioritize engagement in the federal budget debate from national to local level. Provide materials and information for local organizing, which is focused on joining with allies in the environment, faith-based labor, economic, immigrant and racial justice groups to change national spending priorities.

 

Legislative and electoral action: Build support for Congressional Progressive Caucus alternative budget, Balancing Act, Audit the Pentagon Act and amendments to National Defense Authorization Bill that cut Pentagon spending and the SANE Act (or other bills introduced) to cut money for nuclear weapons. Target key members of Congress with LTEs/op-eds, lobbying, town hall meetings, etc. Begin to prepare for 2014 Congressional mid-term elections. Promote local Move the Money resolutions and work with local elected officials.

 

Promote initiatives that spur on federal action to transition to a “new economy” focused on workers and their communities who are impacted by cuts in the Pentagon budget. Develop special ways to circulate the “jobs transition” proposal by the Institute for Policy Studies.

 

Alliance building: Strengthen and initiate relationships with a core group of economic and racial justice groups, environmental and labor on national and local levels. Continue to build the New Priorities Network, work with the Budget Priorities Working Group and join coalitions that emerge in the course of the federal budget fights. Serve as U.S. coordinator for the Global Day of Action on Military Spending on April 15, Tax Day. Maintain a Wiki to record our progress,

 

Base building: Conduct yearlong campaign with goals on LTE and Op-eds.  Plan a series of webinars to promote common messaging. Continue the Move the Money trainings with National Priorities Project with a focus on targeted Congressional districts and to strengthen the work of Peace Action affiliates. Develop or participate in one online campaign to build Peace Action elists.

 

Produce and organize a national distribution of the Fund our Communities yard signs designed in 2012. Produce a Move the Money promotional brochure. Create a Wiki site to share new materials, presentations, articles and other resources as well as collect information on progress in local organizing.

 

II.                Ending the war in Afghanistan – Policy Goals: advocate earlier withdrawal (than the president’s timeline of the end of 2014); oppose enduring presence of up to 25,000 troops for a decade. Support legislation to fund Afghanistan civil society-led development efforts.

 

Legislative action: Focus on pressuring the administration regarding residual forces – no decision made yet on how many troops/contractors will be staying behind; originally 25,000 was the number floated around – now 0 – 15,000 = somewhat of win and clearly open to public opinion. –   Pressure Congress to tell the president: no contractors or troops left behind.  

-   Support Rep. Barbara Lee’s legislation: HR 200, Responsible End to the War in Afghanistan Act (same as previous) – 70 co-sponsors last session – Goal: at least 100 –  Support various amendments in the authorization and appropriation processes regarding quicker troop withdrawal, no residual forces or permanent bases and support for Afghan-led development -  Keep Afghanistan in the media

-Continue to lead Afghanistan Policy Working Group            

 

III.  Stopping Drone Warfare and Surveillance

 Legislative action:  Top 3 ideas for action or Congressional pressure:          1. Call on Congress for more transparency on the decision making process of the administration/Pentagon/CIA on how/when drones are used (the military and CIA have separate drone campaigns). 2. Get armed drones out of CIA completely. 3. Bring up this issue in the media in a more in-depth way. Media paying more attention as are members of Congress.

 

Base building and alliance building: main tactics are public education and media work. Participate in and promote April Days of Action against drones, targeting bases, corporations and universities engaged in drone warfare and research.

 

IV.             Building Peace with Iran – Policy Goals: Build support for diplomacy, prevent military intervention and end sanctions that hurt the Iranian people.

 

-  Legislative Action: Build support for Rep. Barbara Lee’s Diplomacy with Iran legislation. Oppose AIPAC legislative proposals designating Israel as a “major strategic ally” of the U.S. and calling for U.S. support if Israel attacks Iran.

-Media Action Opportunities: -  Next round of P5+1 talks Feb. 26; Op-eds before, during, after talks and LTE on stories on need for diplomacy.

 

-Netanyahu put summer deadline on Iran halting enrichment – may be stepping back from this so watch as gets closer, again mostly a media opportunity.

-  Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone in the Middle East conference to be held in Finland has not yet been rescheduled, we’ll support if and when it happens. Possible NGO side summit we might promote and participate in, otherwise mostly a media opportunity.

