FEDERAL BUDGET WATCH

GOP calls for larger military, missile defense development
By Rick Maze | Army Times| September 4, 2008

The Republican Party campaign platform for the fall elections calls for pay and personnel policies that support keeping an all-volunteer force.
That includes providing adequate pay, housing, health care and education, and significantly increasing the size of the military, according to the campaign plan approved during the party’s national convention in St. Paul, MN. It also includes continuing to bar gays from serving openly in the military.

The US Has 761 Military Bases Across the Planet, and We Simply Never Talk About It
By Tom Engelhardt | Tomdispatch.com | September 8, 2008

Here it is, as simply as I can put it: In the course of any year, there must be relatively few countries on this planet on which U.S. soldiers do not set foot, whether with guns blazing, humanitarian aid in hand, or just for a friendly visit. In startling numbers of countries, our soldiers not only arrive, but stay interminably, if not indefinitely. Sometimes they live on military bases built to the tune of billions of dollars that amount to sizeable American towns (with accompanying amenities), sometimes on stripped down forward operating bases that may not even have showers. When those troops don't stay, often American equipment does -- carefully stored for further use at tiny "cooperative security locations," known informally as "lily pads" (from which U.S. troops, like so many frogs, could assumedly leap quickly into a region in crisis).

"We must recognize now, as we learned years ago, that a strong military alone is not enough to ensure our long-term national security."

Risking Armageddon for Cold, Hard Cash
By Mira Kamdar | Washington Post | September 7, 2008

While everyone has been abuzz about Georgia, the Beijing Olympics and Sarah Palin, perhaps the most important development in the world has been unfolding with almost no attention. India and the United States, along with deep-pocketed corporations, have been steadily pushing along a lucrative and dangerous new nuclear pact, the U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Agreement. Both governments have been working at a fever pitch to get the pact approved by the 45-country Nuclear Suppliers Group, which governs the world's trade in nuclear materials, and before Congress for a final vote before it adjourns this month.

Congressional Record Defense Spending
Senate | September 12, 2008
Read Sen. Sanders’ floor speech on his amendment on excess Department of Defense inventory. This is the amendment WAND asked our members to advocate for. (Floor action on amendment completed as of 9/15/08).

NUCLEAR NOTES

White House Making Last-Minute Push for India Nuclear Deal in Congress
By Adam Graham-Silverman | CQ Politics| September 8, 2008

The Bush administration plans an all-out effort to win approval of a civilian nuclear deal with India before Congress adjourns, although political, procedural and policy issues are blocking the way.
A congressional sign-off would provide a successful conclusion to more than three years of work by the administration to complete a unique arrangement the White House says would strengthen U.S. ties with the world’s largest democracy, expand India’s energy options and open a growing market for U.S. businesses.

US Plans Missile Sale Worth $7 Billion
By Reuters | Boston Globe |September 9, 2008

The Bush administration plans to sell to the United Arab Emirates an advanced missile defense system valued at up to $7 billion that could be used to defend against Iran, people who have attended briefings on the matter said yesterday.

The Pentagon is set to notify Congress of the proposed sale, which would be the first of the so-called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, several people familiar with the matter said.
THAAD is built by Lockheed Martin Corp. Waltham, Mass.-based Raytheon Co. supplies the system's radar.

Workers overcook nuclear warheads at Y-12
Report shows items misidentified, oven temperature too high
By Frank Munger | KNOXnews.com | August 16, 2008

A federal spokesman confirmed that Oak Ridge workers overcooked some nuclear warhead components during a drying process to such an extent that the parts could no longer be "used as intended."

Beyond that, the government isn't saying much.

Seize chance to free world of nuclear weapons
By Susan Gordon and Martin Fleck | Des Moines Register | September 9, 2008

Nearly 60 years ago, Americans learned of the first case of nuclear proliferation. The Soviet Union, thought to be years away from acquiring its own atomic bomb, set off a successful test explosion in August 1959. The nuclear-weapons arms race had begun.

Last month's anniversary was a grim reminder of the threat we still face from the spread of nuclear weapons. Certainly, the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 only emphasized the danger. More than one person mused the next day: What if they had had The Bomb?

