The activists' work from WAND and from our coalition partners is begining to pay off. Recent developments in the House show that Congress is finally begining to understand what we have been telling them!

Thursday, July 1st Congress moved one step closer to representing the majority of Americans who believe the war in Afghanistan has not been worth the sacrifice of over 1,000 American service members and $1 trillion dollars. Congressional opposition to our failed strategy in Afghanistan was reflected in growing support for the efforts of leaders like Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) to responsibly bring our troops home.

Although these amendments were ultimately defeated by a coalition of Blue Dog Democrats and the Republican minority, two things are clear: Opposition to the war in Congress has grown significantly over the last year, and that is in no small part the result of efforts by thousands of activists from across the country. Dozens of organizations representing millions of Americans have worked over the last year to push Congress to represent a majority of Americans and end the war. The result of that work by citizens like you -- calling, emailing and meeting with their Members of Congress -- is on display in these votes.

If you are interested in learning how your elected officials voted, check out the vote tallies here:
Amendment # 4 offered by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) failed 100 to 321.
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2010/roll432.xml

Amendment # 5 offered by Reps. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and David Obey (D-WI) and Walter Jones (R-NC) failed 162-260 http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2010/roll433.xml

BREAKING NEWS!

Thursday, September 16th: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to send the New START Treaty to the Senate floor for a full vote on ratification.  Special thanks for Republican Senators Lugar, Corker, and Isakson (IN, TN, GA) for taking a bi partisan stand for a safe and secure world! Now it is time to make sure that during the full vote the New START Treaty receives all the votes it needs. Contact your Senators now and make sure they know you expect a YES vote on New START!

A historic day...
The New START was signed on April 8, 2010 in Prague, Czech Republic. The signing by U.S. President Obama and Russian President Medvedev followed a year of extensive negotiations.

The new treaty limits the U.S. and Russia to no more than 1,550 deployed strategic warheads and 800 deployed and non-deployed delivery vehicles. The treaty also includes a streamlined and updated system of verification provisions to ensure each side that the other is complying with the treaty stipulations.

History of the New START Treaty

The 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty was a bilateral treaty between the United States and Union of Soviet Socialist Replublics on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. The treaty was signed on the 31st of July in 1991 and entered into force on December 5, 1994.

START I negotiated the largest and most complex arms control treaty in history. START codified the end of Cold War nuclear competition and reduced immediate dangers associated with excess nuclear weapons arsenals.
The treaty expired on December 5, 2009.
What Does It Mean?

The New START will reduce U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons surplus and ensure a more stable nuclear relationship. The new agreement limits deployed strategic missiles and bombers as well as deployed warheads. The verification system allows the U.S. to look into Russian missiles and count actual numbers of warheads. The compliance and verification system protect against misunderstandings and worst case scenarios.

The New START will strengthen efforts to reduce the threat of nuclear terrorism. The U.S. and Russia possess approximately 95% of the entire world arsenal. A reduction in the bulk of the world’s nuclear weapons lessens the threat of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists.

The New START will strengthen efforts throughout the world to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. The treaty sends a strong message the U.S plans to play an integral role in upholding its obligation to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).

The New START will improve U.S. and Russian relations and helps to set the stage for discussions about further nuclear arms reductions. The formal process will make it easier for the U.S. to pursue other objectives that require
Russia’s assistance, including reigning in Iran’s nuclear program.

What's Next?

The next step in this process is the ratification of New START in the U.S. Senate.

• The Senate will be in session for four remaining weeks, September 13 through October 8, before the elections. Whether we get a floor vote before the Senate adjourns for the elections will depend in part on the vote margin in the Foreign Relations Committee and on the willingness of Minority Leader McConnell to allow the treaty to come up.
• The Senate will return on November 15 for a lame-duck session. We will not know until after the elections whether major legislation will be considered during the lame duck.
• For a floor vote, the decided senators are Alexander (TN), Bond (MO), Brown (MA), Brownback (KS), Chambliss (GA), Coburn (OK), Cochran (MS), Collins (ME), Cornyn (TX), Crapo (ID), Enzi (WY), Graham (SC), Grassley (IA), Gregg (NH), Hatch (UT), Hutchison (TX), Johanns (NE), LeMieux (FL), McCain (AZ), McConnell (KY), Murkowski (AK), Roberts (KS), Snowe (ME), Thune (SD), and Voinovich (OH).

Links for further reading:

New START Fact Sheet (PDF) provided by WAND
Recent article in Foreign Policy directed to Senator Lugar

What you need to know about the Federal Budget:

Below you will find links that will help you begin to understand the federal budget process.

