2009 April Bulletin

Let them know how you feel! We can help.

Here's the news: For the first time in a long time, there is a groundswell of support for reforming the Pentagon budget: cutting Cold War weapons programs, and realizing billions of savings for things that actually do make us safer and stronger. Those who've endorsed this move range from the President to the Secretary of Defense to activist groups -- and more.

Here's the catch: Every single one of those programs supplies jobs. Jobs in Congressional districts. And those jobs belong to voters, who vote for a Congressperson... So those Congresspersons guard those jobs, those weapons programs... And you can't stop funding for those programs unless Congress votes that way.

So we have the winds of change, but it's hard to huff and puff strong enough to blow the weapons programs down.

That's where you come in. You have to let your Members of Congress know that you want them to go out on a limb and cut those weapons programs. And to fund other programs that will create jobs just as well.

There will be bumps in this road -- but it is a road we HAVE TO GO DOWN. Thanks.

Sign onto the petition to redirect Pentagon spending to human needs.

(Again, we'll spread the good news that we can create more better jobs when we invest our public money in programs that are not military. Again -- not easy. But vital.)

Action Guide from WAND: 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.

The good news is that Gates wants to modify or terminate a number of high-priced weapons programs that are over cost, behind schedule, useless in Iraq and Afghanistan, and unneeded for the foreseeable future. This will allow the Obama administration to provide more resources for military personnel and for weapons programs that are relevant to current threats and the most likely future threats.

The bad news is that while Gates seeks to rearrange certain elements of defense spending, the FY 2010 Pentagon budget, at $534 billion, still perpetuates the decade-long uptick in U.S. defense spending, which today is at the highest inflation-adjusted level since World War II. Indeed, Gates’s April 6 speech featured many more recommendations for spending increases than for spending decreases.

Missile defense went on the offensive yesterday, as two major contractors set out to justify their costly programs in anticipation of budget cuts from the Pentagon...

Boeing gave out trinkets bearing the logo of its missile defense programs, including a box of mints, a bag of blue and white jelly beans and a magnetic dart board that reads "Right on Target" with a fireball explosion in the background.

The company's airborne laser program is eight years behind schedule and $4 billion over budget. Rep. Ellen O. Tauscher (D-Calif.), who chairs a House Armed Services subcommittee, said earlier this week that the program reminded her "of the definition of insanity."

"You keep doing the wrong thing over and over and don't learn from it," she said.

In pledging last week that the “days of giving defense contractors a blank check are over,” President Obama is taking on the giant weapons contracting system that he says has “gone amok.”

Nearly everyone agrees that huge cost overruns and delays in creating new weapons have become the norm. Even so, fierce battles are starting over some of the prominent programs he would like to cancel or cut back. Defense experts say Mr. Obama will inevitably clash with members of Congress who are concerned about protecting jobs that such programs provide.

“He says he’s not afraid to fight, and he’s fighting on a lot of fronts,” said Lawrence J. Korb, a former high-ranking Pentagon official, referring to the president’s plans to reshape health care, education and energy policies.

But, Mr. Korb said, history has shown that to make lasting cuts to big weapons programs, “you need a president who says to Congress, ‘Put this in there, and I’ll veto it.’ ”

Two defense officials who were not authorized to speak publicly said Gates will announce up to a half-dozen major weapons cancellations later this month. Candidates include a new Navy destroyer, the Air Force's F-22 fighter jet, and Army ground-combat vehicles, the offi cials said...

"There are so many people employed in the industry and they are spread across the country," William S. Cohen, former Republican senator from Maine who was Defense secretary in the Clinton administration, said in an interview. "Even though members of Congress may say, 'It's great that you are recommending the termination of X, Y, and Z,' they will also say 'that means 4,000 jobs in my state. Frankly, I can't go along with that.' "

What more can we say? He's taking "concrete steps" toward a nuclear-free world. It's significant, profound, and audacious. Hopeful, even.

Mr. Obama must also declare his commitment to include all nuclear weapons in negotiated reductions — including thousands of warheads that are now held in reserve and excluded from cuts. And he must make good on promises to press the Senate to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (opponents are already quietly organizing) and the international community to adopt a pact ending production of weapons-grade nuclear fuel.

In a separate joint statement, the two leaders pledged to begin working immediately on an agreement to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which will expire at the end of this year. They committed to reducing their nuclear arsenals to levels lower than those mandated by the Moscow Treaty of 2002, which calls for both nations to have no more than 1,700 to 2,200 warheads by Dec. 31, 2012.

Sen. Richard G. Lugar (Ind.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement that the new agreement would have to be signed by early August for the Senate to ratify it this year. The deadline probably means that Obama and Medvedev would have to sign the treaty during their July summit in Moscow.

President Obama said in a message late last month that he wanted better ties with Iran and offered a new start in relations. Iran and the United States severed diplomatic ties in 1979 after religious students attacked the American Embassy in Tehran and took its diplomats hostage.

“The Iranian people would welcome a hand extended to it if the hand is truly based on honesty,” said Mr. Ahmadinejad in a speech at the central city of Isfahan today.

WiLL in Indiana hosts breakfast for Great American Pie campaign and message about changing our federal budget priorities.

• Download the curriculum from this page;
• or use this order form to request professionally printed copies for your group.

Alliance for Nuclear Accountability DC Days April 26-29, 2009 Come to Washington for four days of advocacy and training about nuclear issues

• Learn from experts and maximize your impact
• Meet with Members of Congress
• Network with activists from across the country

WAND’s Public Policy Field Director, Kathy Robinson is participating in the planning and training for this year’s DC Days event.

Please let Kathy know if you are planning to participate in either Ecumenical Advocacy Days or Alliance for Nuclear Accountability DC Days! krobinson@wand.org (202) 544-5055 ext. 2605

• 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.