Source: The U.S. Employment Effects of Military and Domestic Spending (UMass Political Economy Research Institute, 2007)http://www.peri.umass.edu/236/hash/78326f6be5/publication/282/
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Peaceful investment creates more jobs than war investment
Source: The U.S. Employment Effects of Military and Domestic Spending (UMass Political Economy Research Institute, 2007)http://www.peri.umass.edu/236/hash/78326f6be5/publication/282/
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The Ending of America's Financial-Military Empire
The Ending of America's Financial-Military Empire by Michael Hudson in CounterPunch lays out some of the international economic background which makes the transition to a peace economy even more essential. Here are some excerpts:
... At the root of the global financial crisis, he [Russian president Dmitry Medvedev] concluded, is the fact that the United States makes too little and spends too much, particularly its vast military outlays, such as the stepped-up US military aid to Georgia announced just last week, the NATO missile shield in Eastern Europe and the US buildup in the oil-rich Middle East and Central Asia. ...
Aside from no longer financing the U.S. buyout of their own industries and the U.S. military encirclement of the globe, China, Russia and other countries would no doubt like to enjoy the same kind of free ride that America has been getting. As matters stand now, they see the United States as a lawless nation, financially as well as militarily. How else to characterize a nation that proclaims a set of laws for others – on war, debt repayment and treatment of prisoners – but flouts them itself? The United States is now the world’s largest debtor yet has avoided the pain of “structural adjustments” imposed on other debtor economies. U.S. interest-rate and tax reductions in the face of exploding trade and budget deficits are seen as the height of hypocrisy in view of the austerity programs that Washington forces on other countries via the IMF and other Washington vehicles. ...
If China, Russia and their non-aligned allies have their way, the United States will no longer live off the savings of others in the form of its own recycled dollars, nor have the money for unlimited military expenditures and adventures.
Full article: http://www.counterpunch.org/hudson06152009.html
... At the root of the global financial crisis, he [Russian president Dmitry Medvedev] concluded, is the fact that the United States makes too little and spends too much, particularly its vast military outlays, such as the stepped-up US military aid to Georgia announced just last week, the NATO missile shield in Eastern Europe and the US buildup in the oil-rich Middle East and Central Asia. ...
Aside from no longer financing the U.S. buyout of their own industries and the U.S. military encirclement of the globe, China, Russia and other countries would no doubt like to enjoy the same kind of free ride that America has been getting. As matters stand now, they see the United States as a lawless nation, financially as well as militarily. How else to characterize a nation that proclaims a set of laws for others – on war, debt repayment and treatment of prisoners – but flouts them itself? The United States is now the world’s largest debtor yet has avoided the pain of “structural adjustments” imposed on other debtor economies. U.S. interest-rate and tax reductions in the face of exploding trade and budget deficits are seen as the height of hypocrisy in view of the austerity programs that Washington forces on other countries via the IMF and other Washington vehicles. ...
If China, Russia and their non-aligned allies have their way, the United States will no longer live off the savings of others in the form of its own recycled dollars, nor have the money for unlimited military expenditures and adventures.
Full article: http://www.counterpunch.org/hudson06152009.html
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Cartwright: U.S. Force-Sizing, Basing Strategy Need Overhaul
This is an excerpt from:
Defense News, June 4, 2009
Cartwright: U.S. Force-Sizing, Basing Strategy Need Overhaul
By JOHN T. BENNETT
Over the next few years, the U.S. military is likely to become engaged in a number of hot and cold conflicts, each spanning five to 10 years, meaning the Pentagon must "adjust" its decades-old force sizing and basing constructs, says Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs. ...
... Cartwright said he continues to press for development of a new weapon that would allow Washington to take out a fleeting target in a manner of minutes.
The Marine Corps general said he has concluded conventionally armed bombers are "too slow and too intrusive" for many "global strike missions."
Cartwright for several years has advocated for a "prompt global strike" weapon, which would be ultra-fast and fitted with a conventional warhead.
Congress, due largely to worries that other nations, like Russia, would be unable to quickly determine whether an in-flight warhead was nuclear, has refused to fund the program.
Cartwright said even congressional skeptics of the idea realize there is a "military requirement" for such a fast weapon to take out fleeting targets.