WAND Testimony (PDF) at the National Committee on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform

All Our Dollars A guide to the soap-opera saga of the federal budget process. Download the Fact Dollars PDF here.

American Budget Pie It's here! The famous American budget pie! Now with an even more gigantic slice for the Pentagon! Please share with your friends and family. You know they've been wondering how much for the Pentagon this year? More than ever! 58%! Yikes! Download the American Budget Pie PDF here.

Finding New Ways to Create Jobs The military industry stays in business because it creates millions of jobs. But other projects can do even better. It's time to reinvest our public monies. Download the 2010 Updated Jobs Study Fact Sheet here: Jobs Study Download the Jobs Fact PDF here. Check out the jobs study by the Institute for Policy Studies

To learn more about what you can do in the military spending debate, please visit the WAND Action Center. Use the buttons on the left to be re- routed to WAND Action Center.

EXTRA EXTRA!!!

New QUARTERLY Bulletin! WAND is trying a new bulletin format. WAND will now be sending quarterly bulletins with all of the information you need to know. What's different?
Quarterly, not Monthly: With the plethora of information that was distributed this spring,we realized we were sending out emails at least twice a week with updates on new treaties, budget issues, and more of WAND's priority information. Instead of adding to the inbox clutter with monthly bulletins we are going to try a new system of sending quarterly bulletins.
More Relevant Information: The quarterly bulletin will wrap up the information that was already distributed during the quarter and will also include new updates. We aim to use only the best articles we find and write, we won't be adding any "filler".
Easier to Read: We took out a lot of the icons and menu bars so that the information provided is clear and easily accessible.
We Added Some Things Too: The new "Things To Do/ Action Items Section" will make it simple for you to take action and help WAND's mission.

CONGRESS SUPPORTS THE PORK EVEN THE PENTAGON DOESN'T WANT TO WASTE MONEY ON...

Currently there are two duplicative engines being developed for the Joint Strike Fighter F-35 aircraft. The Pentagon wants to stop spending extra money for the “alternate engine program” for this plane. Nevertheless, some in Congress endeavor to keep this excessive program alive in order to support their parochial pork programs.

As part of its consideration of the Defense Authorization Bill, the House has voted to give $485 million to the Joint Strike Fighter’s alternate engine – money that the Defense Department does not want to spend.

A House amendment that would have cut this funding for the Joint Strike Fighter’s second engine failed (193-231) on May 27. (To see how your Representative voted, go here.)

Immediately following the House vote, the White House issued a statement restating the President’s commitment to veto any bill with funding for the Joint Strike Fighter’s extra engine. From the White House statement: “I stand squarely behind Secretary Gates' position on the JSF second engine and C-17 programs. As the Statement of Administration Policy made clear, our military does not want or need these programs… and should Congress ignore this fact, I will veto any such legislation so that it can be returned to me without those provisions.”

Next, the Senate will have an opportunity to weigh in. The Senate Armed Services Committee has completed its report for the Defense Authorization Bill with language that limits spending on the Joint Strike Fighter’s second engine. Unfortunately, it is expected that U.S. Senators supporting the extra engine will offer an amendment to support funding without the Armed Services Committee’s recommended limitations. . Senate consideration of the Defense Authorization Bill is expected sometime this summer so stay tuned.

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THE FUTURE OF WAND
Sarah and Emma Bailin, twin teenagers already well known in the amateur documentary film industry throughout The United States, have another winner! This one, "Meet You in Jerusalem," which documents the visit of Israeli peace activist Gila Svirsky during her riveting visit to Little Rock, has been selected to be shown at The Little Rock Film Festival. The screening was on Saturday, June 5, at 2 p.m. in Riverdale Cinema #9. Gila's visit was sponsored by Arkansas Action for Peace. The twin's documentary captures the almost prophetic words of Gila, given the most recent course of events.

Sarah and Emma are entering seniors at Little Rock Central High School. They have won many awards since they produced their first documentary at the age of 11. The girls give reason to be hopeful for the future of WAND's mission.

CONGRATS TO THIS PROGRESSIVE!

On June 9, former WAND Education Fund board member, Joyce Elliott won the runoff for the Democratic nomination for Arkansas’ 2nd Congressional District. Those of us lucky enough to know Joyce are certain she will make an outstanding member of Congress. She is exactly the type of candidate WAND is always looking to support. In fact, many of our Arkansas WAND chapter members volunteered for her! She won the runoff with 54% of the vote and now she must focus on the sure-to-be-tough general election in November. The contrast between Joyce and her Republican opponent could not be clearer.

