US military

U.S. Soldier Died In Niger. What Is U.S. Doing There?

October 27, 2017 Peter Certo, www.otherwords.org Educate! Africa, Niger, US Empire, US Imperialism, US military

By Peter Certo for Other Words - In our military-revering culture, it’s a strange thing for a president to start a war of words with the grieving families of slain soldiers. Strange, yes. But from Donald Trump’s campaign season feud with the parents of Humayun Khan, who died protecting fellow soldiers in Iraq, to his recent feud with the mourning widow of La David Johnson, who died on patrol in Niger, it’s no longer surprising. At root in the latest spat is a comment Trump made to La David’s widow Myeshia Johnson: “He knew what he signed up for.” Myeshia thought that remark was disrespectful — she later said it “made me cry.” Beyond insensitive, though, there’s a good chance it simply wasn’t true. Why, after all, should La David have expected to die in a dusty corner of Niger — a Saharan country most Americans (and, one suspects, their president) couldn’t find on a map? And where the U.S. isn’t actually at war? If you were surprised to learn the U.S. has nearly a thousand troops in Niger, you’re not alone. Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who serves on the Armed Forces Committee, told NBC he “had no idea.” Neither did Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s top Democrat. Well, the surprises may keep coming.

Holding Out A Vision For Solutions Not Endless War

October 16, 2017 Will Griffin, www.space4peace.blogspot.com Create! Anti-War, US Imperialism, US military

By Will Griffin for Veterans For Peace - Economic conversion, defense conversion, or arms conversion, is a technical, economic and political process for moving from military to civilian production. The sixth Maine Peace Walk for Conversion, Community and Climate is concentrating on the serious need to convert Bath Iron Works (BIW) to peaceful and sustainable production.

While Outrage Mounts Over Puerto Rico…

October 7, 2017 Whitney Webb, www.mintpressnes.com Educate! Colonialism, Marshall Islands, Poverty, Puerto Rico, US military

By Whitney Webb for Mintpress News. San Juan, Puerto Rico – Since Hurricane Maria devastated the island of Puerto Rico, the U.S. territory – which rarely garners much attention from the national media – has received widespread coverage which has focused on the Trump administration’s slow response to the disaster. The situation in Puerto Rico is undoubtedly dire, as many struggle without power and access to basic necessities more than a week after the storm struck. In addition, the Trump administration’s response has been notably lackluster in several regards, which has brought renewed scrutiny to its attitudes and performance.

The Enormous Cost Of More Nuclear Weapons: What Is The Gain?

October 3, 2017 Guy T. Saperstein and Kelsey Abkin, www.alternet.org Educate! Nuclear Weapons, US Imperialism, US military

By Guy T. Saperstein and Kelsey Abkin for AlterNet - An analysis by the Arms Control Association of U.S. government budget data projects the total cost over the next 30 years of the proposed nuclear modernization and maintenance at between $1.25 trillion and $1.46 trillion. This expenditure is not included in our defense budget of $700 billion, which leads the world in military spending and represents more than the spending of the next seven countries combined --three times what China spends and seven times what Russia spends on defense. To put this into perspective, this number exceeds the combined total federal spending for education; training, employment, and social services; agriculture; natural resources and the environment; general science, space, and technology; community and regional development (including disaster relief); law enforcement; and energy production and regulation. With climate change deemed by the Pentagon as an immediate national security threat, healthcare costs rising, and an increasing number of natural disasters, one might think nuclear weapons would lose their place as the top recipient of federal spending. But this is far from the case and there is a reason why. As long as other countries continue to harbor nuclear weapons, we will do the same. And vise versa. As Donald Trump said at the start of his campaign, "If countries are going to have nukes, we’re going to be at the top of the pack."