            V. Nuclear Disarmament

 

1. Campaign Goals

 

A. Radically Downsize the Budget for Nuclear Weapons “Modernization” of the Production Complex and Delivery Systems

           

Cutting the Nuclear Weapons Complex

-Stop construction of new nuclear weapons facilities that would increase nuclear weapons production capacity, the CMRR at Los Alamos, NM, and the UPF at Oak Ridge, TN.

-Stop Life Extension Programs for obsolete weapons, or that would make changes to a warhead giving it new capabilities, such as LEPs for the B61 and the W78.

-Increase funding for dismantlement and increase dismantlement rates.

-Stop the MOX fuel fabrication program and construction of the fuel fabrication facility.

-Redirect funding from MOX to and increase funding for genuine nonproliferation programs.

 

Cutting Boondoggle Delivery Systems

-Cut funds for the planned fleet of 80-100 new long-range bombers

-Cut funds for the planned fleet of 12 new ballistic (SSBNX) submarines

 

B. Obama Administration Executive Actions

 

• Push the Obama administration to issue a nuclear “policy directive” that moves nuclear policy towards a nuclear weapons free world
• Have the President direct the Pentagon to change targeting requirements and take the nuclear alert posture off of hair trigger alert.
• Push the Obama administration to start negotiations with Russia that reduce nuclear weapons stockpiles further, and include all types of nuclear weapons (e.g. tactical and reserve)
• Push the Obama administration and members of Congress to keep emphasis on the ultimate goal of getting to zero.
• Push the administration to quickly get to New Start Stockpile Levels
  
  

2.  Strategies, Outputs, Activities

 

Increase congressional support for changing priorities in the nuclear weapons budget, cut funding for facilities and programs that undermine nonproliferation and disarmament, and increase/preserve increases for nonproliferation and disarmament.

 

A. Leadership Strategy:

 

• Build robust grassroots/grasstops coalitions in districts to push MOCs with credibility to become stronger champions on nukes spending, new “Markeys” (First half of the year, tell MOCs how to take pro-active steps. Lay groundwork for specific decisions made (e.g. amendments to cut money) in second half of the year)

 

Possible Targets:Rep. Loretta Sanchez, Rep. Adam Smith, Rep. Marcy Kaptur, Democratic Senators

 

• OUTPUTS
  • Letter to the President supporting the Prague Agenda
  • Author Dear Colleagues about further cuts
    • Dear Colleagues to Committees recommending specific cuts?
  • Introduce Legislation
    • SANE Act Style?
    • More specific short list of cuts?
    • Topline number cut?
  • Introduce Amendments in Committees/Floor
  • OpEds around nuclear or budget hooks in news

• ACTIVITIES
  • Find new grasstops, build list of in-district assets
  • Travel into the district to meet in person
  • Set up and attend in-district meetings with MOCs/Staff
  • Set up Virtual Lobby meetings with DC Staff
  • Group Sign-on letters
  • OpEds/LTEs
  • Phonebanking: push calls into the MOCs office
  • Keep indistrict assets informed on breaking news, opportunities to weigh in with MOCs
  • Sample Email alerts, press releases, postcards, other advocacy resources
  • Educational events
  • Media events

B. Budget-Power Targets/ Grassroots Pressure Strategy

 

• Build constituent contact in districts to push MOCs that are targets of the larger nukes budget campaign. Pressure them to support the targeted cuts prioritized by the nukes budget campaign. (Second half of the year- Committee decisions on Approps/Authorization bills, push to get votes on bills/amendments.)

 

• Targets Sens Corker & Alexander, Sen Def Approps, House Def Approps

• OUTPUTS
  • Get Committees to vote for cuts (less likely on the Floor)
  • Introduce amendments in Committee

 

• ACTIVITIES
  • Find grasstops, build list of in-district assets, relationships from New START efforts
  • Nationwide In-district lobby days
    • Focus on grasstops in target districts having in-district meetings w/ MOCs/staff
  • OpEds/LTEs in local media
  • Phonebanking: paid or coordinated phonebanking into district before committee votes with general message
  • Group Sign-on letters
  • Keep in-district assets informed on breaking news, opportunities to weigh in with MOCs
  • Sample Email alerts, press releases, postcards, other advocacy resources

 

 

Possible New “Don’t bank on the Bomb” Boycott/Divestment Campaign

 

National PA/PAEF staff, in consultation with affiliate leaders and our Nuclear Disarmament Strategy Group, will decide in the first half of 2013 whether to launch a new boycott/divestment campaign targeting not only nuclear weapons corporations, but the companies that finance them.  If we go forward the campaign would likely be a mostly educational, public relations, online/social media campaign. It could have two possible levels: a “broad brush” listing of all companies in the Don’t Bank on the Bomb report, and also a more targeted approach (Bank of America or Wells Fargo and TIAA-CREF, for example). The campaign would afford us possible opportunities to build alliances with other boycott/divestment or corporate accountability campaigns and perhaps bring new folks into nuclear disarmament work.

