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The
WAND News Bulletin is posted on the
web site monthly.
When it appears, WAND sends out a condensed
version via email. If you would like
to receive these email Bulletins, please
let us know.
We
honored Marian Wright Edelman
(c) at our conference in October. She
founded Children's Defense Fund, and
she's totally cool. l: Barbara Lee of
the Barbara Lee Foundation; r: Susan
Shaer, WAND ED.
More about the conference here. |
| Table
of Contents | Click
to move to content within the Bulletin. |
Capitol
Hill Update, October 2007
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PLENTY
of noise on Capitol Hill
about the looming specter
of another bloody, messy,
foolhardy war -- this time,
on Iran. In this case, the
first time was tragedy;
the second time would be
both tragedy AND farce.
Plenty of folks are also
rushing to do all they can
to prevent any military
action... |
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Notes
from the WAND News Bulletin
editor
It
warms our hearts when
the mainstream media suddenly
takes notice of the bloated
and smelly Pentagon budget. |
|
Defense contractors make
more than boatloads of
money: they need aircraft
carriers to contain all
the loot they grab from
taxpayers.
So
two big things this month:
First, the Time
cover story about
the giant fatal budget
suck that is the Osprey
helicopter. Second, a
new
report that says you
don't need things like
the Osprey to keep people
employed; you can spend
money on better things,
and create more and better
jobs.
This
report may spark a real
debate about how these
wacko pork projects keep
getting funded. If it's
pressure from constituents
in the places where they're
being built -- we can
start to frame a good
answer to that concern.
We don't need
to build spinny high tech
helicopters that fall
down; we can pour money
into healthcare and housing
and public transportation
-- and create more jobs.
Let
the debate begin, friends.
Cuz the way we're spending
money now -- on war and
war toys and oil pipelines
-- is the fast way to
death and destruction
for all of us.
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Cost of the War in Iraq (JavaScript Error)
|
By
the time you're reading
this, it's likely that
W will have wielded his
veto pen once again on
the SCHIP bill. That
would offer healthcare
to children whose parents
earn too much to qualify
for Medicaid but not enough
to afford private insurance
on their own.
How
much would that cost us?
Total funding of $38.4
billion between 2008 to
2012. Compare
that to the number above.
Then call your Members
of Congress. |
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V-22
Osprey: A Flying Shame
By MARK THOMPSON | September
26, 2007
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Now
the aircraft that flies
like an airplane but takes
off and lands like a chopper
is about to make its combat
debut in Iraq. It has been
a long, strange trip: the
V-22 has been 25 years in
development, more than twice
as long as the Apollo program
that put men on the moon.
V-22 crashes have claimed
the lives of 30 men —
10 times the lunar program's
toll — all before
the plane has seen combat.
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The Pentagon has put
$20 billion into the Osprey
and expects to spend an additional
$35 billion before the program
is finished. In exchange, the
Marines, Navy and Air Force
will get 458 aircraft, averaging
$119 million per copy.
The
saga of the V-22 — the
battles over its future on Capitol
Hill, a performance record that
is spotty at best, a long, determined
quest by the Marines to get
what they wanted — demonstrates
how Washington works (or, rather,
doesn't). It exposes the compromises
that are made when narrow interests
collide with common sense. It
is a tale that shows how the
system fails at its most significant
task, by placing in jeopardy
those we count on to protect
us. For even at a stratospheric
price, the V-22 is going into
combat shorthanded.
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New
study finds money invested in
healthcare creates twice as
many jobs as money spent on
the military
A
new study by economists at the
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
evaluates the impact of tax
cuts and military spending on
job creation in the U.S. economy,
as compared to government expenditure
on public programs such as healthcare,
education, and infrastructure.
The report comes just as President
Bush and Congress face-off over
public spending priorities in
the 2008 budget.
Each
$1 billion of tax revenue allocated
to tax cuts for personal consumption
generates approximately 10,800
jobs. Investing the same amount
in the military creates 8,500
jobs. Investing it in health
care yields 12,900 jobs; in
education, 17,700 jobs; in mass
transit, 19,800 jobs; and in
construction for home weatherization
and infrastructure, 12,800 jobs.
Recent
federal policy has emphasized
tax cuts and military increases
over other federal investments.
Military spending has
risen at an average rate of
10% per year from FY2000-2006,
while the overall U.S. economy
grew at an average annual rate
of 2.7%.
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Pentagon
Submits Budget, And Services Ask
for More
Air Force Lobbying for C-17s Raises
Questions
By
Josh White | Washington
Post | October 16, 2007
The
Pentagon not only left new C-17
transport planes out of its
budget request this year, it
set aside half a billion dollars
to halt the planes' production.
Officially, the Air Force took
the same view, swearing off
any more C-17s, which cost $250
million apiece.
