De-escalating U.S. War-culture: A Primer for Peace Advocates

De-escalating U.S. War-culture: A Primer for Peace Advocates
Kelly Denton-Borhaug

Defining the term “war-culture”
“war-culture”: the normalized and increasing interpenetration of the institutions, ethos and practices of war into ever-increasing facets of daily human life, including the economy, education, diverse cultural sites, everyday life and imagination in the United States. If “militarism” is a traditional term that refers to the dominance of military over civilian authority, and the prevalence of warlike values in society, contemporary scholars now utilize the terminology of “militarization” to refer to much same reality described here as “war-culture.” Catherine Lutz’ definition is particularly apt: Militarization is a discursive process, involving a shift in general societal beliefs and values in ways necessary to legitimate the use of force, the organization of large standing armies and their leaders, and the higher taxes or tribute used to pay for them. . . [it is] an intensification of the labor and resources allocated to military purposes including the shaping of other institutions in synchrony with military goals (italics mine). Lutz’ insight regarding the way militarization shapes other institutions, perceptions and identities is important here. Militarization does not simply stand apart as an isolated element in U.S. culture. On the contrary, in the post-9/11 world of the United States militarization is a powerful force that shapes the dynamics of collective power, life, memory and daily experience. “War-culture” describes how this force has become a driving influence in U.S. culture at large. As Andrew Bacevich says, “the global military supremacy that the United States presently enjoys – and is bent on perpetuating – has become central to our national identity.” He continues, More than America’s matchless material abundance or even the effusions of its pop culture, the nation’s arsenal of high tech weaponry and the soldiers who employ that arsenal have come to signify who we are and what we stand for. . . Americans in our own time have fallen prey to militarization, manifesting in a romanticized view of soldiers, a tendency to see military power as the truest measure of national greatness, and outsized expectations regarding the efficacy of force. As quoted in Henry A. Giroux, University in Chains: Confronting the Military-Industrial-Academic Complex, Boulder: Paradigm Publishers, 2007, 31. See Catherine Lutz, “Making War at Home in the United States: Militarization and the Current Crisis,” American Anthropologist 104:3 (September 2002), 723. Quoted In Giroux, 36. See Andrew Bacevich, The New American Militarism, New York: Oxford University Press, 2005, 14.

Defining “the Military Industrial Complex”
President Eisenhower, 1960’s Conjunction of powerful --military institutions --defense industry --branches of government

. . .By the time of the 2000’s:War-culture in everyday life
Sociologist Nick Turse’s description: “ this new military-industrial-economic-entertainment-academic-scientific-media-intelligence-homeland-security-surveillance-national security-corporate complex.”

Facets of War-Culture Continued Military build-ups, funneling of funds toward war-machine Wars/armed interventions as a regular way of life War/Militarism as essential ingredient of American self-identity, civil religion War-culture’s impact on Economics War-culture in Everyday Life War-culture and Popular Culture War-culture and Youth Culture Recruitment for War-culture Branding/Marketing of War and War-Culture Military Bases War-culture and Educational Institutions

What lots of people are doing on Sunday, their day off
On a recent Sunday, the NY Times received 62,000 tweets when it asked people to tweet about how they spent their Sunday. Spending time playing “Call of Duty,” ranked up their with eating, sleeping, and watching football. 2/3 fewer went to church than watched football. NY Times, “Readers Share their Sunday Routines”

Will “the War on Terror” ever end?
The polices adopted by the Obama administration just over the last couple of years leave no doubt that they are accelerating, not winding down, the war apparatus that has been relentlessly strengthened over the last decade. In the name of the War on Terror, the current president has diluted decades-old Miranda warnings; codified a new scheme of indefinite detention on US soil; plotted to relocate Guantanamo to Illinois; increased secrecy, repression and release-restrictions at the camp; minted a new theory of presidential assassination powers even for US citizens; renewed the Bush/Cheney warrantless eavesdropping framework for another five years, as well as the Patriot Act, without a single reform; and just signed into law all new restrictions on the release of indefinitely held detainees. Glenn Greenwald, Guardian UK 05 January 13

Army suicides rose 80% . . . From 2004 to 2008
--U.S. Army Public Health Command, report from March 2012 Increase is “unprecedented in over 30 years of U.S. Army records” Number of visits for mental health disorders doubled Suicides are “the tip of the mental health iceberg”

Drone operators at Holloman Air Force Base in the southwestern state of New Mexico: Modern warfare is as invisible as a thought, deprived of its meaning by distance. SPIEGEL ONLINE 12/14/ :03 PM Dreams in Infrared The Woes of an American Drone Operator By Nicola Abé

Former soldier Brandon Bryant, 27, takes a break near his home in Missoula, Montana. Bryant has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. He flew drone missions in Iraq and Afghanistan during which he saw both American soldiers and Afghan civilians killed.

Pakistani tribesmen examine the site of a US drone attack in North Waziristan. In his diary, ex-solder Bryant wrote: "On the battlefield there are no sides, just bloodshed. Total war. Every horror witnessed. I wish my eyes would rot."

Pentagon 2008 “Base Structure Report”
761 active U.S. military bases around the world Perhaps 1,000 if one includes “Black Sites” 500,000 U.S. troops, spies, contractors, family members and others stationed in over 130 countries “force projection” – “the maintenance of American military hegemony over the rest of the world.” According to the Pentagon's 2008 "Base Structure Report," its annual unclassified inventory of the real estate it owns or leases around the world, the United States maintains 761 active military "sites" in foreign countries. (That's the Defense Department's preferred term, rather than "bases," although bases are what they are.) Counting domestic military bases and those on US territories, the total is 5,429. The overseas figure fluctuates year to year. The 2008 total is down from 823 in the Pentagon's 2007 report, but the 2007 number was up from 766 in The current total is, however, substantially less than the Cold War peak of 1,014 in Still, given that there are only 192 countries in the United Nations, 761 foreign bases is a remarkable example of imperial overstretch—even more so considering that official military reports understate the actual size of the US footprint. (The official figures omit espionage bases, those located in war zones, including Iraq and Afghanistan, and miscellaneous facilities in places considered too sensitive to discuss or which the Pentagon for its own reasons chooses to exclude—e.g. in Israel, Kosovo, or Jordan.) America's Unwelcome Advances The Pentagon's foreign overtures are running into a world of public opposition. —By Chalmers Johnson Mother Jones Fri August 22, :00 AM PST

Dec. 2011:Leaving Iraq, Entering Australia
Exiting Iraq? Entering Australia $6 bn planned spending for Iraq in 2012; US embassy in Iraq: largest in world with 16,000 people; Only $300 m of budget will go to refugee/displaced persons programs; State Dept. to hire 5,100-strong “force” to protect diplomatic personnel, operate militarized machinery, provide emergency medical evacuation, etc. Beginning summer 2012, 2,500 marines to engage in training and amphibious exercises in Australia’s northern military bases Obama declares there will be no defense cuts in this region Wall Street Journal, June 7, 2011, “U.S. Plans Private Guard Force for Iraq” Nathan Hodge Washington Post, 11/16/2011, “Obama: U.S. to send 250 Marines to Australia in 2012” By David Nakamura

Shifting from Soviet to U.S. Weapon-Makers
from 2005 onwards, the goal became equipping the Iraqi military with more and more U.S. armaments via the Pentagon's government-to-government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) channel. August, 2008: billion dollar package finalized; October 2010, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) announced a second military package valued at 4.2 billion dollars; Between 2005 and 2011, the Pentagon allocated around billion dollars towards the Pentagon’s Iraqi Security Forces Fund (ISFF). Reports in the Iraqi media have stated that further such orders from the U.S. could reach up to 26 billion dollars, with 13 billion dollars in FMS requests projected by 2013. 36 F-16 Fighter Jets (see right) have been promised in sale; up to 96 may eventually be sold to Iraq. "Going forward, we project Iraq to be one of the largest military markets in the Middle East, behind Saudi Arabia and alongside Israel, Iran and the UAE," --Dan Darling, Middle East defense analyst at the Connecticut-based Forecast International, an aerospace and defense market research company Published on Wednesday, December 14, 2011 by Inter Press Service Soviet-Armed Iraq Switches Allegiance to US Weapons Systems by Thalif Deen Now, Iraq is gradually abandoning its huge arsenal of primarily Russian and French equipment in favour of U.S. arms. The U.S. assured Iraq Monday that it would sell Iraq a second shipment of 18 F-16 fighter jets. Iraq has indicated it will need a total of 96 F-16s. (Credit:D. Miller/ CC by 2.0) A longstanding Soviet and later Russian ally, Iraq under former president Saddam Hussein never had an ongoing military relationship with the United States. NEW YORK - As the United States withdraws the last of its 50,000 troops after a nearly nine-year military occupation of Iraq, visiting Iraqi President Nuri al-Maliki had one final request: billions of dollars worth of U.S. weapons for his ragtag armed forces. At a White House meeting Monday, al-Maliki was assured a second batch of 18 sophisticated F-16 fighter planes to help rebuild the country's dilapidated air force, whose helicopters and missiles the U.S. destroyed during its long-drawn-out war beginning March 2003. Multiple and varied motives The Iraqi president told the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama that his country will depend on the U.S. not only for new weapons systems but also for training under the U.S. International Military Education and Training (IMET) Programme. The Iraqis have already indicated that their military needs will include a total of 96 F-16 fighter jets in four separate orders. Dan Darling, Middle East defence analyst at the Connecticut-based Forecast International, an aerospace and defence market research company, told IPS the Iraqi military is heavily vested in U.S. equipment. A proposed 10.9 billion dollar arms package finalised in August 2008 included six C-130J Hercules transport aircraft, 24 Bell helicopters armed with Hellfire missiles and launchers, 140 Abrams battle tanks, 160 Guardian M1117 armoured security vehicles, 392 light armoured vehicles and 26 M72 light anti-tank weapons. But from 2005 onwards, he pointed out, the goal became equipping the Iraqi military with more and more U.S. armaments via the Pentagon's government-to-government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) channel. Early during the rebuilding stage of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), he said, the U.S. outfitted Iraqi troops with secondhand Soviet-legacy small arms and donated equipment from former Warsaw Pact nations, as the average Iraqi soldier in Hussein's military was familiar with these arms. In October 2010, the U.S. Department of Defence (DoD) announced a second military package valued at 4.2 billion dollars, which included 18 F-16 fighter planes and AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, along with laser-guided bombs and reconnaissance equipment. Revamping Iraq's military The United States also has a hidden agenda in beefing up the Iraqi armed forces against neighbouring Iran, which already has strong political influence on al-Maliki's government. The DoD said the arms package would make Iraq "a more valuable partner in an important area of the world, as well as supporting Iraq's legitimate needs". Under Saddam Hussein, the air force, the army and the navy were equipped primarily with Russian and French weapons systems, including Aerospatiale and Mi-17 helicopters, and T-55 and T-72 battle tanks. According to the latest figures from the Congressional Research Service, Iraq's total arms purchases from 2002 to 2005 amounted to about 8.1 billion dollars. Armed with rising oil revenues, the Iraqi government is now in the process of rebuilding all three services: the army, the air force and the navy. The total strength of the ISF has declined from about 900,000 troops under the Saddam Hussein regime to the current 250,000. The United States was the primary supplier accounting for about 5.2 billion dollars in arms. Between 2005 and 2011, the Pentagon allocated around 20.6 billion dollars towards the ISFF, he said. These funds were used to purchase equipment, build infrastructure, conduct training and sustain the ISF, the Iraqi border guards, police forces and the intelligence services. Darling told IPS that much of these sales early on came from U.S. foreign military financing (FMF) credits, largely through the Pentagon's Iraqi Security Forces Fund (ISFF). As the Iraqi state institutions began to take form and the central government under al-Maliki grew in confidence (and state coffers began receiving healthy intakes of energy revenues) more and more Iraqi orders were placed via FMS, with some 16 billion dollars worth of requests for various equipment, facilities construction and services placed in 2008 alone. The first such stage was meant for filling out the ranks with manpower, the second for ordering equipment and the third for absorbing the equipment and discerning where any capabilities gaps remain. He said it is important to remember that the ISF has planned its rebuilding in three phases: , , and Darling said reports in the Iraqi media have stated that further such orders from the U.S. could reach up to 26 billion dollars, with 13 billion dollars in FMS requests projected by 2013. Iraqi defence ambitions remain broad and while much of the navy reconstruction is nearing completion, much work remains to be done in the IQAF (Iraqi Air Force) and land forces, he added. "Going forward, we project Iraq to be one of the largest military markets in the Middle East, behind Saudi Arabia and alongside Israel, Iran and the UAE," Darling predicted. © 2011 IPS North America

