US Militarism’s Expanse and the Need for an International Movement to Cut Military Spending
Despite the fact that we inhabit a war culture and machine with a vast reach and capacity never seen before, we must stand strong in opposition to endless war. It falls upon us as peace activists to inspire American people – and people around the world – to call for an end to war, to protest drone attacks and nuclear weapons modernization, to wage campaigns to cut the military, to stand up in our communities to bring attention to the futility of war, and to demand a full focused effort on diplomacy and redirection of resources to meet human needs and protect mother earth. It’s time for the movement for peace and justice to rise again!
The Middle East and Central Asia
Since 2001, U.S. military interventions have continued in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Libya, where administration advisors are pushing for boots on the ground as Daesh (ISIS) moves into the chaotic void left by the U.S.-NATO bombings. In Syria, the U.S., Russia and now France - three nuclear-armed nations – are bombing side-by-side and on different sides. While Turkey, a NATO member with U.S. nuclear weapons based on its soil, faces off against Russia, it appears that the U.S. is arming Kurdish Turkish opponents fighting Daesh across the border in Syria. The bombing of hospitals – allegedly by both the U.S. and Russia – remind us that in the chaos of war such events are all too common.
The U.S. and European allies also are selling Saudi Arabia – the biggest supporter of terrorism in the world -- billions of dollars of weapons, which then are being used to slaughter innocent civilians in Yemen and repress democracy at home.
Europe and NATO
In Ukraine and Eastern Europe, the U.S. and its NATO allies and Russia are backing opposite sides in a confrontation involving four nuclear-armed countries. Both NATO and Russia are building up their forces along Russia’s border, and increasing the tempo of exercises of both nuclear and conventional forces. The Obama administration’s new military budget calls for a massive increase in funding to support this dangerous buildup.
These military interventions continue with little Congressional debate and no real discussion about the merits (if any) and risks (many) involved – leaving the American people on the sidelines and further endangering U.S. troops in futile, endless wars.
The Far East
To add to these dangerous conflicts, the U.S. and China, another nuclear-armed nation, are facing off against each other in the seas bordering China and other Asian nations. In January, North Korea conducted its 4th nuclear test (claiming it was an H-bomb). In a show of force, the U.S. responded by deploying a B-52 bomber capable of carrying nuclear weapons on a low-level flight over its ally South Korea. North Korea’s subsequent satellite launch has further inflamed tensions in the region.
As the U.S., Russia, China and the other nuclear-armed nations spend billions of dollars to modernize their nuclear arsenals, the danger of wars among nuclear-armed states is growing.
Cutting Military Spending
Total military spending in the Administration’s recently released FY 2017 budget requestcontinues to increase, amounting to nearly $623 billion, including the Pentagon budget, nuclear weapons and aid to foreign militaries. The budget provides $583 billion for the Pentagon alone in 2017, a $2 billion increase over 2016.The Pentagon budget is more than ten times the budget allocated for diplomacy under the Department of State. Compared to $7.5 billion for military efforts to fight Daesh, the budget provides just $4 billion for dedicated diplomacy and humanitarian relief around the region.
These endless wars have cost millions of lives and trillions of dollars, while the needs of growing numbers of Americans here at home go unmet. Europe is overwhelmed by the largest refugee crisis since World War II, with huge daily migrations (6,000 people per day) and drownings of people so desperate to escape war zones that they undertake perilous journeys to a place that might be safer. Meanwhile, the United Nations is begging for a mere $550 million in aid for the refugees who are the victims of war.
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