Behind
the scenes, however, Air Force
officials and Boeing, which
makes the C-17, have been lobbying
Congress to get more of the
planes built, key lawmakers
said. Seven House members have
responded by inserting into
the defense bill one of that
chamber's largest single earmarks
-- a demand that the Air Force
give Boeing $2.42 billion for
new C-17s.
...Congress has often
padded the military's budget with
demands for weaponry that the
Pentagon says it does not need
-- ranging from refueling tankers
to artillery cannons and helicopters.
But the C-17 case illustrates
how individual military services
sometimes lobby quietly to resurrect
pet projects that wound up on
the cutting-room floor in Defense
Department budget deliberations.
"This
has been going on probably since
the Revolutionary War,"
said Dina Rasor, chief investigator
with the Follow the Money Project,
which tracks military spending
on the wars in Afghanistan and
Iraq. "There's a wink and
nod here. The Pentagon will
get what they want and the Congress
will get what they want. Earmarking
is a way for them to sneak it
in the budget.
"Everyone
keeps voting the money, and
everyone's happy," Rasor
said. "As a result, the
defense budget is now beyond
comprehension."
|
Obey
Raises the Specter of War Tax
By
Elizabeth Williamson | Washington
Post | October 19, 2007
House
Appropriations Committee Chairman
David R. Obey (D-Wis.) hates
this "misbegotten, stupid,
ill-advised" Iraq war.
He won't even consider President
Bush's latest war funding request
until next year. And he wants
to tax Americans to pay for
it.
...For months, the president has
vowed to veto the 12 appropriations
bills moving through Congress,
in a dispute over domestic spending.
"Without setting priorities,
the temptation is to overspend.
The job of the president is to
make sure that we don't overspend
and at the same time keep taxes
low," Bush said Monday.
Obey
views the $22 billion in extra
domestic spending Democrats
want as a drop in the bucket
compared with the cost of the
war, and a gesture toward the
nation's have-nots. He calls
Bush's philosophy "an obscenity."
"He
is trying to distract attention
from Iraq by having other fights,"
Obey said over hamburgers at
the Democratic Club, whose faux-leather
grandeur recalls the supper
clubs of his home.
"We're
going to have . . . tax cuts
for people making a million
bucks a year while we supposedly
can't afford to improve education
or improve veterans' health
care or do some real science
on climate change. It's all
a political charade."
|
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Votes
for Women! WAND
is one of twelve organizations
hoping to win the top
prize of $100,000 in the
Peace Primary. We need
your vote! Please vote
for us today! Thanks!
September
1 - October 31, 2007
| PeacePrimary.org
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2007
WiLL/WAND National Conference
What made it so great?
Our
piece on Women
and Power at the conference
here.
The
biennial WiLL/WAND conference
took place September 30-October
2, 2007. We met movie
stars and Congresswomen, learned
about the media and how to rebuild
our economy so it's not a war
machine, marched up to the halls
of Capitol Hill, and laughed
a lot.
Why
was that conference
so great? Because it
was, seriously. Energy, joy,
outrage, passion, commitment,
integrity -- you could just
feel it in every room. Laughter,
applause, facts and figures,
warm food, serious analysis
-- everyone was concentrating
on the hard work and good times.
It was fun, and it was difficult
-- and somehow totally rewarding.
But
what was the formula? Our
report on what made it great.
Enjoy.
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Welcome
to the newest newest woman in
Congress!
2007
Special Elections: WAND PAC
congratulates two women who
just won special elections to
serve in Congress for the first
time! The total of WAND/WiLL
women in the 110th is up to
40.
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Niki
Tsongas being sworn in
by Speaker Nancy Pelosi
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On
Oct. 16, Niki
Tsongas became
the first woman since
1982 to represent Massachusetts
in Congress.
Last
month, we were delighted
to report that WiLL member
Laura Richardson
(CA) had just won a seat
in Congress. Congratulations
to them, and to everyone
who worked hard on their
campaigns.
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UN
Report: October 2007
 |
by Sayre Sheldon
"A special interest
for me is to follow what is being
done in Congress to revive the
passage of CEDAW — which
just held its 25th anniversary
meeting at the U.N. in N.Y. and
will now move to Geneva. With
over 90% of the world’s
countries members of CEDAW, where
is the U.S.?"
For the full report, click
here. |
Support
Basic Rights for All Women:
Urge the U.S. to Ratify CEDAW
From Amnesty International:
The Treaty for the Rights of
Women, officially known as the
United Nations Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW) is the most complete
international agreement on basic
rights for women. As of April
2007, the Treaty has been ratified
by 185 countries.The U.S. played
a role in drafting this treaty
but now is only one in eight
countries that has yet to ratify
it. Take
action here.
|
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Sayre
Sheldon on the passing of Randy
Forsberg...
 |
In
my book, Her War Story,
I list two women as leading
the antinuclear movement
in the U.S.: Helen Caldicott
and Randall Forsberg.