National Priorities Project Tallies Cost of War through Jan. 2013
Economist Joseph Stiglitz Cost of Iraq and Afghanistan Wars by end of Jan. 2013: $1,411,580,000,000.00 Wars will cost at least $3,000,000,000,000.00

War and Militarism’s Expense
National Priorities Project: The new Pentagon budget plan released on Jan. 26 sets the Defense Department’s annual “base” budget for Fiscal Year 2013 at $525 billion – 46 percent above the 1998 level. Adjusted for inflation the change from 2012 to 2013 will be a reduction of 3.2 percent. In addition the base budget jumped 55 percent after inflation between 1998 and These figures do not include war costs or the nuclear weapons activities of the Department of Energy. As the chart below shows, current defense spending levels – even without funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – are higher than at any time since World War II when adjusted for inflation.

Costs of Wars Exceed Vietnam
58,000 killed in Vietnam/ 6,300 in recent wars Number of vets with documented disabilities almost the same; 2.2 m service people deployed; 942,000 deployed twice or more; 600,000 applying for VA disability benefits; 700,000 treated in VA medical system; Over next 40 years, $534 bn in disability payments, $348 bn in VA medical treatments. Published on Monday, December 5, 2011 by McClatchy As Iraq and Afghan Wars End, Costs Mount on Pace to Exceed Vietnam by Chris Adams Given the nature of today's disabilities, it's difficult to calculate how much it all might ultimately cost. "We're in somewhat uncharted waters," said Linda Bilmes, a Harvard University professor who has conducted an exhaustive study on the long-term costs of the wars. Her most recent estimates, from 2010, indicate that providing disability payments to Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans could range from $355 billion to $534 billion over the next 40 years; on top of that, costs to the VA's medical system could range from $201 billion to $348 billion to treat veterans of the current wars. Among the findings: Recent veterans are filing claims at a far higher rate than veterans from previous wars or generations. That could make the eventual payout for the VA far higher than it has been for previous wars. The VA's disability payments are still wildly uneven, despite years of attempts to improve consistency to the regional offices that process veterans' claims. It means, for example, that a veteran who lives in Kentucky is likely to have a higher disability payment than one who lives in South Dakota, often for the same ailment. The speed at which the VA processes disability applications has gotten worse, and the percentage of claims with an error in them has worsened as well. In fiscal 2011, 16 percent of VA disability decisions contained an error, the VA's own review shows, far higher than the 2 percent error rate the VA is aiming for.

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Report, 2009
Global military expenditure has risen by 45% over the past decade to $1.46 trillion per year. U.S. accounts for more than ½ of the increase. June, 2009 Annual Yearbook on Armaments, Disarmament, and International Security -- published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute ( Sipri). Published on Monday, June 8, 2009 by The Guardian/UK Global Weapons Spending Hits Record Levels •US accounts for more than half total increase to $1.4tn •China now second biggest spender in world league table by Richard Norton-Taylor

P Published on Friday, May 14, 2010 by the Army Times General: Expect War for 5-10 More Years
For the next "five to 10 years," the military likely will remain engaged in the same kinds of conflicts it has been fighting since 2001, said Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright. "There is nothing out there that tells us we won't be wrapped up in these conflicts for as far as the eye can see," Cartwright said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies-sponsored forum. (AFP/Getty Images/File/Chip Somodevilla) The vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs on Thursday told a conference in Washington that "no one I know thinks we'll be out of" these kinds of conflicts any time soon. "There is nothing out there that tells us we won't be wrapped up in these conflicts for as far as the eye can see," Cartwright said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies-sponsored forum. Published on Friday, May 14, 2010 by the Army Times General: Expect War for 5-10 More Years by John T. Bennett Meantime, the vice chairman echoed Gates in saying the Defense Department must change how it goes about buying weapon systems. The duo's message is simple: If DoD continues pursuing expensive weapons packed with countless advanced subsystems, it will be able to afford only a handful of each platform. Cartwright said this approach, unless corrected, has the military on a path toward lacking enough ships and aircraft to be in all the many places American presence is required. "We need quantity more than quality," he said to a silent audience. Cartwright panned a military-industrial complex that "thinks we must have the best capability." That kind of approach, he said, is unaffordable, meaning the Pentagon must begin working more with U.S. allies to develop costly weapon platforms. "We cannot do it," Cartwright said. "We cannot afford to do everything ourselves - we are not an island." Further, the Pentagon must think beyond which weapons it must buy for current and future operations. Asked about civil affairs troops, Cartwright said many more are needed for the kind of conflicts America is in and will be in for the some time. "We have been growing that in onesies and twosies," he said, but faster growth and more robust numbers of such troops are needed. "The question is, how many bomber squadrons do we need versus how many troops expert at stability operations," Cartwright said. He did not answer his own question directly, but reiterated his belief that he doesn't see the United States moving away from the current kinds of conflicts "any time soon." Cartwright drove home his point by adding: "People want to buy high-end" platforms, like bombers, "but the low-end is the war we're in."

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute: Military Expenditure Data, 2010
Table 1 The Top 10 military spenders in 2010 Spending figures are in US$, at current prices and exchange rates. Countries are ranked according to military spending at Market Exchange Rates (MER). Spending Change Change Share of GDP Rank Country 2010 ($b.) (%) (%) (%, est. share of GDP) 1 USA 2 China [119] [2.1] 3 UK 4 France 5 Russia [58.7] [4.0] 6 Japan – 7 Saudi Arabiab 8 Germany [45.2] [1.3] 9 India 10 Italy [37.0] – [1.8] World terms compared to an annual average increase of 7.4 per cent between 2001 and 2009. The rate of increase in US military spending slowed in 2010, to 2.8 per cent in real However, the USA continues to be exceptional in terms of its military spending. As well as being overwhelmingly the largest spender in absolute terms, with 43 per cent of the global total, six times its nearest rival China, it has led the way in the global increase since 2001, with an 81 per cent rise in real terms compared to 32.5 per cent in the ‘rest of the world’. Moreover, the share of US GDP devoted to the military—the ‘military burden’—has increased sharply, from 3.1 per cent in 2001 to an estimated 4.8 per cent in 2010, while in the majority of other worldwide the military burden has fallen or remained steady. Of those countries for which SIPRI has reliable data, the USA is likely to have had the highest military burden outside the Middle East in 2010, based on IMF projections for GDP. Even in the face of efforts to bring down the soaring US budget deficit, military spending continues to receive privileged treatment. President Obama’s FY2012 budget announced a 5-year freeze on non-security-related discretionary expenditure, but military spending, along with other security spending such as intelligence and Homeland Security is exempt. Such cuts as may occur are likely to be due to the end of the US troop presence in Iraq and the gradual drawdown from Afghanistan, rather than to cuts in the ‘base’ defence budget. Taken together, these figures suggest that the USA continues to prioritize maintaining its overwhelming military power as the basis of its security and status. Projections from the White House Office of Management and Budget (based on the US Administration’s Defense Budget Requests for Fiscal Year 2011 and 2012) show another large increase in outlays in 2011, followed by a decrease in 2012—the latter resulting from the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq—but with spending still about 4 per cent higher in real terms in 2012 than in However, ongoing budget disputes between the administration and the Congress mean that the picture for 2011 and 2012 is highly uncertain.

the USA continues to be exceptional in terms of its military spending
the USA continues to be exceptional in terms of its military spending. As well as being overwhelmingly the largest spender in absolute terms, with 43 per cent of the global total, six times its nearest rival China, it has led the way in the global increase since 2001, with an 81 per cent rise in real terms compared to 32.5 per cent in the ‘rest of the world’. Moreover, the share of US GDP devoted to the military—the ‘military burden’—has increased sharply, from 3.1 per cent in 2001 to an estimated 4.8 per cent in 2010, while in the majority of other worldwide the military burden has fallen or remained steady. Of those countries for which SIPRI has reliable data, the USA is likely to have had the highest military burden outside the Middle East in 2010, based on IMF projections for GDP. SIPRI Conclusions

SIPRI Conclusions, Continued
Even in the face of efforts to bring down the soaring US budget deficit, military spending continues to receive privileged treatment. President Obama’s FY2012 budget announced a 5-year freeze on non-security-related discretionary expenditure, but military spending, along with other security spending such as intelligence and Homeland Security is exempt. Such cuts as may occur are likely to be due to the end of the US troop presence in Iraq and the gradual drawdown from Afghanistan, rather than to cuts I the ‘base’ defence budget. Taken together, these figures suggest that the USA continues to prioritize maintaining its overwhelming military power as the basis of its security and status. SIPRI Conclusions, Continued

The five largest suppliers of major conventional weapons, 2006–10 (SIPRI)
Main Recipients Share of global arms exports: US: 30% Russia: 23% Germany: 11% France: 7% UK: 4% South Korea (14%) Australia (9%) UAE (8%) India (33%) China (23%) Algeria (13%) Germany Greece (15%) South Africa (11%) Turkey (10%) France Singapore (23%) UAE (16%) Greece (12%) UK USA (23%) Saudi Arabia (19%) India (10%) USA (23%) Saudi Arabia (19%) India (10%) This data is obtained from the SIPRI Arms Transfers Database.

From SIPRI Yearbook, 2010 The United States has led the way in the global Increase of military expenditure since 2001, with an 81 per cent rise in real terms compared to 32.5 per cent in the ‘rest of the world’. Moreover, the share of US GDP devoted to the military—the ‘military burden’—has increased sharply, from 3.1 per cent in 2001 to an estimated 4.8 per cent in 2010, while in the majority of other worldwide the military burden has fallen or remained steady. Of those countries for which SIPRI has reliable data, the USA is likely to have had the highest military burden outside the Middle East in 2010, based on IMF projections for GDP.

US Budget: Discretionary Spending 2013
National Priority Project, 2013

SIPRI: Report on global arms sales
21 Feb 2011: Top global arms industry increases arms sales despite ongoing recession, says SIPRI (Stockholm, 21 February 2011) Despite the continuing global economic recession in 2009, the total arms sales of the SIPRI Top 100 of the world’s largest arms-producing companies increased by $14.8 billion from 2008 to reach $401 billion, a real increase of 8 per cent. With total arms sales of the SIPRI Top 100 maintained the upward trend in their arms sales, an increase of a total of 59 per cent in real terms since 2002.