Lawmakers Demand U.S. Withdrawal From Saudi-Led War In Yemen

September 29, 2017 Dan De Luce, www.foreignpolicy.com Resist! Congress, Saudi Arabia, US Imperialism, US military, Yemen

By Dan De Luce for Foreign Policy - Four lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan bill that would halt U.S. military assistance to the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen on grounds that Congress has never approved the American role in the war. Two House Republicans and two Democrats submitted the bill on Wednesday evening, but other lawmakers have already conveyed their support for the measure, congressional aides told Foreign Policy. The bill requires “the removal” of U.S. forces from the war in Yemen unless and until Congress votes to authorize the American assistance. For more than two years, the United States military has provided aerial refueling tankers and intelligence to the Saudi-led coalition waging war against Houthi rebels backed by Iran. “We aim to restore Congress as the constitutionally mandated branch of government that may declare war and retain oversight over it,” two sponsors, Democrats Rep. Ro Khanna of California and Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, wrote in a letter to colleagues that was obtained by FP. Although the bipartisan bill is unlikely to secure a majority in the House, it underscores growing concerns over Saudi Arabia’s handling of the war that is now at a stalemate on the battlefield. And it reflects growing unease at Congress over the U.S. role there, following previous attempts by lawmakers this year to rein in arms sales or other military assistance to Saudi Arabia...

Here’s Every Nuclear Weapon In The US Arsenal

September 28, 2017 Staff, www.globalresearch.ca Educate! Nuclear Weapons, US Imperialism, US military

By Staff of Union of Concerned Scientists - A nuclear weapon—the most destructive device on Earth. The US nuclear arsenal includes over 4,600 weapons. These weapons are unlike any other. Here’s an average one, the W78. (image right) It causes a mile-wide radioactive fireball and can destroy most buildings—and humans—in a circle about 4 miles wide. Hundreds can be launched within minutes. About 400 nuclear-tipped missiles are stationed underground in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, and North Dakota. They’re staffed 24/7 and kept on hair-trigger alert, ready to launch if and when they receive orders from the president. Submarines carry hundreds more. A single nuclear-armed submarine carries the TNT equivalent of roughly seven World War II’s. About 10 such subs are at sea at any given time. Aircraft are armed too. About 300 bombs and air-launched cruise missiles are deployed on air bases in the United States. Another 150 bombs are in Europe. All are capable of smaller, lower-yield explosions, which may increase the risk that they’ll actually be used. The president can use them at any time.

US Provides Military Aid To 70 Percent Of World’s Dictatorships

September 28, 2017 Whitney Webb, www.mintpressnews.com Educate! military spending, Regimes, US Imperialism, US military

By Whitney Webb for Mint Press News - About three-quarters of the world’s dictatorships currently receive military assistance from the United States. This is a strange record for a nation that consistently justifies its sweeping foreign interventions as aimed at “promoting democracy” and “thwarting evil dictatorships.” In the Cold War it was “He may be a son of a bitch, but he’s our son of a bitch.” Current analysis shows the U.S. militarily assisting dictators the world over, calling it “promoting democracy,” and disingenuously wondering why it’s all going so badly. For much of its history, the United States government has explained or defended its intervention in the affairs of other nations by framing such behavior as necessary to “promote democracy” abroad and to thwart the advance of “evil dictators.” While the use of those phrases has hardly dwindled over the years, establishment figures have been forced to admit in recent years that the U.S.’ democracy promotion efforts haven’t gone quite as planned. For instance, last year, Foreign Policy published an article headlined “Why is America So Bad at Promoting Democracy in Other Countries?” There, Harvard professor Stephen M. Walt noted that most of the U.S.’ democracy promotion efforts abroad end in failure, with nearly a quarter of the world’s democracies having been degraded in the past 30 years.

NFL Returning $723K For Sponsored Military Tributes

September 26, 2017 Darren Rovell, www.espn.com Resist! Athletes, Sports, US military

By Darren Rovell for ESPN - The NFL is returning more than $700,000 of taxpayers' money that was paid to teams for sponsored military tributes. After being criticized for "paid patriotism," in which money came out of the armed forces budget for various measures of public recognition during games, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said that the league would pay that money back. In a letter written to Senators Jeff Flake and John McCain on Wednesday, and disclosed on Thursday, Goodell said that -- following an audited review of 100 marketing agreements from 2012 to 2015 by accounting firm Deloitte & Touche -- teams were deemed to have received $723,734 for acts of sponsored patriotism. That money, Goodell promised, would be returned to the government. Goodell also wrote that marketing activities would be audited more frequently to catch such activities in the future.