 

 

VI.             Peace Voter

 

–Participate in special elections such as helping Rep. Markey in his Senate race in Massachusetts. Be prepared for other possible special election opportunities.

 

–Fundraise for Peace Action PAC.

 

–Plan and prepare for 2014.

A bit more on military and foreign policy in the State of the Union

Just a few points to add to Brother Matt Rothschild’s comprehensive commentary on the speech:

It took the president almost 45 minutes to mention foreign policy. Understandably, he still wants to focus on the economy, but this seemed extreme, especially since there is no good reason to “silo” domestic and foreign policy when there are great opportunities to connect the dots. For instance, the president’s mention of rebuilding our infrastructure, and specifically repairing 70,000 bridges in this country – great! Why not connect that with the need to drastically cut Pentagon spending in order to reinvest in community needs, stimulate the economy and create jobs? Why not bring the troops home from Afghanistan sooner, some of them can surely help rebuild bridges? The answer of course is the president is far too timid and afraid to take on the military-industrial complex (or by this point he is just “one of them”).

On Afghanistan, the “No drama Obama, I got this, we’re ending two wars” act is wearing thin. The president seems to want kudos for announcing that 34,000 troops will come home from Afghanistan in a year (meaning about that many would remain until the end of 2014, and then the Pentagon wants 8,000 or more to stay after the “end of the war.”).

Sorry, but I think it’s incumbent on the president to make the case why U.S. troops should continue to fight, kill and die in this pointless war for almost another two years. Polls show a solid majority of the public want all the troops, not half of them, home in a year. The president needs to listen to the public, not the generals and their talk of “fighting seasons” and foot-dragging on troop withdrawal.

The president’s quick “you can trust me” justification on drones, kill lists and targeted assassinations was abominable. This issue is moving rapidly at the grassroots, in the media and even in Congress, and the administration surely knows it is on very shaky moral and legal ground.

There was nothing new on any olive branch or changed policy on Iran in advance of the next round of negotiations later this month. Maybe that’s okay, the negotiating stance will be more important than anything he could have announced in the speech.

On nuclear disarmament, the administration evidently decided to back off earlier plans to specify a modest proposal to cut deployed strategic nuclear weapons by about one-third, to 1,000 – 1,100 warheads, instead only mentioning pursuing further reductions with Russia. This was likely a political choice not to raise Republican hackles, but once again shows timidity. Going deeper with nuclear weapons reductions, initiating negotiations on a Nuclear Weapons Convention to eliminate nukes worldwide, scrapping plans to “modernize” the entire nuclear weapons production complex and arsenal (with a projected price tag of over $200 billion over the next decade) – all of these should be on the table and need U.S. leadership, and would be wildly popular in the U.S. and around the world.

Lastly, I couldn’t help but think that when the president said, “we’ll maintain the best military the world has ever known,” the world must have said, “uh oh!”

 

Nuclear Nonsense (and Some Good News as Well)

So I admit that headline could cover a lot of ground, but I’ll just touch on a few ludicrous developments of the nuclear weapons enterprise in this post, and a few good news antidotes to the insanity.

First up, while this gets scant attention, the United States still “tests” nuclear weapons. Not with full scale explosions as in the past (we haven’t done that since 1992, thanks to the peace movement’s vigilance!), but with “subcritical” (better called “hypocritical”) experiments where nuclear weapons components, including plutonium from the warhead, are “tested” but they don’t “go critical” (there is no nuclear chain reaction and thus no full-scale explosion). Here’s a concise letter to President Obama from our colleagues Gensuikyo, a leading Japanese disarmament organization. This was sent on December 7 to protest the subcritical nuclear test conducted on December 5 at the Nevada test site.

Mr. Barack Obama
President
United States of America

December 7, 2012

Dear Mr. President,

We protest against your administration for the subcritical nuclear test conducted on December 5 at the Nevada test site.  Whether it involves an explosion or not, nuclear testing runs counter to the spirit of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the agreement of achieving the “peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons” reached by the 2010 NPT Review Conference.