21 Feb 2011: Top global arms industry increases arms sales despite ongoing recession, says SIPRI
The following describes the breakdown of the SIPRI Top 100 in the USA and Western Europe. 45 of the SIPRI Top 100 are based in the USA. These companies generated just under $247 billion in total arms sales, which is 61.5 per cent of the SIPRI Top 100 arms sales. 33 of the SIPRI Top 100 are based in nine Western European countries (Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK). These companies generated $120 billion in total arms sales, which is 30 per cent of the SIPRI Top 100 arms sales. 26 of the top Western European arms producers are based primarily in four countries: France, Germany, Italy, and the UK. Ten of the SIPRI Top 100 are based in Asia (3 in India, 4 in Japan, 1 in Singapore, 2 in South Korea), excluding China, and 5 in the Middle East (3 in Israel, 1 in Kuwait, 1 in Turkey). The SIPRI Top 100 companies in these two regions generated $24 billion in combined arms sales, which is 6 per cent of the SIPRI Top 100 arms sales in 2009. None of the companies in the SIPRI Top 100 in 2009 are based in Latin America or Africa. Arms sales are defined by SIPRI as sales of military goods and services to military customers, including both sales for domestic procurement and sales for export.

June 2012 YouTube.Cost of War: $1.6 Trillion per year

February 2, 2009 Tomgram: Chalmers Johnson, Economic Death Spiral at the Pentagon Recently, reviewing lobbying disclosure reports, the Washington Times discovered "that 18 of the top 20 recipients of federal bailout money spent a combined $12.2 million lobbying the White House, the Treasury Department, Congress, and federal agencies during the last quarter of 2008." Citibank alone, according to the New York Times, fielded "an army of Washington lobbyists," plunking down $1.77 million in lobbying fees just in the fourth quarter of last year. And it isn't only sinking financial institutions begging for federal dollars that have bolstered their Washington lobbying corps. So have the biggest U.S. armaments companies -- "drastically," according to reporter August Cole of the Wall Street Journal. In 2008, he found, Northrop Grumman almost doubled its lobbying budget to $20.6 million (from $10.9 million the previous year); Boeing upped its budget from $10.6 million to $16.6 million in the same period; and Lockheed-Martin, the company that received the most contracts from the Pentagon last year, hiked its lobbying efforts by a whopping 54% in In other words, the ad's threatening message implies, if the Obama administration cuts this program in bad times, it will throw another 95,000 Americans out on the street. Now that's effective lobbying for you, especially when you consider, as Chalmers Johnson does below, that for any imaginable war the U.S. might fight in the coming decades, the F-22 will be a thoroughly useless plane. As Julian Barnes and Peter Spiegel of the Los Angeles Times noted in June 2008, "Tensions between the Air Force and Gates have been growing for months," mainly over Gates's frustration about the F-22 and his inability to get the Air Force to deploy more pilotless aircraft to the various war zones. They were certainly not improved when Wynne, a former senior vice president of General Dynamics, went out of his way to cross Gates, arguing publicly that "any president would be damn happy to have more F-22s around if we had to get into a fight with China." It catches something of the power of the military-industrial complex that, despite his clear desire on the subject, Gates has not yet found the nerve -- or the political backing -- to pull the plug on the F-22; nor has he even dared to bring up the subject of canceling its more expensive and technically complicated successor, the F-35 "Joint Strike Fighter." The military-industrial complex is today so confident of its skills in gaming the system that it does not hesitate to publicize how many workers in a particular district will lose their jobs if a particular project is cancelled. Threats are also made -- and put into effect -- to withhold political contributions from uncooperative congressional representatives. As Spinney recalls, "In July 1989, when some members of Congress began to build a coalition aimed at canceling the B-2, Northrop Corporation, the B-2's prime contractor, retaliated by releasing data which had previously been classified showing that tens of thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions in profits were at risk in 46 states and 383 congressional districts." The B-2 was not cancelled. Southern California's biggest private employers are Boeing Corporation and Northrop-Grumman. They are said to employ more than 58,000 workers in well-paying jobs, a major political obstacle to rationalizing defense expenditures even as recession is making such steps all but unavoidable. By the time the prototype F-22 had its roll-out on May 11, 1997, the Cold War was nearly a decade in its grave, and it was perfectly apparent that the Soviet aircraft it was intended to match would never be built. Lockheed Martin, the F-22's prime contractor, naturally argued that we needed it anyway and made plans to sell some 438 airplanes for a total tab of $70 billion. By mid-2008, only 183 F-22s were on order, 122 of which had been delivered. The numbers had been reduced due to cost overruns. The Air Force still wants to buy an additional 198 planes, but Secretary Gates and his leading assistants have balked. No wonder. According to arms experts Bill Hartung and Christopher Preble, at more than $350 million each, the F-22 is "the most expensive fighter plane ever built." The F-22 is able to maneuver at very high altitudes, but this is of limited value since there are no other airplanes in service anywhere that can engage in combat at such heights. It can cruise at twice the speed of sound in level flight without the use of its afterburners (which consume fuel at an accelerated rate), but there are no potential adversaries for which these capabilities are relevant. The plane is obviously blindingly irrelevant to "fourth-generation wars" like that with the Taliban in Afghanistan -- the sorts of conflicts for which American strategists inside the Pentagon and out believe the United States should be preparing. Frank Gaffney, Jr., president of the far-right Center for Security Policy (CSP), quickly echoed that message in his weekly Washington Times column. "I have long believed it is mistake to use the defense budget as a jobs program. We should buy military hardware because it is needed for our security, not to boost employment," he wrote. "That said, where increased employment follows from making necessary investments in our armed forces' capabilities to fight today's wars - and, no less important, tomorrow's - it would be absurd not to include the Pentagon in an economic stimulus package." Meanwhile, the major military contractors have stepped up their lobbying efforts. According to the Wall Street Journal, three of the biggest companies - Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, and Northrop-Grumman - boosted their multi-million-dollar lobbying budgets by between 54 percent and 90 percent beginning in 2008 as it became clear that the Bush spending binge was nearing an end.

Does Defense spending present the best available choice for job preservation?
On October 25, 2011, the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) published an economic impact analysis which concluded that defense cuts of $1 trillion over ten years would cost the United States more than one million jobs, increase the rate of unemployment by 0.6 percent, and reduce projected growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 25 percent. Studies have shown that compared to other areas of federal investment, military spending is a poor source of job creation. According to the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), each $1 billion invested in clean energy technology generated 50 percent more jobs than the same amount of spending on the military. Investing in health care created 54 percent more jobs, while $1 billion spent on education resulted in 138 percent more jobs. Or to put it another way, if federal investment in the military creates fewer jobs than other federal spending, then cutting the military will cost fewer jobs than cuts to other programs. On October 25, 2011, the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) published an economic impact analysis which concluded that defense cuts of $1 trillion over ten years would cost the United States more than one million jobs, increase the rate of unemployment by 0.6 percent, and reduce projected growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 25 percent. Pro-defense spending advocates have used a number of arguments to ward of defense cuts in excess of $450 billion over ten years, first claiming that excessive defense cuts would “hollow-out” the armed services, and next, warning that decreased funding for the Pentagon could accelerate the military rise of China. While these two arguments failed to gain much traction with the general public, AIA’s frantic claims about potential job losses have been widely disseminated by media outlets and have caused concern across the political spectrum. But do the claims hold water? Defense spending is the worst of available choices for job preservation Economists, journalists, and academics have highlighted major flaws in AIA’s economic analysis and its underlying assumptions, pointing out that (1) defense spending creates fewer jobs per billion dollars spent than other forms of government spending and less than some types of tax cuts as well, (2) the AIA study assumes that 45% of the $1 trillion in defense savings would come from weapons systems instead of other DoD programs, and (3) the AIA study inaccurately claims that the full impact of the spending cuts will be felt in the first year of a ten-year budget window instead of being phased in over time (which would allow job growth in other areas to absorb the impact of Pentagon cuts). The following reports, articles, and commentary rebut the claim that defense spending is an effective means of economic stimulus and job creation and challenge the notion that defense cuts totaling $1 trillion over ten years would result in the loss of more than one million jobs.

As of 2010, the U.S. government operated with a
THE U.S. EMPLOYMENT EFFECTS OF MILITARY AND DOMESTICSPENDING PRIORITIES:2011 UPDATE Robert Pollin &Heidi Garrett-Peltier As of 2010, the U.S. government operated with a military budget of nearly $690 billion. This is a 67 percent increase (in real dollars) relative to the level of spending in 2001. It amounted to 4.7 percent of GDP in 2010. By addressing social needs in the areas of clean energy, health care and education, we would also create many more job opportunities overall as well as a substantially larger number of good jobs. Political Economy Research Institute University of Massachusetts, Amherst December 2011

What will 1 billion in spending reap in terms of jobs creation?
Military spending creates about 11,200 jobs from $1 billion in spending. By a significant amount, this is the fewest number of jobs of any of the alternative uses of funds in comparison with others. Household consumption generates about 15,100 jobs, 35 percent more than military spending. Clean energy generates about 16,800 jobs (50 percent more than military) Health care generates about 17,200 jobs (54 percent more than the military). Spending on Education is the largest source of job creation by a substantial amount, generating about 26,700 jobs overall through $1 billion in spending, which is 138 percent more than the number of jobs that are generated through $1 billion in military spending. Robert Pollin & Heidi Garrett-Peltier, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts, Amherst December 2011 THE U.S. EMPLOYMENT EFFECTS OF MILITARY AND DOMESTIC SPENDING PRIORITIES: 2011 UPDATE Robert Pollin & Heidi Garrett-Peltier Political Economy Research Institute University of Massachusetts, Amherst December 2011

Pentagon Petrol Pushers
Armour Petroleum Dana Petroleum Askar Petroleum Dime Oil Haliburton's Energy Services Group Bahrain Petroleum Drew Oil Baseview Petroleum Dunlap Oil Hanil Oil Refining Big Bear Oil Ed Staub Harbor Petroleum & Sons Petroleum Harris Oil Black Oil Bosco Oil Estacada Oil Harry's Oil BP ExxonMobil Haycock Petroleum Hellenic Petroleum SA Navajo Refining Seoil Gas Hyundai Oilbank N.V. Koninklijke Shin Dae Han Nederlandsche Oil Refining ICS Petroleum Imperial Oil Odgers Petroleum Sinclair Oil Corporation Inlet Petroleum Oil Equipment Sales Shoreside Petroleum International Oil Trading Oil States Industries South Pacific Petroleum Oil Trading Paramount Petroleum Southwest Georgia Oil Irving Oil Parkos Oil SPARK Petrol OrOnleri Jefferson City Oil Patriot Petroleum SI. Joe Petroleum A&MOil Carter Oil Fannon Acorn Petroleum CEL Oil Products Petroleum Advanced Petroleum Chevron Services Farmers Union Oil CITGO Petroleum Farstad Oil Aegean Colonial Oil Industries Frost Oil Marine Petroleum AGE Refining Colorado Galp Energia Petroleum Products Gate Petroleum AI Mamoon Oilfield and Industrial Supplies Compania Espanola Gemini Petroleum de Petroleos NV Aloha Petroleum Gene Moeller Oil Alan Israel Fuel ConocoPhilJips Glenn Oil American Cross Petroleum Gold Star Petroleum Petroleum Services Cosmo Oil Co Golden Gate Petroleum Anderes Oil D&WOil Griffith Oil Arguindegui Oil Daigle Oil G Gulf Oil Limited Partnership Sixteen gallons of oil. That's how much the average American soldier in Iraq and Afghanistan consumes on a daily basis -- either directly, through the use of Humvees, tanks, trucks, and helicopters, or indirectly, by calling in air strikes. Multiply this figure by 162,000 soldiers in Iraq, 24,000 in Afghanistan, and 30,000 in the surrounding region (including sailors aboard U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf) and you arrive at approximately 3.5 million gallons of oil: the daily petroleum tab for U.S. combat operations in the Middle East war zone. And foreign wars, sad to say, account for but a small fraction of the Pentagon's total petroleum consumption. Possessing the world's largest fleet of modern aircraft, helicopters, ships, tanks, armored vehicles, and support systems -- virtually all powered by oil -- the Department of Defense (DoD) is, in fact, the world's leading consumer of petroleum. It can be difficult to obtain precise details on the DoD's daily oil hit, but an April 2007 report by a defense contractor, LMI Government Consulting, suggests that the Pentagon might consume as much as 340,000 barrels (14 million gallons) every day. This is greater than the total national consumption of Sweden or Switzerland. From: The Pentagon v. Peak Oil How Wars of the Future May Be Fought Just to Run the Machines That Fight Them By Michael T. Klare