How To Divest From The War Machine

September 23, 2017 Staff, www.codepink.org Resist! US Imperialism, US military, Wars and Militarism

By Staff of Code Pink - CODEPINK, in partnership with an array of peace and disarmament groups, is launching a divestment campaign to encourage universities, religious organizations, retirement funds, mutual funds, private investors, and other financial institutions in the United States to take action to reduce violent global conflicts and slow the hyper-militarization of our world by divesting from the U.S. War Machine. Divestment from the War Machine means divesting (removing invested assets) from companies that derive their profits by supplying and profiting from U.S. military interventions, expansions, and the militarization of our streets. In other words, we are calling for divestment from companies that make a killing on killing. Through this strategy we plan to: Uncover the hold the military industrial complex has on our government and our foreign policy. Spark a vital public debate questioning the role of weapons manufacturers and military contractors in perpetuating conflict around the globe. Expose how our financial and educational institutions are supporting those companies Inspire the public and investors to pressure these institutions to divest. Hold the arms industry accountable in political and financial spheres for its culpability in the death and displacement of millions of innocent people.

Senate Military Spending Increase Alone Could Fund Free College

September 22, 2017 Alex Emmons, www.theintercept.com Educate! Higher Education, Senate, US Imperialism, US military

By Alex Emmons for The Intercept - ONE OF THE most controversial proposals put forward by Sen. Bernie Sanders during the 2016 presidential campaign was a pledge to make tuition free at public colleges and universities. Critics from both parties howled that the pie-in-the-sky idea would bankrupt the country. Where, after all, would the money come from? Those concerns were brushed aside Monday night, as the Senate overwhelmingly approved an $80 billion annual increase in military spending, enough to have fully satisfied Sanders’s campaign promise. Instead, the Senate handed President Donald Trump far more than the $54 billion he asked for. The lavish spending package gives Trump a major legislative victory, allowing him to boast about fulfilling his promise of a “great rebuilding of the armed services.” The bill would set the U.S.’s annual military budget at around $700 billion, putting it within range of matching the spending level at the height of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. To put that in further perspective: If the package becomes law, U.S. military spending would exceed the total spending of its next 10 rivals put together, going off of 2016 military spending estimates from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Put another way, with a $700 billion military budget, the U.S. would be spending more than three times as much as China on its military, and 10 times as much as Russia. According to SIPRI, the U.S. already accounts for more than a third of all military spending.

South Korean Self-Immolates, Demands U.S. THAAD Weapons Out

September 21, 2017 David Swanson, www.davidswanson.org Resist! South Korea, THAAD, US Imperialism, US military

By David Swanson for Let's Try Democracy - Our country only has a future via the success of the Moon Jae-In Administration. President Moon Jae-In, long ago, when I was in Germany, I am someone who supported and respected you. President Moon Jae-In, I will give you a direct message. THAAD can not happen. Mr. President, you also know that THAAD will not bring peace, but anxiety and the dangers of war. There’s a saying that you take one step back to go two steps forward, I was considering that there might be a bigger picture, but by all means this is not the case. To be the coveted interest of the American superpower can’t be easy. But if from the beginning you are pushed like this, how will you stand up? I am a person who genuinely, honestly hoped for the success of the Moon Jae-In administration. Through the success of the Moon Jae-In administration, we could have seen a future for North-South Korean economic partnerships, peace & reunification, work done to achieve balance in Northeast Asia, and a future for us [Corean] descendants. THAAD, for all intents and purposes, will not be a war deterrent nor a protective arm for peace.

World Says ‘No’ To US Military Threats Against Venezuela

September 20, 2017 Staff, www.telesurtv.net Resist! US Imperialism, US military, Venezuela

By Staff of Tele Sur - Politicians, social movements and governments have been issuing their responses. In the 24 hours since U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington is exploring “many options regarding Venezuela, including a possible military option if necessary”, the global community has continued to condemn his comments. In a teleSUR exclusive, the U.S. intellectual Noam Chomsky said the remarks were "shocking and dangerous." Chomsky believes Trump maybe "painting himself into a corner. It is worth remembering that he is probably following his usual practice of speaking to his base, and trying to ensure that he remains in the limelight, not caring much about real world consequences (except to his pocketbook and image). The best hope is that some of the generals around him, who presumably understand the consequences, will manage to control him." Regional powers have also come out strongly against the comments. Ecuador says it "reminds the international community that the declaration of Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace implies the commitment of all nations to preserve our common territory free of threats or military interventions of any kind. In this context, it expresses its solidarity with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and rejects any threat of possible military intrusion into its territory.