The requirements for such a weapon are "starting to emerge," he said."At the low end," a PGS weapon would probably need to be launched and hit a target within "one hour," Cartwright said. "At the high end," the time frame could be as short as "300 milliseconds."
The military might need a "hypersonic" weapon that would travel in the exoatmosphere to take out a limited number of fleeting targets, he said.
Finally, Cartwright told the audience the Pentagon is examining a new concept, called "extended deterrence," something "we're trying to force into the QDR."The idea would be to field a weapon so effective that it would dissuade enemies from carrying out a specific activity, while also "not starting a nuclear arms race" and "giving allies comfort."
The options for an "extended deterrence" capability, he said, are not limited to nuclear-armed weapons.
Full article at http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4123641&c=AME&s=LAN
Defense News, June 4, 2009
Cartwright: U.S. Force-Sizing, Basing Strategy Need Overhaul
By JOHN T. BENNETT
Over the next few years, the U.S. military is likely to become engaged in a number of hot and cold conflicts, each spanning five to 10 years, meaning the Pentagon must "adjust" its decades-old force sizing and basing constructs, says Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs. ...
... Cartwright said he continues to press for development of a new weapon that would allow Washington to take out a fleeting target in a manner of minutes.
The Marine Corps general said he has concluded conventionally armed bombers are "too slow and too intrusive" for many "global strike missions."
Cartwright for several years has advocated for a "prompt global strike" weapon, which would be ultra-fast and fitted with a conventional warhead.
Congress, due largely to worries that other nations, like Russia, would be unable to quickly determine whether an in-flight warhead was nuclear, has refused to fund the program.
Cartwright said even congressional skeptics of the idea realize there is a "military requirement" for such a fast weapon to take out fleeting targets.
The requirements for such a weapon are "starting to emerge," he said."At the low end," a PGS weapon would probably need to be launched and hit a target within "one hour," Cartwright said. "At the high end," the time frame could be as short as "300 milliseconds."
The military might need a "hypersonic" weapon that would travel in the exoatmosphere to take out a limited number of fleeting targets, he said.
Finally, Cartwright told the audience the Pentagon is examining a new concept, called "extended deterrence," something "we're trying to force into the QDR."The idea would be to field a weapon so effective that it would dissuade enemies from carrying out a specific activity, while also "not starting a nuclear arms race" and "giving allies comfort."
The options for an "extended deterrence" capability, he said, are not limited to nuclear-armed weapons.
Full article at http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4123641&c=AME&s=LAN
Monday, March 9, 2009
SUSTAINABLE PEACEFUL PRODUCTION OR WEAPONS FOR WAR?
Worldwide, people identify Woodstock with peace and music. We all know that the festival didn’t happen here. But now it turns out that Woodstock’s material contribution to war and peace in the world is weighted heavily on the side of war. We can change this.
Even as Woodstockers were dedicating our Peace Pole last year, just a mile away Woodstock’s largest employer, Ametek Rotron Military and Aerospace Products, was gearing up for another week’s production. According to the company itself, its 380 Woodstock employees make small but essential components of many major weapons systems – fighter and bomber aircraft, attack helicopters, tanks and military ships. These weapons systems have taken leading roles in wars, war crimes and human rights violations across the world.
For example, our local manufacturer claims to make parts for Apache attack helicopters and F-16 fighter planes. These were central in the disastrous and illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003. Did those particular Apaches and F-16s contain components with the Made-In-Woodstock label? We don’t know for sure, but at any rate we have an obligation to rethink our community’s complicity in such war crimes in the future.
F-16s were also a mainstay of Indonesia’s armed forces as that country massacred civilians in East Timor in 1999. F-16s also help to prop up another prominent human rights violator, Pakistan, and would likely be charged with delivering that country's nuclear weapons. F-16s and Apaches were in the news again recently as they delivered death to over 1300 residents of Gaza, including over 400 children, administering a collective punishment on the civilian population there. Assuming, again, that our community contributed to those particular aircraft, how do we feel about Woodstock’s gift to the children of Gaza? And what can we do about it?
Another of the many weapons systems that apparently have Made-In-Woodstock components is the Multiple Launch Rocket System. This device has been used to fire cluster bombs – by the US in Iraq, and by Israel in Lebanon in 2006. Recently over 100 countries cooperated on a treaty to ban cluster bombs. We should encourage Obama to reverse Bush’s refusal to sign on. Meanwhile we should do our bit to reverse our local contribution to their use.