Pentagon Petrol Pushers II
Jenkins Gas & Oil Petro Air Strickland Oil John W. Stone Petro Alaska Oil Distributors Sunglim Oil & Chemical Petro Star Valdez Inc. Johnson Oil of Hallock Superieur Petrol Petrol Ofisi A.S. KiddOil Supreme Oil Petroleos del Peru Kimbro Oil T.A. Roberts Oil Kuwait Petroleum Petroleum Management Tate Oil Petroleum Partners Lakeside Oil Tesoro Petroleum Petroleum Solutions Lamar Fuel Oil Total SA Petroleum Traders Le Pier Oil Petrom SA Tramp Oil and Marine and Tramp Oil Aviation Lee Escher Oil Pettit Oil Main Brothers Oil Phoenix Petroleum Transworld Oil Limited Mansfield Oil Pitt Penn Oil Tri-Gas & Oil McCartney Oil Potter Oil & Tire U.S. Oil & Refining McLure Oil Pro Petroleum Merlin Petroleum Unocal Corporation Rebel Oil Valero Energy Morgan Oil Repsol Petr61eoSA Wallis Oil Motor Oil [Hellas] River City Petroleum Ward Oil Muddy Creek Oil and Gas RKA Petroleum Western Petroleum National Oilwell Varco Rogers Petroleum Western Refining Nippon Oil RPL Oil Distributor LLC World Fuel Services Northland Holding's Service Oil and Gas Inc. Salathe Oil Wyandotte Tribal SBK Oil Field Services Petroleum

THE PENTAGON IN YOUR PANTRY
Food DoD Contractor Food DoD Contractor After Eight mints Nestle Coffee Mate Nestle Ajax Scourer Colgate-Palmolive College Inn Del Monte Foods Chicken Broth Aquafina purified PepsiCo Contadina tomato Del Monte Foods drinking water paste Athenos Hummus KrafUAltria Aunt Jemima syrup PepsiCo Country Crock Unilever N.V Bagel Bites H.J. Heinz margarine Cream of Wheat KrafUAltria Baked Doritos PepsiCo tortilla chips Cream-O-Land Cream-O-Land Balance Bars KrafUAltria Milk Dairy Crystal Light KrafUAltria Ball Park franks Sara Lee Dasani purified Coca-Cola Bertolli olive oil Unilever N.V. Noncarbonated water Birds Eye Asian Birds Eye Dawn dishwashing Procter & Gamble Vegetables in liquid Sesame Ginger Sauce

THE PENTAGON IN YOUR PANTRY II
Food DoD Contractor Food DoD Contractor Birds Eye Voila! Birds Eye Del Monte diced Del Monte Foods Chicken Fajita tomatoes Boboli Pizza Crust George Weston Dixie Crystals Imperial Sugar Bakeries sugar Bounty paper Procter & Gamble Dole Canned Dole Food towels Pineapples Breakstone's KrafUAltria Earth Grains Sara Lee Cottage Cheese Frozen Garlic Bread Buffalo Style Tyson Foods Egg Beaters ConAgra Foods Popcorn pasteurized egg product Chicken Bites Bumble Bee Tuna Bumble Bee Eggo Blueberry Kellogg's pancakes Butterball Turkey ConAgra Foods C&W Cut Italian Birds Eye Eggo waffles Kellogg's Green Beans Entenmann's George Weston Crumb Donuts Bakeries Cheerios General Mills Chi-Chi’s Salsa Hormel Chunky Vegetable Cambell Soup Fig Newtons Nabisco/Kraft/Altria and Pasta Soup

THE PENTAGON IN YOUR PANTRY III
Food DoD Contractor Food DoD Contractor FruiO fruit KrafUAltria Mr.Clean multi Procter &Gamble flavored water purpose cleaner Grape-Nuts KrafUAltria Mr.Yoshida's H.J. Heinz Hawaiian Sweet/Sour Sauce Green Giant General Mills Asparagus Spears Mueller's pasta American Italian Pasta Grey Poupon Kraft Dijon mustard MuirGlen Classic General Mills Minestrone soup Heinz Vinegar H.J. Heinz Herb-Oxbouillon Hormel Foods Natural Ruffles PepsiCo Hershey's Hershey Foods potato chips Chocolate syrup Nature Valley General Mills Kix Cereal General Mills granola bars HillshireFarm Sara Lee Orbit Gum Wm. Wrigley Jr. Smoked Turkey Naturewell National Beef Uncle Ben’s Mars, InC antibiotic-free, Packing Rice corn-fed beef P 18 “Every American is at least passively supporting the Complex every time he or she shops for groceries, sends a package, drives a car, or watches TV – let alone eats barbeque in Memphis or buys Christian books in Hattiesburg. And what choice to you have? What other brand of computer would you buy? Or cereal? Or boots?”

Additional Pentagon Contractors
IBM Time-Warner Ford and General Motors Microsoft NBC and General Electric Hilton and Marriott Columbia TriSarFilms and Sony Pfizer Espn and Walt Disney Bank of America Johnson and Johnson Lowe’s Home Center Maytag Kohler Google Starbucks FedEx Apple Hewlett-Packard Oracle Motorola Hasbro

Ford “Synus,” “for living in the rough and tumble of life in the big city of the future”
Officially, though, the SYNus gets its name from being the synthesis of an urban sanctuary, and it does contain some interesting details for living in the "rough and tumble of life in the big city" of the future. Smaller than a Focus and based on the architecture of the European-market Ford Fiesta, the SYNUS looks like an armored Honda Element and has horizontal gun-slot-like rear side windows. There is no rear window. Combination locks open the doors, and a vault-like spinner grants access through the back of the interior hideout. As unwelcoming as the exterior looks, the interior is filled with "warm" touches for the vehicle's passengers, including comfy shapes and colors and front seats that can be adapted to face rearward, designed to encourage conversation with rear seat passengers. A gigantic LCD screen that nearly fills the interior side of the tailgate is a prominent feature inside. Conceived uses include Internet surfing and surveilling what's going on outside of the vehicle. When in motion, the screen effectively serves as the vehicle's rear window.

Boy Scouts of America: “Explorers Program”
By JENNIFER STEINHAUER IMPERIAL, Calif. — Ten minutes into arrant mayhem in this town near the Mexican border, and the gunman, a disgruntled Iraq war veteran, has already taken out two people, one slumped in his desk, the other covered in blood on the floor. Published: May 13, 2009, New York Times The New York Times In a training exercise run by Border Patrol agents, Explorer scouts from Visalia, Calif., prepare to storm a “hijacked” bus. More Photos » Imperial County relies on the local criminal justice system. More Photos > “United States Border Patrol! Put your hands up!” screams one in a voice cracking with adolescent determination as the suspect is subdued. The responding officers — eight teenage boys and girls, the youngest 14 — face tripwire, a thin cloud of poisonous gas and loud shots — BAM! BAM! — fired from behind a flimsy wall. They move quickly, pellet guns drawn and masks affixed. Readers' Comments The Explorers program, a coeducational affiliate of the Boy Scouts of America that began 60 years ago, is training thousands of young people in skills used to confront terrorism, illegal immigration and escalating border violence — an intense ratcheting up of one of the group’s longtime missions to prepare youths for more traditional jobs as police officers and firefighters. It is all quite a step up from the square knot. The training, which leaders say is not intended to be applied outside the simulated Explorer setting, can involve chasing down illegal border crossers as well as more dangerous situations that include facing down terrorists and taking out “active shooters,” like those who bring gunfire and death to college campuses. In a simulation here of a raid on a marijuana field, several Explorers were instructed on how to quiet an obstreperous lookout. “This is about being a true-blooded American guy and girl,” said A. J. Lowenthal, a sheriff’s deputy here in Imperial County, whose life clock, he says, is set around the Explorers events he helps run. “It fits right in with the honor and bravery of the Boy Scouts.” “Put him on his face and put a knee in his back,” a Border Patrol agent explained. “I guarantee that he’ll shut up.” One participant, Felix Arce, 16, said he liked “the discipline of the program,” which was something he said his life was lacking. “I want to be a lawyer, and this teaches you about how crimes are committed,” he said. If there are critics of the content or purpose of the law enforcement training, they have not made themselves known to the Explorers’ national organization in Irving, Tex., or to the volunteers here on the ground, national officials and local leaders said. That said, the Explorers have faced problems over the years. There have been numerous cases over the last three decades in which police officers supervising Explorers have been charged, in civil and criminal cases, with sexually abusing them. “I like shooting them,” Cathy said. “I like the sound they make. It gets me excited.” Cathy Noriego, also 16, said she was attracted by the guns. The group uses compressed-air guns — known as airsoft guns, which fire tiny plastic pellets — in the training exercises, and sometimes they shoot real guns on a closed range. Many law enforcement officials, particularly those who work for the rapidly growing Border Patrol, part of the Homeland Security Department, have helped shape the program’s focus and see it as preparing the Explorers as potential employees. The Explorer posts are attached to various agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and local police and fire departments, that sponsor them much the way churches sponsor Boy Scout troops. Several years ago, two University of Nebraska criminal justice professors published a study that found at least a dozen cases of sexual abuse involving police officers over the last decade. Adult Explorer leaders are now required to take an online training program on sexual misconduct. Membership in the Explorers has been overseen since 1998 by an affiliate of the Boy Scouts called Learning for Life, which offers 12 career-related programs, including those focused on aviation, medicine and the sciences. “Our end goal is to create more agents,” said April McKee, a senior Border Patrol agent and mentor at the session here. But the more than 2,000 law enforcement posts across the country are the Explorers’ most popular, accounting for 35,000 of the group’s 145,000 members, said John Anthony, national director of Learning for Life. Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, many posts have taken on an emphasis of fighting terrorism and other less conventional threats. The law enforcement programs are highly decentralized, and each post is run in a way that reflects the culture of its sponsoring agency and region. Most have weekly meetings in which the children work on their law-enforcement techniques in preparing for competitions. Weekends are often spent on service projects. The law enforcement posts are restricted to those ages 14 to 21 who have a C average, but there seems to be some wiggle room. “I will take them at 13 and a half,” Deputy Lowenthal said. “I would rather take a kid than possibly lose a kid.” “Before it was more about the basics,” said Johnny Longoria, a Border Patrol agent here. “But now our emphasis is on terrorism, illegal entry, drugs and human smuggling.” Just as there are soccer moms, there are Explorers dads, who attend the competitions, man the hamburger grill and donate their land for the simulated marijuana field raids. In their training, the would-be law-enforcement officers do not mess around, as revealed at a recent competition on the state fairgrounds here, where a Ferris wheel sat next to the police cars set up for a felony investigation. Authenticity seems to be the goal. Imperial County, in Southern California, is the poorest in the state, and the local economy revolves largely around the criminal justice system. In addition to the sheriff and local police departments, there are two state prisons and a large Border Patrol and immigration enforcement presence. In a competition in Arizona that he did not oversee, Deputy Lowenthal said, one role-player wore traditional Arab dress. “If we’re looking at 9/11 and what a Middle Eastern terrorist would be like,” he said, “then maybe your role-player would look like that. I don’t know, would you call that politically incorrect?” Their hearts pounding, Explorers moved down alleys where there were hidden paper targets of people pointing guns, and made split-second decisions about when to shoot. In rescuing hostages from a bus taken over by terrorists, a baby-faced young girl screamed, “Separate your feet!” as she moved to handcuff her suspect. “I like the idea of having law enforcement work with medicine,” she said. “This is a great program for me.” “My uncle was a sheriff’s deputy,” said Alexandra Sanchez, 17, who joined the Explorers when she was 13. Alexandra’s police uniform was baggy on her lithe frame, her airsoft gun slung carefully to the side. She wants to be a coroner. And then she was off to another bus hijacking.