Tim Griffin is a protégé of Karl Rove and was closely involved in the US Attorneys firing scandal. Joyce is that rare combination of principled and pragmatic. Born and raised in Arkansas, Joyce taught high school for thirty one years, and then worked to expand access to Advanced Placement courses. She served as a state representative from 2001-2006 and was elected to the State Senate in 2008, where she serves as Majority Leader. Her numerous legislative accomplishments include education reforms that moved Arkansas’ education system from 45th in the nation to 10th, a first of its kind cancer screening program, and expansion of health care coverage options for children in Arkansas. As a Congresswoman, Joyce will continue to champion commonsense, progressive policies that will bring greater prosperity to all Arkansans. We can’t wait to keep working with her.

WAND WOMEN IN THE MEDIA

In late March, WAND hosted it's first " Messaging Matters" training in collaboration with The Truman National Security Project. The training took place in Indianaoplis, Indiana and included three days of intensive training on progressive messaging, op- ed writing, and on air interview skills. Following the training, WAND women throughout the country were writing up a storm and getting published in local media outlets. For information on how to write your own letters and op-eds, go here.

A CALL TO HONOR MOTHERS... AN INSPIRING RESPONSE!

Due to unforseen circumstances, the National WAND office had to cancel it's annual Mother's Day For Peace Event. Instead, WAND asked it's supporters to honor their mothers and other women through a donation. Donors had the opportunity to list their honorees on the WAND website, and the results were amazing. For a list of WAND honorees, check out the Ed Fund home. Although many were disapointed to miss our popular annual event, WAND still received an overwhelming amount of support through its "virtual" campaign. Thank you to all those who participated. We are currently planning an event to take place this coming fall. Keep your eyes on our website for more information!

FOLLOWING "NUCLEAR SPRING", NEW START HEATS UP THIS SUMMER!

This spring we have witnessed a springtime blossoming of efforts to curb nuclear dangers and move us toward the vision of a safer world without nuclear weapons.

April 6 – The Obama Administration releases its Nuclear Posture Review (NPR).
The congressionally mandated NPR sets U.S. nuclear weapons policy for at least the next five years. While it was disappointing to many that the NPR did not go further to more quickly reduce the numbers and roles of nuclear weapons, the new NPR is a step forward – explicitly committing the United States to, “moving step-by-step toward eliminating” nuclear weapons.

April 8- President Obama and Russian President Medvedev sign the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).
This treaty is an essential step toward safety - reducing large Cold War era nuclear arsenals, thus enhancing stability and security in the world and the United States. To take effect, New START must be approved in Russia and the United States. Ratification in the United States requires approval of at least 67 U.S. Senators.

April 12-13- 47 nations participate in the Nuclear Security Summit
hosted by President Obama in Washington, DC. Participants issued a joint communiqué endorsing Obama’s goal to secure all vulnerable nuclear materials in four years, and establishing an ambitious work plan to reach this goal. Also, some participating countries issued statements detailing specific steps they will take to advance nuclear security.

May 3-28 The Review Conference for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty successfully achieves consensus, affirming the security value of this vital foundational treaty and committing to efforts to strengthen it.

Now as we move towards summer, consideration of the New START Treaty is heating up in the U.S. Senate. Approval of 67 senators is required to ratify the treaty. Hearings are underway in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Committee issued a statement on June 10 noting that “Chairman Kerry and Ranking Member Lugar are pursuing an aggressive schedule of hearings and are planning a full Committee vote on the treaty before the August congressional recess.” A Hearing is also planned in the Armed Services Committee on June 17. (The Foreign Relations Committee has sole responsibility for voting to send the treaty to the full Senate for consideration, but all hearings contribute to senators’ understanding and developing opinions about New START.) While it is unclear when full Senate consideration of the treaty will take place, now is the time that senators are considering New START and deciding how they will vote.

We’ve seen one damper on all of this progress – the budget for nuclear weapons activities. The Fiscal Year 2011 Budget Request for nuclear weapons activities is a whopping $7 billion. This is 40% larger than the average $5 billion (in 2011 dollars) spent during the years of the Cold War. This budget has hundreds of millions for facilities that would enable the U.S. to increase its capacity to create new nuclear weapons in the future. While some argue that these funds will help to maintain the current arsenal and are important to encourage political support for New START, in fact many military and science experts agree that funding is sufficient to maintain our current nuclear stockpile without this level of increase. Instead of spending more money to “modernize” and produce more nuclear weapons, now is the time to redouble our investments in efforts to secure vulnerable nuclear materials, dismantle nuclear weapons and verify New START and other arms control treaties.