Top German Politicians Want US Nuclear Weapons Out

September 18, 2017 John Laforge, www.counterpunch.org Resist! Elections, Germany, Nuclear Weapons, US military

By John Laforge for Counter Punch - A series of anti-nuclear weapons actions between March and August at Air Base Büchel in Germany brought widespread media attention to the 20 US nuclear weapons still deployed there. Surprising demands for the bombs’ removal soon came from high-ranking political leaders including Germany’s foreign minister. A timeline of events between July 12 and 18, involving a Nukewatch-organized delegation of 11 US peace activists, shows how the work may have moved the officials to speak out. July 12 — Upon its arrival, four members of the US group held a press conference in Frankfurt accompanied by Marion Küpker, international coordinator for DFG-VK — Germany’s oldest anti-war group — and organizer of the five-month peace camp. News of the unprecedented US group was reported in the daily Frankfurt Journal (“Activists from the US land in Frankfurt: Campaign against US nuclear weapons”), the online magazine FOCUS (“Nuclear fighters receive support from the US”) and picked up around the country. July 15 — Headlines like “Today in Büchel: Action day against nuclear weapons,” and “Konstantin Wecker sings for the peace,” was news across southwest Germany when the well known singer-songwriter drew about 400 to his performance near base’s main gates. The US delegates all spoke briefly to the gathering through interpreters.

The Day Of The Generals: Winning Armageddon

September 18, 2017 Phil Butler, www.journal-neo.org Educate! Pentagon, US military

By Phil Butler for NEO - In a room, somewhere deep inside the Pentagon generals and admirals met recently in order to prepare an assessment for the United States Senate Armed Services Committee. Present at the metering were General Mark Milley, the U.S. Army’s Chief of Staff, the Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson, the Commandant of the Marine Corps General Robert Neller, and U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff General David L. Goldfein. At such a meeting there’s no doubt that Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford attended seeing he’s the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The agenda for this meeting was serious as a heart attack – America’s most brilliant and powerful military men gathered that day to discuss Armageddon. The minutes of this fateful meeting are top secret. Only a handful of people will ever know what was discussed. But the end result of the strategy session was revealed on September 15, 2017 before the people of the United States. The top generals of the most powerful nation on Earth advised congress that America could in fact win an all-out war with Russia and China. It must have been a scene right out of Director Stanley Kubrick’s classic Cold War film, Dr. Strangelove.

U.S. Air Force Is Spraying 6 Million Acres With Chemicals In Response To Harvey

September 15, 2017 Whitney Webb, www.blog.ucsusa.org Educate! Chemicals, Hurricane Harvey, US military

By Whitney Webb for Eco Watch - While the Pentagon has framed its efforts to "assist" as seeking to eliminate a potential human health risk, the particular chemical it is using to control insect populations is likely to do more harm than good. According to the Air Force, the mosquito control protocol involves spraying the "Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved and regulated material, Naled," which the Air Force insists will not be used in amounts large enough to "cause any concern for human health." However, the insecticide Naled, manufactured and sold by a strategic partner of Monsanto, is currently banned in the European Union due to the "unacceptable risk" it presents to human health. Naled is a known neurotoxin in animals and humans, as it inhibits acetylcholinesterase—an enzyme essential to nerve function and communication—and has even been known to have caused paralysis. Mounting scientific evidence, including a recent Harvard study, has also pointed to Naled's responsibility for the mass die-off of North American bees. Just one day of Naled spraying in South Carolina killed more than 2.5 million bees last year. Yet, the most concerning consequence Naled poses for human health is the chemical's ability to cross the placental barrier—meaning that Naled freely crosses from mother to fetus.

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