“JAMRS”– the Department of Defense “program for joint marketing communications and market research and studies” Hispanic Barriers to Enlistment: A project to “identify the factors contributing to under-representation of Hispanic youth among military accessions” College Drop Outs/Stop Outs Study: A project aimed at “a better understanding of what drives college students to drop out and determine how the Services can capitalize on this group” Mothers’ Attitude Study: “This Study gauges the target audience’s attitudes to identify messages that had a positive effect. . .” JAMRS Report No OCTOBER 2002 YOUTH POLL 4 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE April 2003 Defense Human Resource Activity Matt Boehmer and Andrea Zucker OVERVIEW REPORT Sean M. Marsh, Jason Fors and Julie A. Radocchia Aon’s Loyalty Institute Brian Ebarvia, Ray Seghers, and Andrew Thackray Fors Marsh Group Department of Defense Wirthlin Worldwide Beth Strackbein RECOMMENDATIONS (at the end of the report) Joint Advertising, Defense Human Resources Activity American youth today have many options that challenge DoD’s efforts to meet its recruiting goals. results of the October 2002 Youth Poll have identified several strategies that may help in these the mind-share of youth and promote itself as a viable alternative after high school or college. The Recognizing the choices today’s youth have, the DoD must continue to enhance efforts to capture A majority of today’s youth obtain their information through the Internet. Interactive games and Strategy: Educate and engage youth through the Internet initiatives. websites that engage youth and educate them about the opportunities available in the military The results of the October 2002 Youth Poll emphasize the importance recruiters have in affecting Strategy: Have recruiters continue to be proactive in attracting youth should be promoted. Internet to locate information, they also report that they would be interested in receiving this propensity than those who have not spoken with a recruiter. While youth may initially go to the propensity. Youth who have spoken to a recruiter have a higher knowledge rating and a higher military will likely be substantially impacted, for better or worse, by this first conversation. It is that a youth talks to about the military. Any initial interest that a young person might show in the information from personal contact and word-of-mouth. Often a recruiter may be the first person family members, recruiters should work to develop tactics that involve parents, grandparents, and not as salesmen doing whatever it takes to make another sale. Since youth have the most trust in therefore important that military recruiters are perceived as caring and truthful representatives and siblings of youth in their efforts. knowledge of the military. Included in these initiatives should be an effort to increase the Understanding that knowledge is important, the DoD must develop initiatives that increase youth’s Strategy: Increase general knowledge of the military and its connection to public service. military websites, military recruiters) and use now. The results indicate that not only would youth These activities must focus on the channels of information youth trust (i.e., family members, association between military service and making a positive difference in society. ideally prefer go to other people to obtain information on military life and benefits, but also that information; television commercials and entertainment programs were among the least trusted are most trusted sources of information. Of the media, the Internet is utilized most to gain other people (especially family members) gave the most positive impressions of the military and consistent message must be delivered to avoid confusion and promote greater understanding of the As efforts to increase knowledge of the military are concentrated through these channels, a clear, sources of information and probably do not represent a meaningful outlet for education purposes. October 2002 Department of Defense Youth Poll 4 military.

Taken from the Martha Stewart magazine, 2010.

Changes in DoD Recruiting Budget
Total DoD recruiting budget in 2003: $4 billion annually. Since the late 1990s DoD has overhauled its recruiting advertising programs and nearly doubled funding for recruiting advertising. New focus: use of the Internet, and participating in more promotional activities, such as sports events. DoD's total advertising funding increased 98 percent in constant dollars from fiscal year 1998 through fiscal year 2003 – from $299 million to $592 million.

More on DoD Recruitment
The RAND Corporation reports that in 2007, the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps collectively spent more than $600 million on recruiting advertising, which represents a 150 percent increase over 1999 levels. To compare, in fiscal year 2006 the operating budgets for AmeriCorps (Programs + Education Award) and Peace Corps were $525.6 million and $318.8 million respectively – both figures lower that the 2006 recruiting advertising budgets of the military. In other words, on recruiting advertising alone, the military was appropriated more funds than the total amount of government financial support provided AmeriCorps and Peace Corps. Military Recruiting Advertising and Media Access Undermine Peace Efforts Created :22 Military recruiting advertising and media access undermine peace efforts Brian J. Trautman

Yo Soy El Army The Army Active Desktop adds a whole new dimension to customizable desktop wallpapers. Rotate, flip and size the vehicle you want, toggle between night vision, even add your favorite patches and medals. The theme is Army. The look is all yours. The implications of these conditions for young immigrants can be deadly. The Department of Defense's casualty database doesn't publicly break down the dead and injured by ethnic group, but a tally of Latino surnames found that between Jan. 10 and July 1, 2007, 20 percent of the 174 young people ages 18 to 21 who died were likely to have been Latino. With the intensification of DEP recruiting efforts in largely Latino high schools since the invasion began, this is no surprise. Yo Soy el Army If you're an immigrant, at least Uncle Sam wants you By Deborah Davis accessed 05/29/08

American Militarism on Steroids
“. . . Military displays of every sort have increasingly been woven into the interstices of our everyday lives. . . Americans largely prefer not to notice. On our own militarism, we are generally in denial. We seem to take it all in not as a reflection of a more militarized country with a Pentagon budget unparalleled in history, but as so much passing entertainment, in part because the militarized land we live in conforms to no notions we hold of militarism.” Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch.com, 9/8/2009

AMERICA'S ARMY: LIVE THE EXPERIENCE CONTEST!
Are you Army Strong? Here's your chance to prove it! Earn America's Army Coins in the new America's Army: True Soldiers game and redeem them to enter the "Live the Experience" contest. You can earn chances to win prizes only the Army can offer. Grand prizes winners will Live the Experience of: An Army Soldier and become a Soldier for a day at a real Army Post An America's Army developer and visit the labs to see how America's Army is used for real-world Soldier training A Golden Knight for a Day and get a behind-the-scenes look at the Army's elite parachute team Always wanted to see what Soldiering is all about? Keep watching for updates and find out how you can Live the Experience! AMERICA'S ARMY SPECIAL FORCES - HOME PAGE.flv YouTube - America's Army: True Soldiers Trailer Tagline: “Created by Soldiers, Developed by Gamers, Tested by Heroes”

Navy Commercials: “A Global Force for Good”
(above link especially feature link to sacrificial identity formation) Note the similarity to the video games above. . . Also, the second link specifically draws upon and highlights the sacrificial identity formation

From: Commandant of the Marine Corps To: Distribution List
DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS 2 NAVY ANNEX, WASHINGTON, DC 12 Apr 97 MARINE CORPS ORDER From: Commandant of the Marine Corps To: Distribution List Subj: MILITARY THINKING AND DECISION MAKING EXERCISES 1. Purpose. To implement Military Thinking and Decision Making Exercises throughout the Marine Corps. In 1996 General Charles C. Krulak, in his directive, “Military Thinking and Decision Making Exercises,” mandated that all Marines make use of PC wargames on a daily basis “to develop decision making skills, particularly when live training and opportunities are limited.” He further mandated that the Marine Combat Development Command develop and disseminate such games, resulting in the PC Wargames Catalog on the Internet. See Tim Lenoir, “All but War is Simulation: The Military-Entertainment Complex,” Configurations, 200, 8: , The Johns Hopkins University Press and the Society for Literature and Science, 328.

MARINE CORPS ORDER 1500.55 (continued)
d. The use of technological innovations, such as personal computer (PC)-based wargames, provide great potential for Marines to develop decision making skills, particularly when live training time and opportunities are limited. Policy contained herein authorizes Marines to use Government computers for approved PC-based wargames.

University of Southern California
Institute for Creative Technologies ICT was established in 1999 with a multi-year contract from the US Army to explore a powerful question: What would happen if leading technologists in artificial intelligence, graphics, and immersion joined forces with the creative talents of Hollywood and the game Industry? The answer is the creation of engaging, memorable and effective interactive media that are revolutionizing learning in the fields of training, education and beyond. Learn More » Career Opportunities ICT is always looking for talented people to join our staff. If you are interested in seeing what opportunities are currently available, please click the link below. About ICT At USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT), high-tech tools and classic story telling come together to pioneer new ways to teach and to train. We partner with Hollywood and the gaming community to harness the power of interactive and virtual environments. Together, we create guided experiences that are compelling, educational and relevant.

An example of the way “interpenetration” functions: National Guard Warrior music video

Military recruiters zero in on Ocean City during “Senior Week”
“Virtual Army Experience” –a life-sized video game where players take their seat in a real helicopter and Humvee to battle digital insurgents across an array of garage door-sized screens. Players are encouraged to “join the team.” On the surface, air shows are about tourism and the spectacle of military might. But such large-scale events also are a cornerstone of military recruiting. Representatives from several branches of the armed services will be here during the OC Air Show -- and they're pumped that it dovetails with Senior Week. "When I found out that it was Senior Week, I was like, wow, what a perfect time for us to be down there," said Staff Sgt. Thomas Chiusano, an Air Force marketing representative whose recruiting squadron covers Delaware, New Jersey and eastern Philadelphia. "It's not only going to be a great event for them to see the air show but it's going to be a big opportunity for us to touch thousands of high school seniors who are getting ready to graduate, who may not know what their future's going to hold, whether it's going to be college or the military. Down on the Boardwalk is a prime location, because you're going to have so much traffic." The military's marketing toolbox is has expanded beyond handing out ball-point pens or T-shirts. At the Inlet parking lot, the Army's "Virtual Army Experience" offers a life-sized video game where players take their seat in a real helicopter and Humvee to battle digital insurgents across an array of garage door-sized screens. Later, players get to watch footage of their game play -- or rather, the "mission" -- and are encouraged to "continue the mission" and "join the team.“ As the exhibit continues through June 21, he expects about 800 visitors daily. Bushyager said they're not personally recruiting anyone -- they're "only here to preach" -- but they'll gladly point you in the direction of the adjacent recruiter's tent. Published on Thursday, June 11, 2009 by The Daily Times (Maryland) Military Recruiters to Capitalize on Air Show, 'Senior Week' Military recruiters zero in on OC by Brian Shane

DoD STARBASE DoD STARBASE - What is STARBASE?
DoD STARBASE is a premier educational program, sponsored by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs. At DoD STARBASE students participate in challenging "hands-on, mind-on" activities in aviation, science, technology, engineering, math, and space exploration. They interact with military personnel to explore careers and make connections with the "real world." The program provides students with 20-25 hours of stimulating experiences at National Guard, Navy, Marine, Air Force Reserve and Air Force bases across the nation.