BACKGROUND & RESOURCES

For more on this unique moment of opportunity for nuclear disarmament progress:
The Moment is Now with Joe Cirincione of the Ploughshares Fund

For more on New START - See our START Information Page &
See the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s June 10 announcement of the upcoming hearing schedule, followed by useful New START Treaty Frequently Asked Questions

For more on the NPT Review Conference - We highly recommend Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom’s Reaching Critical Will website reporting on the NPT and see WAND’s Blog

For more on the Nuclear Security Summit, see the President’s press conference concluding the summit.
And we also recommend The Fissile Materials Working Group for more information on this topic.

For more on spending nuclear weapons activities and the nuclear weapons complex, see the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability’s website

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Afghanistan – Time to Work on An Exit Plan?
On May 27, by a vote of 67-28, the U.S. Senate approved $33 billion more for the war in Afghanistan as part of the Supplemental Appropriation Act. This Act also included funding for many things that we support - such as oil-spill cleanup, the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Disaster Relief Fund, the Department of Veteran's Affairs to compensate veterans exposed to Agent Orange, and some aid money for Haiti. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) offered an amendment to require the President to develop an exit strategy for Afghanistan. Unfortunately this amendment failed, 80-18. Find out if your senators voted in favor of developing an exit strategy here.

• If your senators voted for the amendment, be sure to write or call and thank them for supporting Sen. Feingold’s amendment requiring the president to prepare an exit
  strategy for Afghanistan, including a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
• If your senators voted against the amendment, let them know that you are
  disappointed and urge them to support future opportunities to develop an exit plan for Afghanistan.

(If you’d like assistance communicating to your Senators, please contact WAND Public Policy Field Director, Kathy Robinson)

Action on the Supplemental Appropriation Act now moves to the House. It will be considered in committee the week of June 14 and it is expected to be debated by the full house sometime in June. We expect that Reps. James McGovern (D-MA) and Walter Jones (R-NC) will offer their bi-partisan bill (HR 5015) urging an exit plan for Afghanistan as an amendment to the Supplemental Appropriations Act in the House. The McGovern-Jones bill is the same as Sen. Feingold’s amendment – it requires the President to prepare and exit strategy for Afghanistan including a plan for withdrawal of U.S. troops.

In March, WiLL and WAND members joined us in Indianapolis for a regional weekend workshop featuring trainers from the Truman National Security Project. The training, “Messages Matter: Be the Best Messenger You Can Be!” was a unique opportunity to sharpen skills in media placement, on-air interviews, and social networking tools. Participants worked one-on-one with trainers to write op-eds and hone on-camera speaking skills. It was an exciting and educational weekend and we’re thrilled with all fantastic work our attendees have produced in the past few months! Click here to read a letter to the editor published by Utah Rep. Sheryl Allen, now a candidate for Lieutenant Governor!

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Click here and find out all about what our chapters and partners are planning for this month.

WAND is currently hiring. Learn More here.

• Susan Shaer- Op Ed- Henrietta Post, Upstate New York, and various other newspapers nationwide
• Rep. Karen Camper- Op Ed- The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN
• Caitlin Worm- LTE- South Bend Tribune, South Bend, Indiana
• Susan Cundiff-LTE- Register Guard, Eugene, OR
• Rep. Seelig & Rep. Edwards- Op Ed- Deseret News, Utah
• Robert Farquhar- Op Ed- Atlanta Journal Constitution, Atlanta, GA
• Ed Southwell-LTE- Patriot Ledger, Massachusetts

Earlier this year, WAND hosted a training in Indiana that highlighted techniques to write and publish letters and op eds. These pieces were printed following the training by WAND activists.

• Kimber Beachy E-Truth
• Jean Hirschler Goshen News
• Susan Horth Shaer Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

If you are interested in writing to your own local paper, we can help! WAND has letter and op-ed templates, connections with media, and resources to help you. To get started contact Kathy Robinson.

Julia Ward Howe proposed that one day a year, we step back and act on behalf of the values represented by motherhood: values that “make for peace.”

She called it Mother’s Peace Day.

