It’s a time of high activity for WAND’s efforts to rein in excessive military spending. We are helping lead a major campaign to convince Congress NOT to add money for the F-22. Call your Senators today! It's vital to draw a line in the sand and say, Enough wasteful Pentagon spending.

Our principal partner organizations in this effort are the Center for American Progress, Council for a Livable World, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Peace Action, Project on Government Oversight, Taxpayers for Common Sense, and True Majority.

US and Russian Presidents Summit in Moscow July 6-8, 2009

A preliminary agreement is announced to reduce the size of each country’s nuclear weapons stockpiles. Read more here.

Send a message to your Senators here.

From July 6 through July 8, President Obama is meeting in Moscow with Russian President Medvedev for their first full summit. On July 6 they announced a preliminary agreement as key progress in negotiating a follow-on agreement to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), a crucial accord that reduces Russian and US nuclear weapons stockpiles. This summit announcement is also a first step along the path toward a safer world free of nuclear weapons and marks significant progress in improved US–Russian relations.

Join in WAND’s campaign
Congress Meets the Community
In the next year, Congress will play an essential role in setting the agenda for vital security and budget priority issues.

Let them know how you feel! We can help. Find out more about how to set up a meeting.

FEDERAL BUDGET WATCH

We Don’t Need the F-22
New York Times editorial | June 19, 2009

You would think that with all the legitimate and expensive claims on the government pocketbook — including two wars, an economic crisis and desperately needed health care reform — Congress would be extra judicious about how it spends the taxpayers’ money. But no, at least not when it comes to the House Armed Services Committee and lucrative defense contracts.

Retired Military Officers Urge Support of Obama, Gates Defense Budget
National Security Network | Washington, D.C. 10 June 2009

Today, 13 former Generals and Admirals, representing the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force, called on members of Congress to support the 2010 Defense budget as laid out by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and President Barack Obama. In the letter, the retired flag officers "urge members of Congress to support the Obama administration's efforts to move in a new strategic direction that will better ensure the safety and security of this country." The letter will be distributed to each member of the House and Senate, and a pdf of the letter can be found here.

Will Congress Put Useless Fighter Jets Above America?
Jon Soltz | Huffington Post | June 22, 2009

Let me get this straight. The latest polls say three-quarters of the American people want a public option in health care, yet it's in question. But, Congress is about to throw $369 million (on a down-payment of $2 billion) for a dozen F-22 fighter jets that even the Pentagon doesn't want. Oh, and the money for it? It's coming out of funds that were set aside to clean up dangerous nuclear waste in the U.S.

NUCLEAR NOTES

Obama and Medvedev Off to a Good Start
08 July 2009 | By Tom Z. Collina | The Moscow Times

This week in Moscow, Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev made history agreeing to series of concrete steps that help “reset” U.S.-Russian relations after years of decline. Most important, the two presidents agreed to a framework for a new nuclear arms reduction treaty to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which will expire in less than five months.

Given the limited time frame for the talks, the reductions outlined in the Obama-Medvedev joint statement are — not surprisingly — limited in scale and scope. The agreement would establish lower limits on the number of strategic warheads that may be deployed, from more than 2,200 warheads today to 1,500 to 1,675. Even without a new treaty, Russia is on track to reduce deployed strategic warheads to 1,800 or less by the end of 2012.

Obama’s Youth Shaped His Nuclear-Free Vision
By WILLIAM J. BROAD and DAVID E. SANGER
Published: July 4, 2009 | NewYork times

In the depths of the cold war, in 1983, a senior at Columbia University wrote in a campus newsmagazine, Sundial, about the vision of “a nuclear free world.” He railed against discussions of “first- versus second-strike capabilities” that “suit the military-industrial interests” with their “billion-dollar erector sets,” and agitated for the elimination of global arsenals holding tens of thousands of deadly warheads.

The student was Barack Obama, and he was clearly trying to sort out his thoughts. In the conclusion, he denounced “the twisted logic of which we are a part today” and praised student efforts to realize “the possibility of a decent world.” But his article, “Breaking the War Mentality,” which only recently has been rediscovered, said little about how to achieve the utopian dream.

Twenty-six years later, the author, in his new job as president of the United States, has begun pushing for new global rules, treaties and alliances that he insists can establish a nuclear-free world.

No Nukes: Possibility or Pipe Dream?
New York Times Debate | June 7, 2009

Several experts weigh in on the question of whether we'll ever see a nuclear-free world.

Nuclear weapons debate takes new form
By James Carroll | Boston Globe | June 15, 2009

A paradigm shift, in Thomas Kuhn's great phrase, is occurring. What makes this era unusual is that we can sense it happening. That an emblem of this transition, if not necessarily its cause, is President Obama can be discerned from his two historic speeches - in April in Prague, and this month in Cairo.

Decrease Stockpiles, Increase Security
By Lt. Gen. Robert Gard and Travis Sharp | The Huffington Post | July 6, 2009

This week in Moscow, Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev are holding a summit meeting that will heavily influence the next decade of U.S.-Russian relations. If the two leaders strike up a personal and political rapport, it could unfreeze a relationship that became icy in the final years of the Bush and Putin administrations. If the summit produces less favorable results, it could intensify mistrust and leave several foreign policy wounds to fester.

The most important agenda item at the summit is the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), a 1991 agreement that reduced deployed U.S. and Russian strategic warheads by 40 percent, cut bombers and missiles, and included thorough verification measures. Since START expires in December, Obama and Medvedev are racing against the clock to negotiate a follow-on agreement.

North Korea, Iran, and the Demise of Nuclear Deterrence
Tad Daley and Kevin Martin | Huffington Post | June 26, 2009

Perhaps, in light of all this radioactive rhetoric, it is worth pausing to consider just what "nuclear deterrence" might mean in today's world ... or whether it means anything at all.

IRAQ -- and now! Afghanistan as well!

Preventing Another Iraq
Key in Afghanistan: Economy, Not Military
By Bob Woodward | Washington Post | July 1, 2009

"This will not be won by the military alone," Jones said in an interview during his trip. "We tried that for six years." He also said: "The piece of the strategy that has to work in the next year is economic development. If that is not done right, there are not enough troops in the world to succeed."

America Searches for Means of Influence in Iraq
New York Times | By ALISSA J. RUBIN | July 5, 2009

As they deal with Iraqi politics, the Americans must find a new tone. They have a reputation for being heavy-handed, for telling Iraqis what to do rather than asking what they want — a legacy of the period when Americans were in charge as an occupying force. Now that Iraq is in most respects a sovereign country, that approach only generates hostility.

NEWS FROM WiLL

• WiLL is heading to Philadelphia, PA in late July for the National Conference of State Legislatures’ (NCSL) Annual Legislative Summit. Sen. Nan Grogan Orrock, WiLL President, will meet with over 3,000 of her colleagues to exchange ideas and to promote WiLL’s message. With nearly every state facing budget shortfalls, our message about fiscal responsibility will certainly be timely. WiLL is honored to co-host the Women's Legislative Network's luncheon at NCSL.
• WiLL also hosted former WiLL member and honorary co-chair Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA) in Atlanta, GA. The Congresswoman spoke about her new book, Renegade for Peace and Justice. The event was a huge success. We encourage you all to pick up a copy and read about the life and times of an extraordinary woman!

National Events

Think Outside the Bomb 2009 National Conference | More info
August 13-16 | Albuquerque, New Mexico
"Working to educate, organize, and empower a new generation of community and campus leaders working toward a nuclear-free world."

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.

LOOKING FOR JOBS?