Civilian Casualties of (Our Fully Funded) War

Reframed “Bill of Rights” from popular email circulating in advance of Memorial Day, 2012
Keep it moving, please, even if you've seen it before. It is the VETERAN, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion. It is the VETERAN, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the VETERAN, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to assemble. It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial. It is the VETERAN, not the politician, Who has given us the right to vote. It is the VETERAN who salutes the Flag,

Obama’s sacrificial rhetoric
“The sacrifices of war are immeasurable. . . As we stand at the beginning of the fifth year of this war, let us remember. . . the thousands upon thousands of families who are living the very real consequences and immeasurable sacrifices that have come from our decision to invade Iraq. We are so blessed in this country to have so many men and women like this – Americans willing to put on that uniform, and say the hard goodbyes, and risk their lives in a far off land because they know that such consequences and sacrifices are sometimes necessary to defend our country and achieve a lasting peace.” “Remarks of Senator Barak Obama on the Iraq War,” Barak Obama, Senator for Illinois, accessed 4/02/08.

“The Necessity of Sacrifice”: Arlington, Memorial Day, 2010
Biden gave thanks to the generations of "soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines" who are "the heart and soul, and I would say spine of this nation." Those Americans, Biden said, "have died that we may live." “And as a a nation we pause today to remember them. They gave their lives fulfilling their oaths to this nation and to us.”

Memorial Day, 2012

Remember only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you...
Jesus Christ

and the American Soldier

One died for your soul,

the other for your Freedom!
the other for your Freedom! If you agree, pass it on... Created by dalesdesigns.net – a subsidiary of BibleGateway.com, About the Bible Gateway searchable online Bible. What it is The Bible Gateway is a tool for reading and researching scripture online -- all in the language or translation of your choice! It provides advanced searching capabilities, which allow readers to find and compare particular passages in scripture based on keywords, phrases, or scripture reference. You can view a complete list of available Bible versions and translations. To access some of the Bible Gateway's other features (a Verse of the Day widget, Bible commentaries, audio Bibles, and more), use the navigation menu on the left. History The Bible Gateway was first started in 1993 by Nick Hengeveld who was attending Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI at the time. In 1995 Nick became the first webmaster at Gospelcom.net, now Gospel.com. He brought the Bible Gateway with him, and for 13 years the Bible Gateway has been a favorite online resource. Today, the Bible Gateway team continues to add new translations, languages, and functionality to the site. The Bible Gateway is extremely grateful to many publishers and Christian organizations that have contributed their many Bible resources and translations for use in the Bible Gateway, including Gospel.com community members such as Biblica and The Lockman Foundation.

World War II Memorial on the National Mall

YouTube - Heroes Tribute
Twila Paris, “Gospel Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year” – three years in a row Many of her songs are in church hymnals or otherwise used in church worship services. She has produced 22 albums, won many awards, and amassed 33 number one Christian Radio Singles. YouTube - Heroes Tribute

American Heroes, Lyrics, Twila Paris
He was twenty-one in He was hope and he was courage on a lonely shore Sent there by a mother with love beyond her tears Just a young American who chose to rise above his fears And as I watch him struggle up that hill Without a thought of turning back I cannot help but wonder What did he die for? When he died for you and me Made the sacrifice So that we could all be free I believe we will answer each to heaven For the way we spend a priceless liberty Look inside and ask the question What did he die for? When he died for me To the darkest day in A.D. 33 Came the mercy and compassion of eternity Sent there by a Father with love beyond His tears Blameless One, the only Son to bear the guilt of all these years And as I watch Him struggle up that hill Without a thought of turning back I cannot help but wonder What did He die for? When He died for you and me Made the sacrifice So that we could all be free I believe we will answer each to heaven For the way we spend a priceless liberty Look inside and ask the question What did he die for? He died for freedom He died for love And all the things we do not pay Him back Could never be enough

After Awareness, then what?

Eisenhower’s warning about the complex
1) the intrusion of unwarranted influence into government by the complex; 2) the potential dangers to liberties and democratic process; 3) the danger to the free university if government contracts “substitute for intellectual curiosity” and the nations’ scholars become dominated by Federal employment and allocations and the power of money; and 4) the potential for public policy to become captive to a scientific-technological elite. He closed by warning, “We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.” The influence of this complex, he warned, had economic, political and even spiritual impact, and while Eisenhower allowed that the need for this development was unarguable, nevertheless, he emphasized, it was imperative that Americans “not fail to comprehend its grave implications.”

From Nick Turse, The Complex: How the military Invades Our Everyday Lives, p 142 ff
“Nascar has long been in league with the U.S. military. . . But only since 200 has the Pentagon been putting on the hard sell to racing fans. In addition to the army, the other services, the navy, marines and air force, all have NASCAR teams. . . In 2004, the Pentagon’s lavish ad dollars, aimed at 8.5 million NASCAR fans between the ages of 18 and 24, generated a reported “30,000 qualified leads” for the army alone. In 2005, the military spent more than $38 million in taxpayer money to fund various racecars.

Sept. 8/2008 Cellphone video of Dead Afghan Children after US Raid
KABUL, Afghanistan - The bodies of at least 10 children and many more adults covered in blankets and white shrouds appear in videos obtained by The Associated Press on Monday, lending weight to Afghan and U.N. allegations that a U.S.-led raid last month killed more civilians than the U.S. reported. by Fisnik Abrashi Published on Monday, September 8, 2008 by Associated Press Videos Show Dead Afghan Children After US Raid The sounds of wailing women mixed with the voices of men shouting inside a white-walled mosque in the western village of Azizabad, where an Afghan government commission and U.N. report said some 90 civilians - including 60 children and 15 women - were killed. The two grainy videos, apparently taken by cell phones, showed bodies lying side-by-side on the mosque floor, covered by floral-patterned blankets and black-and-white checkered shawls. One young boy lay curled in a fetal position; others looked as though they were asleep. One child had half its head blown off. Turbaned men walked around, gently lifting the blankets covering the faces of the dead. At least two elderly men were among the dead. There appeared to be several dozen bodies lying on the mosque floor, though a precise count was difficult because of the poor quality of the images. The U.S. said Sunday it would reopen the investigation because of emerging new evidence. On Monday, a Pentagon spokesman said new "imagery evidence" came to the attention over the weekend of Gen. David D. McKiernan, the American commander of the NATO-led force here. The videos do not provide proof that 60 children died in the operation, but the images do appear to contradict a U.S. military investigation that found only seven civilians were killed in Azizabad, along with up to 35 militants. He said a general to be sent to Afghanistan by U.S. Central Command will review the initial investigation. But it is also possible there will be a new inquiry into the raid in Azizabad - this time conducted by Central Command, said Lt. Cmdr. Bill Speaks, a spokesman for the command in Tampa, Fla. "There is some evidence that suggests that the evidence that the U.S. military used in ... its investigation may not have been complete," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. In the videos, several dozen bodies covered by blankets were lined up in two rows, some with their feet protruding. Veiled Afghan women were seen shrieking in grief, alongside a young boy who squatted and rocked back and forth, sobbing beside one of the bodies. The Afghan government has agreed to a joint U.S.-U.N.-Afghan investigation, said Sultan Ahmad Baheen, spokesman for Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry. It's not clear when or how that will be conducted. U.S. special forces and Afghan commandos carried out the operation. It was impossible to verify conclusively that the videos showed the aftermath of the Azizabad attack, but the contents appeared to back claims by Afghan and U.N. officials that the U.S. operation killed far more civilians than the military has acknowledged. One video showed three young children wrapped in white shrouds. A fourth child had gruesome head wounds, while a fifth appeared to be a girl lying on her back, her head resting on a red blanket. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly warned the U.S. and NATO that it must stop killing civilians in its bombing runs, saying such deaths undermine his government and the international mission. But the Azizabad incident could finally push Karzai to take action. Shortly after the Azizabad attack, he ordered a review of whether the U.S. and NATO should be allowed to use airstrikes or carry out raids in villages. He also called for an updated "status of force" agreement between the Afghan government and foreign militaries. That review has not yet been completed. Karzai says the Azizabad bombings have brought relations between the Afghan government and the U.S. to one of its lowest points since the ouster of the Islamic militia from power in 2001. Afghan officials say U.S. special forces and Afghan commandos raided the village while hundreds of people were gathered in a large compound for a memorial service honoring a tribal leader, Timor Shah, who was killed eight months ago by a rival, Nader Tawakal. The report said investigators discovered evidence the militants planned to attack a nearby coalition base. This included weapons, explosives, intelligence materials and an access badge to the base, as well as photographs from inside and outside the base, the U.S. report said. The U.S. investigative report released last week said American and Afghan forces took fire from militants while approaching Azizabad and that "justified use of well-aimed small-arms fire and close air support to defend the combined force." Associated Press reporters Jason Straziuso in Kabul and Pauline Jelinek in Washington contributed to this report. © 2008 Associated Press

The War is Making You Poor
Next year's budget allocates $159,000,000,000 to "contingency operations," to perpetuate the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. That’s enough money to eliminate federal income taxes for the first $35,000 of every American's income each year, and beyond that, leave over $15 billion that would cut the deficit. So let's do that instead. I support the 'War is Making You Poor' Act. This bill would eliminate the separate funding for the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, and eliminate federal income taxes for everyone's first $35,000 of income (or $70,000 for couples) each year. And it would help pay down our national debt. I support it. No, actually, I love it. And I call on Congress to pass it. 1-25 of signatures Next -> Paid for by the Committee to Elect Alan Grayson See also Submitted to congress, May, Paid for by the Committee to Elect Alan Grayson For footage of speech in congress. Grayson is a democratic congressperson from Florida GRAYSON: “THE WAR IS MAKING YOU POOR” Bipartisan Bill Cuts Taxes, Trims War Spending Related Documents War Is Making You Poor Act May 21, 2010 Washington, DC Congressman Alan Grayson (FL-08) introduced a landmark bill last night, called the “War Is Making You Poor Act”. The bipartisan bill does three things: 1) It limits the amount of funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, 2) It eliminates the federal income tax on the first $35,000 of every American’s income ($70,000 for married couples), and 3) It cuts the Federal deficit by $15.9 billion. Congressman Grayson said, “All three of those things need to be done. This bill brings them all together.” The bill eliminates all federal income tax in 2011 for everyone making up to $35,000 a year ($70,000 for a married couple), which is approximately one-third of the population. For everyone, the first $35,000 that he or she earns each year ($70,000 for a married couple) is tax-free. President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2011 budget requests $549 billion for the Defense Department, plus another $159 billion in “emergency spending” for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Grayson’s bill requires the wars be funded out of the $549 billion for DoD. It uses the $159 billion to eliminate federal income taxes for one-third of all Americans, and to reduce the deficit. The bipartisan Joint Committee on Taxation checked Grayson’s figures. It confirmed that the bill would, in fact, reduce the deficit by $15.9 billion, notwithstanding the deep cuts. The four-page bill already has bipartisan support. The original cosponsors, who joined to support the bill even before it was filed, are Reps. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and Walter B. Jones (R-NC), as well as two committee chairs (Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chair Bob Filner and Judiciary Committee Chair John Conyers), plus peace proponents Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), and Barbara Lee (D-CA). During a compelling speech on the floor of the House last night, Congressman Grayson pointed out that the United States spends as much as the rest of the world combined on defense. “Why is that necessary? If we are going to have that much military spending, do we really need another $159 billion for the wars on top of that? I think not, particularly when people in America are suffering,” Congressman Grayson said. The War Is Making You Poor Act (H.R. 5353) does not necessitate an end to the wars or mandate a cut-off date. The bill simply requires the President to fund the wars from the $559 billion budget for defense spending in FY 2011. “There is no longer any need to go beyond the exorbitant base defense budget. It is not necessary. Enough is enough,” Congressman Grayson said. You can read the text of the bill here.