Let us be clear, we appreciate Rotron's role as a provider of jobs in our community and the other positive contributions they make. And the concerns we are expressing here do not apply to the non-military portion of Rotron’s production. We want Rotron to continue to play a viable role in our community but we do see a need and a potential for change.
What if, instead of yet more gas-guzzling military machines, Woodstock produced equipment that contributed to solving the global environmental crisis rather than making it worse? Peaceful investment is green investment, and it creates many more jobs (per dollar invested) than military investment. Especially in the midst of our deepening economic crisis, Ulster County is crying out for more jobs. Here is an opportunity for Woodstock to take a lead in sustainable manufacturing. Representative Hinchey has spoken up in favor of stimulus measures that will help create green jobs. It can be a win-win situation.
In addition to overcoming our economic and environmental crises, we have a moral and legal obligation to oppose the manufacture of weapons that are helping to create those crises. International law – including the Geneva Conventions and the Nuremberg Principles – imposes on us not just a right but a responsibility to put an end to our local community’s contribution to war crimes and violations of the laws of war.
We suggest the people and government of Woodstock come together with all parties involved to promote and encourage the conversion of our economy to sustainable, peaceful production while thereby enhancing our jobs base. It is time for us in Woodstock to live up to our worldwide image of peace.
Sponsored by Woodstock Peace Economy
Even as Woodstockers were dedicating our Peace Pole last year, just a mile away Woodstock’s largest employer, Ametek Rotron Military and Aerospace Products, was gearing up for another week’s production. According to the company itself, its 380 Woodstock employees make small but essential components of many major weapons systems – fighter and bomber aircraft, attack helicopters, tanks and military ships. These weapons systems have taken leading roles in wars, war crimes and human rights violations across the world.
For example, our local manufacturer claims to make parts for Apache attack helicopters and F-16 fighter planes. These were central in the disastrous and illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003. Did those particular Apaches and F-16s contain components with the Made-In-Woodstock label? We don’t know for sure, but at any rate we have an obligation to rethink our community’s complicity in such war crimes in the future.
F-16s were also a mainstay of Indonesia’s armed forces as that country massacred civilians in East Timor in 1999. F-16s also help to prop up another prominent human rights violator, Pakistan, and would likely be charged with delivering that country's nuclear weapons. F-16s and Apaches were in the news again recently as they delivered death to over 1300 residents of Gaza, including over 400 children, administering a collective punishment on the civilian population there. Assuming, again, that our community contributed to those particular aircraft, how do we feel about Woodstock’s gift to the children of Gaza? And what can we do about it?
Another of the many weapons systems that apparently have Made-In-Woodstock components is the Multiple Launch Rocket System. This device has been used to fire cluster bombs – by the US in Iraq, and by Israel in Lebanon in 2006. Recently over 100 countries cooperated on a treaty to ban cluster bombs. We should encourage Obama to reverse Bush’s refusal to sign on. Meanwhile we should do our bit to reverse our local contribution to their use.
Let us be clear, we appreciate Rotron's role as a provider of jobs in our community and the other positive contributions they make. And the concerns we are expressing here do not apply to the non-military portion of Rotron’s production. We want Rotron to continue to play a viable role in our community but we do see a need and a potential for change.
What if, instead of yet more gas-guzzling military machines, Woodstock produced equipment that contributed to solving the global environmental crisis rather than making it worse? Peaceful investment is green investment, and it creates many more jobs (per dollar invested) than military investment. Especially in the midst of our deepening economic crisis, Ulster County is crying out for more jobs. Here is an opportunity for Woodstock to take a lead in sustainable manufacturing. Representative Hinchey has spoken up in favor of stimulus measures that will help create green jobs. It can be a win-win situation.
In addition to overcoming our economic and environmental crises, we have a moral and legal obligation to oppose the manufacture of weapons that are helping to create those crises. International law – including the Geneva Conventions and the Nuremberg Principles – imposes on us not just a right but a responsibility to put an end to our local community’s contribution to war crimes and violations of the laws of war.
We suggest the people and government of Woodstock come together with all parties involved to promote and encourage the conversion of our economy to sustainable, peaceful production while thereby enhancing our jobs base. It is time for us in Woodstock to live up to our worldwide image of peace.
Sponsored by Woodstock Peace Economy
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