Randy was essentially
the "mother"
of the nuclear freeze
movement. Everyone knew
it, and her mixture of
expertise and inspiration
was a wonderful combination.
It took her awhile to
realize that women were
her natural constituents,
but when she did, she
enthusiastically endorsed
what WAND was doing. I
agree with what has already
been said: her legacy
is to make us all work
harder to finish what
she began.
|
Many
of us in the WAND family had
the opportunity to know and
work with Randy, and feel great
sadness at the loss of a visionary
leader and a strong woman. Obituary
in the Boston
Globe.
|
 |
We're
reaching out to you for
help! Please
excuse us in the next
couple weeks, as WAND
calls many of our supporters
and members to ask for
a pledge. We're facing
a budget shortfall this
year, and we need
your support. We've done
a lot of great work in
the past year, thanks
to you; we hope to keep
it up! |
Ad
in ND features a woman legislator
attending the conference
UCS ran a paid ad in three North
Dakota papers Sunday, September
30, asking Sen. Dorgan to deny
funding for the Reliable Replacement
Warhead (RRW) program. It
was signed by five North Dakotans,
including State Sen. Carolyn Nelson,
who was at the WAND/WiLL conference
at the time. |
Update
on Bombplex 2030
Atlanta WAND director Bobbie Paul
reports the latest news on the
National Nuclear Security Administration
(NNSA) plan to redesign our nation's
nuclear weapons complex.
|
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4
Colonels Lose Their Air Force
Commands
By Walter Pincus | Washington
Post | October 20, 2007
Four
Air Force colonels have been relieved
of their commands and more than
65 lower-ranking officers and
airmen have been disciplined over
a series of errors that led to
a B-52 flight in August from North
Dakota to Louisiana with six nuclear-armed
cruise missiles that no one realized
were under the plane's wing...
Tough
Punishment Expected for Warhead
Errors
By Thomas E. Ricks and Joby Warrick
| Washington
Post | October 18, 2007
...The
August event triggered a rare "Bent
Spear" nuclear incident alert
that was sent to Defense Secretary
Robert M. Gates and President Bush.
Although some details are not yet
publicly known, officials familiar
with the investigation say the problem
originated at Minot when a pylon
carrying six nuclear-armed cruise
missiles was mistaken for one carrying
unarmed missiles. Minot had been
in the midst of shipping unarmed
cruise missiles to Barksdale for
decommissioning.
That
initial mistake was followed by
many other failures, ultimately
allowing six nuclear warheads
to slip outside the Air Force's
normal safeguards for more than
36 hours. The warheads were airborne
for more than three hours and
sat for long periods on runways
at both air bases without a special
guard. Air Force officials
say there was little risk that
the warheads could have been detonated,
but the lapses could theoretically
have led to warheads being stolen
or damaged in a way that could
have disseminated toxic nuclear
materials.
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Questions
About the India Deal, Finally
The
New York Times Editorial |
October 6, 2007
The
Bush administration and the American
business community have been hoping
for a swift, rubber-stamp approval
of their ill-conceived nuclear
trade deal with India. Luckily,
some members of Congress, and
some American allies, are finally
asking questions.
Congress
was far too uncritical when it
gave preliminary approval to the
agreement in December. As a next
step, Washington must get a change
in rules from the Nuclear Suppliers
Group, the main providers of so-called
civilian nuclear technology around
the world. All nuclear trade with
India has been banned since it
refused to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation
Treaty and tested nuclear weapons.
Now some members of Congress are
beginning to raise doubts about
the deal.
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Nuclear
Deal With India May Be Near Collapse
Premier Cites Internal Opposition
To Agreement Pushed by Bush
By Robin Wright and Rama
Lakshmi | Washington
Post | October 16, 2007
A controversial
nuclear deal between the United
States and India appears close
to collapse after the Indian prime
minister told President Bush yesterday
that "certain difficulties"
will prevent India from moving
forward on the pact for the foreseeable
future.
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Derailing
a deal
By
Noam Chomsky | 10/08/07 | "Khaleej
Times"
NUCLEAR-armed
states are criminal states. They
have a legal obligation, confirmed
by the World Court, to live up
to Article 6 of the Nuclear Nonproliferation
Treaty, which calls on them to
carry out good-faith negotiations
to eliminate nuclear weapons entirely.
None of the nuclear states has
lived up to it.
The
United States is a leading violator,
especially the Bush administration,
which even has stated that it
isn't subject to Article 6.
On
July 27, Washington entered into
an agreement with India that guts
the central part of the NPT, though
there remains substantial opposition
in both countries. India, like
Israel and Pakistan (but unlike
Iran), is not an NPT signatory,
and has developed nuclear weapons
outside the treaty. With
this new agreement, the Bush administration
effectively endorses and facilitates
this outlaw behaviour.