“War-Culture”: Military Buildups and Decreasing Boundaries
Since 1950, 4 periods of intense military buildups “military-industrial-think tank-complex” “circulation of elites “– retiring defense contractors/Pentagon officials/ “black budgets” Growing host of military contractors; contracting out base construction, maintenance and security: Kellogg Brown and Root Decreasing boundaries between military/industrial/congressional/think tank complex augmented by weakening of constitutional government the Korean War, the buildups during the Vietnam War and under Ronald Reagan, and the boon overseen by the second Bush administration following the attacks of 9/11. Militarism is characterized by at least three indicators: 1) the growth of a professional military class and the glorification of its ideals; 2) the infiltration of military officers and/or representatives of the arms industry into elevated government positions; and 3) an increasing embrace of policies that emphasize military preparedness as the highest priority of the state. Chalmers Johnson, Sorrows of Empire, New York: Metropolitan Books, 2004, Johnson, 63.

Top Ten Military Spenders Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Report, 2009
The top 10 military spenders, 2008 Rank Country Spending ($ b.)World share (%) 1USA 2China 3France 4UK Russa 6Germany 7Japan 8Italy 9Saudi Arabia India World total World governments spent $1.46 trillion dollars on military expenditures in 2008 This total amount has risen by 45% in the last decade. SIPRI estimate. The spending figures are in current US dollars.

SIRPRI Summary Report Summary
The year 2008 saw increasing threats to security, stability and peace in nearly every corner of the globe. The effects of the global financial crisis will be likely to exacerbate these challenges as governments and non-governmental organizations struggle to respond effectively. The conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq continued, with moderate improvements to the security situation in the latter and worsening conditions in the former. A total of 16 major armed conflicts raged on, with many gathering intensity over the course of Deliberate violence against civilians by warring parties was increasingly and appallingly common.

Levels of birth defects in Fallujah following 2004 onslaught by U. S
Levels of birth defects in Fallujah following 2004 onslaught by U.S. using weapons using highly toxic weapons: BBC reports in March, 2010 The BBC reported last month that doctors in the Iraqi city of Fallujah are reporting a high level of birth defects, with some blaming weapons used by the United States during its fierce onslaughts of 2004 and subsequently, which left much of the city in ruins. "It was like an earthquake," a local engineer who was running for a national assembly seat told the Washington Post in "After Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there was Fallujah." Now, the level of heart defects among newborn babies is said to be 13 times higher than in Europe. The BBC correspondent also saw children in the city who were suffering from paralysis or brain damage, and a photograph of one baby who was born with three heads. He added that he heard many times that officials in Fallujah had warned women that they should not have children. One doctor in the city had compared data about birth defects from before 2003 — when she saw about one case every two months — with the situation now, when she saw cases every day. "I've seen footage of babies born with an eye in the middle of the forehead, the nose on the forehead," she said. A spokesman for the US military, Michael Kilpatrick, said it always took public health concerns "very seriously", but that "No studies to date have indicated environmental issues resulting in specific health issues." 1 One could fill many large volumes with the details of the environmental and human horrors the United States has brought to Fallujah and other parts of Iraq during seven years of using white phosphorous shells, depleted uranium, napalm, cluster bombs, neutron bombs, laser weapons, weapons using directed energy, weapons using high-powered microwave technology, and other marvelous inventions in the Pentagon's science-fiction arsenal ... the list of abominations and grotesque ways of dying is long, the wanton cruelty of American policy shocking. In November 2004, the US military targeted a Fallujah hospital "because the American military believed that it was the source of rumors about heavy casualties." 2 That's on a par with the classic line from the equally glorious American war in Vietnam: "We had to destroy the city to save it." Notes BBC, March 4, 2010; Washington Post, December 3, 2005 ↩ New York Times, November 8, 2004 ↩ Christian Science Monitor, February 13, 2009 ↩ Washington Post, November 7, 2006 ↩ Diana Johnstone, Counterpunch, January 27/28, 2007 ↩ Washington Post, April 2, 2010 ↩ Associated Press, March 2, 2008 ↩ The Sunday Telegraph (Sydney, Australia), August 10, 2003 ↩ –

U.S. is the Leading Supplier of Weapons to the World
In 2008, the U.S. sold 37.8 billion dollars in weapons to the rest of the world; this represents 68.4% of all the world’s sales in the arms bazaar Italy was second – 3.7 billion Russia was third – 3.8 billion Though total world sales dropped by 55.2 billion dollars (a result of international recession), U.S. sales increased from 25.4 billion in 2007 to 37.8 billion in 2008. Despite Slump, U.S. Role as Top Arms Supplier Grows, New York Times By THOM SHANKER Published: September 6, 2009

Buyers of U.S. Arms in 2008 Top buyers include:
$6.5 billion air defense system for the United Arab Emirates; $2.1 billion jet fighter deal with Morocco a $2 billion attack helicopter agreement with Taiwan. Other large weapons agreements were reached between the United States and India, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, South Korea and Brazil The annual report was produced by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, a division of the Library of Congress

McChrystal Looks to Spin Afghan Civilian Deaths Problem
U.S. officials at a NATO conference in Brussels last Friday were telling reporters that "public relations" are now considered "crucial" to "turning the tide" in Afghanistan, according to an AFP story on Jun 12. CENTCOM commander Gen. David Petraeus also referred to the importance of taking the propaganda offensive in a presentation to the pro-military think tank Centre for a New American Security (CNAS) Jun. 11. "When you're dealing the press," he said, "when you're dealing the tribal leaders, when you're dealing with host nations... you got to beat the bad guys to the headlines." The new emphasis on more aggressive public relations appears to respond to demands from U.S. military commanders in Afghanistan to wrest control of the issue of civilian casualties from the Taliban. In a discussion of that issue at the same conference, Gen. David Barno, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005, said, "We've got to be careful about who controls the narrative on civilian casualties.“ Published on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 by Inter Press Service, by Gareth Porter U.S. military commanders in Afghanistan "see the enemy seeking to take airstrikes off the table" by exaggerating civilian casualties, Barno said. He objected to making civilian casualties an indicator of success or failure, as a CNAS paper has recommended. The U.S. command in Afghanistan has already tried, in fact, to apply "information war" techniques in effort to control the narrative on the issue. The command has argued both that the Taliban were responsible for the massive civilians casualties in a U.S. airstrike on May 4 that killed 147 civilians, including 90 women and children, and that the number of civilian deaths claimed has been vastly exaggerated, despite detailed evidence from village residents supporting the casualty figures. Col. Greg Julian, the command's spokesman, said in late May that a "weapon-sight" video would show that the Taliban were to blame. However, Nancy A. Youssef reported Jun. 15 in McClatchy newspapers that the video in question shows that no one had checked to see if women and children were in the building before it was bombed, according to two U.S. military officials. The Afghan government has highlighted the problem of SOF units carrying out raids which result in airstrikes against civilian targets. Kai Eide, the chief of the United Nations mission in Afghanistan, has now publicly supported that position, saying in a video conference call from Kabul to NATO defence ministers meeting in Brussels Jun. 12 that there is an "urgent need" to review raids by SOF units, because the civilian casualties being created have been "disproportionate to the military gains". But McChrystal hinted in his confirmation hearing that he hoped to reduce civilian casualties by obtaining more intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft. Petraeus confirmed that approach to the problem in remarks at the CNAS conference last week, announcing that he was planning to shift some high-tech intelligence vehicles from Iraq to Afghanistan. Petraeus referred to "predators, armed full motion video with Hellfire missiles", "special intelligence birds", and unmanned intelligence vehicles called Shadows and Ravens, which fly 24 hours a day. Although such intelligence aircraft may make U.S. battlefield targeting more precise, Petraeus's reference to drones equipped with Hellfire missiles suggests that U.S. forces in Afghanistan may now rely more than previously on drone strikes against suspected Afghan insurgents. Given the chronic lack of accurate intelligence on the identity of insurgent leaders, that would tend to increase civilian casualties. Petraeus's past reluctance to stop or dramatically reduce such SOF operations, despite the bad publicity surrounding them, suggests that high level intra-military politics are involved. The Marine Corps Special Operations Command (MarSOC) has been involved in the most highly publicised cases of massive civilian casualties in Afghanistan. It was established by the Marine Corps only in February 2006, and the first MarSOC company arrived in Afghanistan just a year later. MarSOC was unable to recruit the more mature officers and troops needed for cross-cultural situations, and its recruits had only a few months of training before being sent to Afghanistan. The unit's commanding officer had been warned by one participant in the training before the unit had arrived in Afghanistan that his troops were too young and too oriented toward killing to serve in Afghanistan, according to Chris Mason, a former U.S. official in Afghanistan familiar with the unit's history. In March 2007, a company of MarSOC troops which had only arrived in the country the previous month were accused of firing indiscriminately at pedestrians and cars as they sped away from a suicide bomb attack, killing as many as 19 Afghan civilians. Five days later the same unit reportedly fired on traffic again. As a result, a powerful Pashtun tribe, the Shinwari, demanded to the governor of Nangahar province and Afghan President Hamid Karzai that U.S. military operations in the province be terminated. Within a month, the 120-man MarSOC company was pulled out of Afghanistan. Significantly, however, a new MarSOC unit was sent back to Afghanistan only a few weeks later, assigned to Herat province. Last August, a MarSOC unit launched an attack against a preplanned target in Azizabad that combined unmanned drones, attack helicopters and a Spectre gunship. More than 90 civilians were killed in the attack, including 60 children, but not a single Taliban fighter was killed in the attack, according to Afghan and U.N. officials. Karzai said the operation had been triggered by false information given by the leader of a rival tribe, and no U.S. official contradicted him. When Petraeus took command at CENTCOM just a few weeks later, Afghans were still seething over the Azizabad massacre. That would have been the perfect time for him to take decisive action on MarSOC's operations. But Petraeus took no action on MarSOC. Meanwhile, other SOF units were continuing to carry out raids that did not get headlines but which regularly killed women and children, stirring more Afghan anger. Petraeus may have been confronted with the necessity of stopping all the operations if he wished to discipline MarSOC, which would have been too serious a blow to the reputation of U.S. Special Operations Forces. For two weeks, from mid-February to early March, the rate of SOF raids was reduced. But in early March, they were resumed, despite the near certainty that there would be more embarrassing incidents involving SOF operations. The worst case of massive civilian deaths in the war would come just two months later, and involved the MarSOC unit. Gareth Porter is an investigative historian and journalist specialising in U.S. national security policy. The paperback edition of his latest book, "Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam", was published in 2006. Copyright © 2009 IPS-Inter Press Service

18 veterans commit suicide each day Reported in the Military Times, April 2010:
Troubling new data show there are an average of 950 suicide attempts each month by veterans who are receiving some type of treatment from the Veterans Affairs Department. Seven percent of the attempts are successful, and 11 percent of those who don’t succeed on the first attempt try again within nine months. The numbers, which come at a time when VA is strengthening its suicide prevention programs, show about 18 veteran suicides a day, about five by veterans who are receiving VA care. Access to care appears to be a key factor, officials said, noting that once a veteran is inside the VA care program, screening programs are in place to identify those with problems, and special efforts are made to track those considered at high risk, such as monitoring whether they are keeping appointments. By Rick Maze - Staff writer Posted : Monday Apr 26, :00:40 EDT Military Times >

Statistics on Iraq War losses
At 26 August 2010 the latest figure from the US Department of Defense stood at 4,421 of which 3,492 were killed in action. Almost 32,000 have been wounded in action. The UK has lost 179 servicemen and women, of which 136 were killed in action. BBC News Middle East: 31 August

The organisation Iraq Body Count has been collating civilian deaths using cross-checked media reports and other figures such as morgue records. Between 97,461 and 106,348 civilian deaths took place between 2003 and 2010.