Donate here and honor Mothers everywhere! Thank you to those who honored Mothers in 2010 with their donations to WAND Education Fund:

Betty S. Rhodes Latner
honoring
Mildred Siegel
Martha Urban

Carlotta R Tyler
honoring
Louise Regan

Rev. Laura M Spangler
honoring
Christy Buchanan
Renee Hinson
Catherine Hendron
Leslie Jackson
Gail Michael
Lisa Cesta

Anonymous
honoring
Nancy Gillis

LoErna Simpson
honoring
Jeanne Raymond

Robert Brookover
honoring
Margaret Brookover
Ruth Glasgow

David Whitford
honoring
Genevieve Whitford

Kathy Crandall Robinson
honoring
The Women of Strike for Peace &
Carol Urner

Jan Putnam
honoring
Jennifer Putnam
Sabrina Putnam

James Corrigan
honoring
Mom

Diane Aronson
honoring
Rachel Aronson

Elizabeth DeGrenier
honoring
Aime DeGrenier
Chris Clarke
Elinor Hunt
Kathy Schmidt

Clare Baldwin
honoring
Elizabeth Baldwin

June Rusten
honoring
Fern Katz

Jane Perrin
honoring
Ethel Bush
Stella Schutter
Ethelyn Schutter
Fannie Perrin
Mimi Perrin Nickels
Bonnie Perrin
Allison Perrin
Cherine Perrin
Toria Perrin
Jessa Perrin
Rebecca Perrin

Gwendolyn Kimball
honoring
Michelle Obama

Judith King
honoring
Noel Congdon
Chelsea Kesselheim

Sharon Cound
honoring
Robin M Kershner
Chela Sipes
Cindy Cound
Mary Becton

Betty H Thompson
honoring
Lucy Price

Patricia Gripp
honoring
Kerry Curl

Sarah McDuffie
honoring
Bobbie Paul

Jean Marzilli
honoring
Janet Marzilli
April Marzilli
Laura Marzilli
Susan Shaer

Corinne Dunster
honoring
Virginia Ewald
Jean Dunster

Sara Allen
honoring
Edie Allen

Mary Cathcart
honoring
Mary Moore Cathcart
Meg Mayo

Susan Cundiff
honoring
Pat Gripp
Kit Frisinger

Sandra Moberg Walls
honoring
Verna Olive Moberg

Karen Jacob
honoring
Mother
Arlene Jacob
Doloris Cogan
Miriam Redsecker

Alice Lynch
honoring
Dorothy Hyman
Jumedia Buchner
Julia Veasey
Vanessa Hyman

Charleta Tavares
honoring
Charlotte Bell

Edith Allen
honoring
Karen Jacob
Charleta Tavares

Sayre Sheldon
honoring
Phoebe Sheldon
Cary Sheldon
Alexandra Sheldon

Fern Katz
honoring
Harriet Cooper Alpern

Cynthia Warner
honoring
Laura Nieto

Yvonne Logan
honoring
Laurie Post

Emilie Marlinghaus
honoring
Mrs. Violet Hanks
Mrs. Evelyn Sefried

Kelli Hunnicut
honoring
Nancy Hunnicut

J. Southwell
honoring
Kathy Southwell

Nina Dodge Abrams
in memory of
Claire Colman

Sarah Cearly
honoring
Joyce Cearly

Margaret Rosenthal
honoring
The Women of WAND

Amelia Dallenbach
honoring
Ann G Possehl

Dolores Cogan
honoring
Margaret Jenson

Karen Speros
honoring
Sen. Barbara Boxer

Elaine Morse
honoring
Molly Tan Hayden

Originally published March 2009

WAND applauds President Barack Obama for announcing the U.S. combat mission will effectively end in Iraq on August 31, 2010.

He further asserted that all our troops will be removed from Iraq by the end of 2011, and that we will engage with other nations in the region, including Iran and Syria.

Our instinct was to cry out that the war is over! Let an era of diplomacy instead of war-mongering begin!

Yet jubilation is a bit premature. Our troops there are in danger, and those left on the ground (50,000 or so) will still be in harm’s way even though they will be designated for support and training. So until the danger has passed and the Iraqis have taken responsibility for their own security, we will lose soldiers. The count of money and lives will continue to mount.

It is a powerful statement, however, and encourages us to believe that diplomacy and all alternatives to war will be a part of a new foreign policy regime. This is the sea change we were waiting for. Now we must all get behind President Obama to make sure all steps that need to be taken by Congress follow suit.

Finally, as the war winds down, we will see monetary savings. The cost of rebuilding Iraq will be ongoing, and it is a positive thing that the President has allowed for increased salary and benefits for veterans. What we do know for certain is that war is destructive, not constructive; and that troops and veterans deserve more than lip-service.