A Progressive-Tea Party Foreign Policy Coalition? Don’t Hold Your Breath
After initial bucking, Tea Partiers soon hew to the Republican line on defense.
The Real ‘Merchants of Death’
Russian arms seller Viktor Bout is small potatoes compared to the real pushers, reports columnist Conn Hallinan.
‘Aspirational’ vs. ‘Operational’ Military Budget Cutting
It seems as though our Secretary of Defense is experiencing an internal conflict.
A Unified Security Budget for the United States, FY 2011
The Pentagon’s plans for cuts won’t change the security spending balance.
Clapper: Managing the Intelligence Enterprise
James Clapper, Obama’s choice to head up national intelligence, has extensive ties to private intelligence outfits and the policies of the previous administration.
New Thinking on Cutting the Deficit
We could cut $1 trillion over the next decade in the defense budget, without compromising national security. It’s time to trim the fat on this sacred cow.
The Pentagon’s Runaway Budget
Why is the United States spending more now on the military than during the Cold War?
Congressional Briefing: A Unified Security Budget for the United States
Key members of the administration’s National Security team—Deputy Secretary Lynn and Secretary Clinton among them—and key congressional leaders have expressed support for a National Security Budget that would allow the overall balance of resources devoted to military forces, homeland security and non-military international affairs to be considered as an integrated whole.
Bush-Style Military Spending Not Over Yet
Obama’s plans for change in defense spending are still mostly unrealized.
Strategic Dialogue: Afghanistan
Should we stay or should we go: that’s the question.
Obama Must Pick Gurneys Over Guns
Two expensive problems. Lots of debt. Will the administration make the right choice when it comes to health care or war?
Conference: Who Decides About War?
“Who Decides About War” will be a national conference confronting essential questions raised by the U.S. invasions and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. These questions are timely, as the political process that brought the United States into those wars is widely recognized today as having been flawed at best, dishonest at worst.
This engaging event will bring together activists and academics, public officials and veterans, lawyers and military families to accomplish two goals. First, to educate ourselves and each other about the issues involved, the state of the law, and alternatives. Second, to develop a statement of common principles leading to a more democratic, comprehensive, and durable national defense policy — one that will honor the Constitution and help keep the United States from entering into unnecessary wars.
Panelists will include:
Keynote Speaker Morton Halperin, Senior Advisor, Open Society Institute
Phyllis Bennis, Institute for Policy Studies
Leah Bolger, National VP, Veterans for Peace
Elaine Brower, Military Families Speak Out
Prof. Marjorie Cohn, President, National Lawyers Guild
Sen. Richard Madaleno, State Senator, Montgomery County, Maryland
Geoff Millard, Chair, Iraq Vets Against the War
John Nichols, Esq., The Nation magazine
Benson Scotch, Senior Legal Counsel, Bring the Guard Home! It’s the Law.
David Swanson, Founder, AfterDowningStreet
The conference will go from October 2-3, 2009. More information and registration on the event can be found on its website.
The Pursuit of True Security
For all of the money we spend on defense, are we really all that safer?
Mass Transit Helps Cut Global Warming and War
We need to start viewing climate change as both a security and environmental challenge.
The Cost of the Global U.S. Military Presence
It costs $250 billion a year to maintain the U.S. empire.