The agreement violates US law,
and bypasses the Nuclear Suppliers
Group, the 45 nations that have
established strict rules to lessen
the danger of proliferation of
nuclear weapons.
Daryl
Kimball, executive director of
the Arms Control Association,
observes that the agreement doesn't
bar further Indian nuclear testing
and, "incredibly, ... commits
Washington to help New Delhi secure
fuel supplies from other countries
even if India resumes testing."
It also permits India to "free
up its limited domestic supplies
for bomb production." All
these steps are in direct violation
of international nonproliferation
agreements. |
The
nuclear culprits
By continuing to thumb its nose
at the comprehensive test-ban
treaty, the Bush administration
is letting other countries off
the hook.
John Gittings | Guardian
Unlimited | September 20,
2007
Can
there possibly be a current global
issue on which the United States
and North Korea, plus Iran and
China and just six other countries,
line up against the rest of the
world? Even professionals in international
affairs might rack their brains,
but the answer can be found this
week at an under-reported conference
in Vienna.
More
than 100 countries are attending
the meeting of the Comprehensive
Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)
organisation, the fifth held since
it was signed in 1996. They are
trying to persuade 10 countries
whose refusal to sign and/or to
ratify the treaty means that it
cannot take effect.
These
are China, Colombia, Egypt, India,
Indonesia, Iran, Israel, North
Korea, Pakistan and the US. The
Bush administration is in company
with one fellow permanent security
council member, four other nuclear
powers, two alleged "rogue
states", and two or three
odd allies, all thumbing their
noses at the 140 countries which
have already ratified the treaty.
The US and North Korea plus India
did not even bother to send a
delegation to Vienna.
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Russia
plans new nuclear weapons
Thu Oct 18, 2007 | By
Dmitry Solovyov | Reuters
MOSCOW
(Reuters) - President Vladimir
Putin said on Thursday that Russia
was working on new types of nuclear
weapons as part of a "grandiose"
plan to boost the country's defenses...
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A
nuclear-free world
By Ivo Daalder and John Holum |
October 5, 2007 | Boston
Globe
SHOULD
THE United States aim to achieve
a world free of all nuclear weapons?
In one sense, the question is
trivial - nuclear disarmament
has been a stated aim of the United
States since the dawn of the nuclear
age. And the United States also
committed to working toward this
end when it signed the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1968....
And
it isn't just presidential candidates
who are talking about a nuclear-free
world. So are former statesmen
like Henry Kissinger, George Shultz,
Bill Perry, and Sam Nunn. Writing
in The Wall Street Journal last
January, they urged that the United
States set the goal of a world
free of nuclear weapons, and proposed
specific actions to that end.
Nearly
20 years after the Cold War ended,
the time has come to make a concerted
effort to verifiably rid the world
of all nuclear weapons. The
United States must start by recognizing
that the threats it confronts
have changed and so, consequently,
has the role and purpose of our
nuclear weapons...
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Reliable
Replacement Warhead Is a Symptom,
Not the Solution
October 9, 2007 | Strategic
Security Blog
A project of the Federation
of American Scientists
The
report does not say that the RRW
will not work; certainly it does
not say that the warhead is unworkable,
but it does state that more research,
calculation, and experiment need
to be done. The unclassified summary
of the report does not put it
in these terms but it seems clear
to me that the RRW is not yet
ready to pass from the design
phase (called 2a) into the engineering
phase (called phase 3) as DOE
wants.
This
is further support for California’s
Senator Feinstein's bill (S. 1914)
that would put further development
of the RRW on hold until a thorough
reevaluation of U.S. nuclear doctrine
has been completed.
And
this leads to the one question
the DOE did not ask the Jason
committee, because DOE doesn’t
even ask itself, is: why must
the RRW have the characteristics
that it has?
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Portents
of A Nuclear Al-Qaeda
By
David Ignatius | Washington
Post | October 18, 2007
With his shock
of white hair and piercing eyes,
Mowatt-Larssen looks like a man
who has seen a ghost. And when
you listen to a version of the
briefing he has been giving recently
to President Bush and other top
officials, you begin to understand
why. He is convinced that al-Qaeda
is trying to acquire a nuclear
bomb that will leave the ultimate
terrorist signature -- a mushroom
cloud. |
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The
Day After: Action Following a
Nuclear Blast in a U.S. City
Ashton B. Carter, Michael M. May
and William J. Perry
The
Washington Quarterly | Autumn
2007
...In spite of these successes,
the threat of a nuclear attack
against the United States has
not yet been eradicated, nor has
the spread of weapons of mass
destruction been effectively curtailed.
The serious setbacks to nuclear
terrorism prevention in recent
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