Take Steps Toward A Nuclear-Free Future
San Francisco Chronicle | August 24, 2008

As we head into the presidential nomination conventions this week, there's one important subject that has gotten only scant attention from candidates Barack Obama and John McCain: our global nuclear weapons crisis. Both candidates claim to have a vision for a world free of nuclear weapons, but does either of them know what it will really take to get there? Find out here!

What about the Nukes?
The Oregonian | September 01, 2008

From the editorial in the Oregonian, a Republican newspaper:
Obama and McCain have each spoken forcefully about the need to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and to reduce the inventory that exists. They should continue to insist that the job of the next president should include doing exactly that.

IRAQ UPDATES

How to Exit Iraq
By John Nagl, Colin Kahl And Shawn Brimley | NYT | September 5, 2008

JOHN McCAIN spoke of his hopes for Iraq’s future last night. When we traveled around Basra recently escorted by Iraqi Army soldiers and a handful of coalition advisers, we glimpsed a model of post-American Iraq that he and Barack Obama would do well to consider. This world, defined principally by more capable Iraqi security forces taking the lead with coalition support and an increasingly confident Iraqi government, defies the simplistic “all in” or “all out” way that Iraq is debated in Washington.

Why Did Violence Plummet? It Wasn't Just the Surge.
By Bob Woodward | Washington Post | September 8, 2008

Throughout the summer of 2007, as the troop surge in Iraq reached full strength, Gen. David H. Petraeus kept waiting for the tide to turn. By summer's end, the U.S. commander in Iraq got his wish. The high of 1,550 attacks a week fell below 800 -- nearly a 50 percent reduction. It has continued to fall over the past year.

Make Diplomacy, Not War
By Nicholas D. Kristof | NYT |August 9, 2008

The United States has more musicians in its military bands than it has diplomats. This year alone, the United States Army will add about 7,000 soldiers to its total; that’s more people than in the entire American Foreign Service.

More than 1,000 American diplomatic positions are vacant because the Foreign Service is so short-staffed, but a myopic Congress is refusing to finance even modest new hiring. Some 1,100 could be hired for the cost of a single C-17 military cargo plane.

IRAN HAPPENINGS

Israel, Iran and the Bomb
Comment by Jonathan Schell & Martin J. Sherwin | The Nation | July 30, 2008

Israel and the entire Middle East are approaching a stark existential choice: a nuclear holocaust or a nuclear-free Middle East. "Israel will almost surely attack Iran's nuclear sites in the next four to seven months," said Benny Morris, a well-connected professor of Middle Eastern history at Israel's Ben-Gurion University, in a recent New York Times op-ed. Morris also predicted that should the attack fail, "a ratcheting up of the Iranian-Israeli conflict to a nuclear level" will occur. Indeed, Israel's air force recently practiced maneuvers for such a strike, and Iran responded by test-firing a missile that can retaliate against Israel. In a desperate effort to assure its local nuclear monopoly, Israel is in danger of courting national suicide.

Is Congress laying the groundwork for an act of war on Iran?
A disturbing bill in front of the House might lead us into trouble

WAND expresses special appreciation to the Atlanta chapter for its integral role in convincing Rep. John Lewis to withdraw his name as a cosponsor of this bill. Four other Representatives have done that as well: Danny Davis (D-IL), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Tom Allen (D-ME), and Wm. Lacy Clay (D-MO). It is a difficult and courageous thing for a Member of Congress to withdraw their name as cosponsor of a bill. Please thank your Rep if s/he is among those who have done so on this bill.

Iranian President Ahmedinejad is visiting New York City starting September 22. We are concerned that Congress may pass this or other objectionable legislation if President Ahmedinejad says objectionable things while he is here, which has happened in the past. Take action here.

Faith in Action

NOTABLE NATIONAL EVENTS

In 2008, instead of relying on the media to notice our message, we're going directly to our neighbors. This year we're knocking on a Million Doors for Peace.

Join thousands of activists on September 20th, as we go door-to-door in our communities across America recruiting a new wave of citizens into the movement to end the Iraq War.

IDEAS, VISIONS, RESOURCES FOR A BETTER WORLD

• Click here for amazon.com. (You won't even see it happen.)
• Click here for iGive.com. (You'll need to specify WAND Education Fund as your cause.)
• Click here for GoodShop. (You'll need to specify WAND Education Fund as your cause.)

And it's not just books! Oh, no. It's toys, groceries, DVDs, magazines, and even gift certificates! It's all good.

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