Your administration seeks non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.  But your position of urging most others to renounce nuclear weapons, while continuing your own nuclear tests, does not stand by reason nor is it supported by the world public.

In the name of the A-bomb survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and on behalf of the people of Japan, the only A-bombed country, we call on you to cancel all plans of nuclear testing and make a sincere effort to achieve a total ban on nuclear weapons and a world without nuclear weapons.

Japan Council against A and H Bombs (Gensuikyo)

The government of Iran also protested the “subcritical” test. Just sayin’.

On the good news front, in another part of our government’s nuclear weapons forever plans, as of now no ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) flight tests from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California are scheduled through next June, though that could certainly change.

Speaking of ICBMs, Reuters reported last week on a report prepared for Congress that Iran is nowhere close to having ICBMs capable of reaching the U.S. by 2015, as had been previously projected.

Talk about nonsense, or maybe insanity, the government is considering very harsh sentences, amounting to death sentences, for the nonviolent protesters, including an 82 year old nun, Megan Rice, who breeched security at the Y-12 nuclear weapons site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Learn more, and take action by signing this petition to Attorney General Eric Holder.

Last but not least, check out Cadmus Journal for some interesting perspectives on various issues relating to nuclear disarmament.

 

 

It’s Not About Obama, It’s About Us!

–Kevin Martin

I was asked by our colleagues at the French Peace Movement (Mouvement de la Paix) to write an article a couple of weeks ago for their excellent magazine Planete Paix on the outcome of the presidential election and what it will mean for our work in the next few years. Here it is, and it may appear in longer form somewhere else soon. I’d be interested in your comments!

Relief, rather than elation, was the emotion most U.S. peace activists felt November 6 when President Obama won re-election. While President Obama has been very disappointing on most peace issues (and right now most peace activists are furious at him for drone strikes killing civilians in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and maybe other countries), Mitt Romney would have been awful as president. So what now to expect from a second Obama term?

Most likely, more of the same policies of the first term. Anyone expecting Obama to be decidedly more pro-peace than in his first term is likely to be sorely dispirited. However, there is a diverse, growing peoples’ movement in the U.S. linking human and environmental needs with a demand to end our wars and liberate the vast resources they consume. This, combined with difficult budgetary pressures (which should dictate at least modest cuts in the gargantuan Pentagon budget) could lead to serious restraints on possible militaristic policies such as an attack on Iran, “modernization” of the entire U.S. nuclear weapons enterprise at a cost of over $200 billion, a permanent U.S. force of 25,000 troops in Afghanistan after 2014 and an absurd military “pivot” toward the Asia-Pacific aimed at isolating Russia and especially China.

We in the peace movement need to be able to think, and act, with both a short- and long-term perspective. In the near term, swiftly ending the war in Afghanistan and ensuring no long-term U.S./NATO troop presence, ending drone strikes, preventing a war with Iran and building support for a WMD Free Zone in the Middle East, pushing for serious cuts to the Pentagon and advocating progress toward nuclear disarmament (including building new boycott/divestment campaigns utilizing the excellent International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons  “Don’t Bank on the Bomb” report) will consume most of our energies. Also, peace activists will build alliances with and lend solidarity to efforts to those working to save social programs and address climate chaos.

In the longer term (and looking through a broader lens), the U.S. is hopefully heading toward, in the analysis of Johann Galtung, “The Decline of the U.S. Empire and the Flowering of the U.S. Republic.” We need to understand and hasten that process as much as we can. We have an opportunity in opposing the outrageous “Asia-Pacific Pivot” (which the military-industrial complex has concocted, without asking the American people if we support or want to pay for it, as an obvious attempt the justify its continuing rasion d’etre), building solidarity with the peoples of Okinawa, Jeju Island, Guam, Hawaii and other nations in the region opposing the spread of U.S. militarism there and advocating peaceful relations with China and all in the region. Surely that is a better idea than trying to isolate China militarily, politically, economically and geo-strategically.

Contrary to the hopes many around the world invested in him (which he didn’t deserve and frankly he never asked for), it’s never been about Obama. It’s about the entrenched power of the U.S. war machine, and about how we the peoples of this country and around the world can work together to demand and create more peaceful and just policies.