The Oakley “Men’s SI Assault Boot”
Technologies that reinvent performance in core sport categories transcend to the general public with innovations that serve all, from the most rebellious to the most discriminating. In addition, aggressive design technologies are matched with the best materials available to produce critical gear for occupational and military applications. As with all research and development categories, this leads to crossover of performance innovations to the general public. accessed 06/06/08

Army Experience Center
YouTube - Press: Army Experience Center YouTube - Army Experience Center (AEC) Case Study YouTube - AEC protest rally Army Experience Center opens in Philadelphia Sep 02, 2008 BY Carrie McLeroy PHILADELPHIA (Army News Service, Aug. 29, 2008) - The Army opened the Army Experience Center, a one-of-a-kind, 14,500-square-foot virtual educational facility Friday at the Franklin Mills Mall. The AEC, central to the Army Experience Pilot Program, offers visitors the opportunity to virtually experience many aspects of Army life, while evaluating new marketing strategies. Located near a popular entertainment facility and an indoor skate park, the AEC features a number of interactive simulations and online educational opportunities. It is manned by more than 20 Soldiers who are available to share their stories with visitors and answer questions they may have about the Army. Although the Soldiers who run the center are trained recruiters, the AEC is not a recruiting center, according to Ryan Hansen of Ignited Corporation, who partnered with the Army on the project. "The center is an attraction tool. There is no recruiting mission here," Hansen said. "Here it is more about changing perceptions." The Soldiers at the AEC don't have quotas. They don't wear traditional Army uniforms, but rather black Army polo shirts and khaki pants. They are from diverse backgrounds and have unique stories to tell. At first glance they seem more like tour guides than Army recruiters, and in a sense, they are. They guide center visitors through their tour of the facility. "They are the Army," Hansen said. And as the center's slogan states, "The Army is more than you think it is." Through market research, and proven outreach tools like the "America's Army" game and the mobile "Virtual Army Experience," Hansen said the Army learned that the best way for people to become acquainted with their Army was for them to be able to touch, feel and see the Army in a non-threatening environment. By incorporating the lessons learned from and technologies of those outreach tools, officials believe the Army Experience Center will make the Army accessible to visitors. "What we are doing here is reaching out to Americans, giving them the opportunity to understand their Army," said Maj. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick, head of the U.S. Army Recruiting Command. "Oftentimes people have a negative perception of the Army, but the negatives are a very small part. Our Soldiers are well-trained, well-equipped and serving a great mission." The Army Experience Center, Bostick added, will help dispel many of the myths that exist about the Army. Transparency was one of the main focuses in the design of the center, said Maj. Larry Dillard, AEC program manager. The outside is made of glass, as are the fronts of every enclosed space within the center, with the exceptions of the simulator areas, which require low light to operate. "Everything's transparent. We don't want to fuel the misconception that once our Soldiers tell their great Army stories, we drag kids behind a 'black curtain' and they come out enlisted," Dillard said. "We have nothing to hide. If someone wants to know more about the Army, great. If not, at the very least we will have changed their perception of the Army. The Army is a great deal and people just don't understand that." The idea of the center, which cost $12 million to design and construct, was first conceived in December 2007, said Ed Walters, chief marketing officer and principal deputy secretary of the Army. "Visitors to the center will have a better idea of the training and career opportunities afforded our Soldiers, and the high-tech nature of our institution." Upon entering the AEC, visitors provide a minimal amount of information to register -- name, date of birth, address and education level. They have the option to receive additional information about the Army, but are not obligated to do so. People of all ages are welcome to visit the center, but gaming activities are limited to people 13 and older, as the Entertainment Software Rating Board rates many of the gaming activities T for teens. Following registration, visitors are then issued an identification card, which is swiped at each station within the center. All activities are free to participants. "Everything in the center showcases a piece of the Army," said Dillard. The Global Base Locator highlights Army installations throughout the United States and abroad. The Career Exploration Area lets visitors use its touch-screen technology to learn about 179 different Army career fields. The simulator area houses three simulators, including an Apache helicopter with pilot and co-pilot experiences, Black Hawk helicopter with four door gunner positions, and an armored Humvee with driver and gunner positions. The gaming area lets visitors play America's Army, the Army's official computer game, as well as other games. There are a number of Xbox 360s plus networked PCs for video games. The Tactical Operations Center highlights Army career opportunities in communications, command and control, military intelligence and technology. The area can also be used for group presentations and online education, Dillard said. A large lounge area fills the middle of the AEC, and there is a small retail area that offers Army-branded merchandise and snacks for sale (the Army does not receive profits from sales). The Army will run the Army Experience Center as a pilot program for up to two years, Walters said. "We will be analyzing results of the various areas throughout that time, and determine if any of the innovations can be used as separate entities at other locations." There are no plans to replicate the center in other markets at this time, Walters said. "The Army is not all about boots and guns," Dillard said. "We want to give people the opportunity to experience the Army for themselves, so they have an understanding of what Soldiers do, and they can be proud of their service." Visitors to the Army Experience Center in Philadelphia are afforded the opportunity to get to know the Army via interactive components like the armored Humvee simulator. Photo by Carrie McLeroy (SMC - Army News Service

Costs for Caring for Veterans
Iraq and Afghanistan veterans’ health care, social security and disability needs will run somewhere between $422 (in a best case scenario) and $717 (in a realistic-moderately conceived scenario) billion. How to account for many other grievances incurred: --the economic value of the loss of a productive young life, --difficulties and deficits due to mental health disabilities such as PTDS and traumatic brain injury, --the costs of “quality of life” impairments to veterans, their family, friends and communities, and more.

California Federation of Teachers Resolution 27
Adopted Sunday, March 18, 2007 Protect Student Privacy Rights Submitted by Local 1021, United Teachers Los Angeles Whereas section 9528 of the No Child Left Behind Act mandates schools to provide military recruiters with the name, address, and phone numbers of secondary students and mandates that military recruiters have open access to public schools at all times, and Whereas, student privacy rights are ignored and their rights are disenfranchised by Section 9528, and Whereas, military recruitment does not belong in any federal statute on public education, and Whereas, military recruiters are deceitful to students and use high pressure sales tactics on students, and Whereas, the war and the war budget have diverted huge amounts of resources from funding for continued education by children of working families, Therefore, be it resolved that the California Federation of Teachers seeks to eliminate Section 9528 from any reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act and publicize the destruction of student privacy incurred by Section 9528, and Be it further resolved that the California Federation of Teachers inform the California congressional delegation of its opposition to Section 9528 of the No Child Left Behind Act, and Be it finally resolved that the California Federation of Teachers inform the American Federation of Teachers and local councils of this resolution. From accessed 05/29/08

War-Culture and Everyday Life
“this new military-industrial technological-entertainment-academic-scientific-media-intelligence-homeland security-surveillance-national security-corporate complex.” Coined by: Nick Turse, The Complex: How The Military Invades Our Lives

International Energy Outlook, published by the Energy Information Administration of the U.S. Dept of Energy China will overtake the United States as the number one consumer of energy between 2010 and 2014. In 1990, the developing nations of Asia and the Middle East accounted for only 17% of world energy consumption; by 2030, that number, the report suggests, should reach 41%, matching that of the major First World powers. the United States will face ever fiercer competition from China in the global struggle to secure adequate supplies of energy to meet national needs. Currently U.S. comprises 5% of world’s population, consumes 25% of world’s resources, including petroleum. a sharp rise in unconventional fuel output. Such fuels include Canadian oil sands, Venezuelan extra-heavy oil, deep-offshore oil, Arctic oil, shale oil, liquids derived from coal (coal-to-liquids or CTL), and biofuels. At present, these cumulatively constitute only about 4% of the world's liquid fuel supply but are expected to reach nearly 13% by All told, according to estimates in the new IEO report, unconventional liquid production will reach an estimated 13.4 million barrels per day in 2030, up from a projected 9.7 million barrels in the 2008 edition. But for an expansion on this scale to occur, whole new industries will have to be created to manufacture such fuels at a cost of several trillion dollars. This undertaking, in turn, is provoking a wide-ranging debate over the environmental consequences of producing such fuels. For example, any significant increase in biofuels use -- assuming such fuels were produced by chemical means rather than, as now, by cooking -- could substantially reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, actually slowing the tempo of future climate change. On the other hand, any increase in the production of Canadian oil sands, Venezuelan extra-heavy oil, and Rocky Mountain shale oil will entail energy-intensive activities at staggering levels, sure to emit vast amounts of CO2, which might more than cancel out any gains from the biofuels. In addition, increased biofuels production risks the diversion of vast tracts of arable land from the crucial cultivation of basic food staples to the manufacture of transportation fuel. If, as is likely, oil prices continue to rise, expect it to be ever more attractive for farmers to grow more corn and other crops for eventual conversion to transportation fuels, which means rises in food costs that could price basics out of the range of the very poor, while stretching working families to the limit. As in May and June of 2008, when food riots spread across the planet in response to high food prices -- caused, in part, by the diversion of vast amounts of corn acreage to biofuel production -- this could well lead to mass unrest and mass starvation. A Heavy Energy Footprint on the Planet At first glance, the International Energy Outlook for 2009 hardly looks different from previous editions: a tedious compendium of tables and text on global energy trends. Looked at another way, however, it trumpets the headlines of the future -- and their news is not comforting. The global energy equation is changing rapidly, and with it is likely to come great power competition, economic peril, rising starvation, growing unrest, environmental disaster, and shrinking energy supplies, no matter what steps are taken. No doubt the 2010 edition of the report and those that follow will reveal far more, but the new trends in energy on the planet are already increasingly evident -- and unsettling. It's Official -- The Era of Cheap Oil Is Over Energy Department Changes Tune on Peak Oil By Michael T. Klare on TomDispatch.com, June 11, 2009

We of CAMS (coalition against militarization in our schools) are opposed to the military recruitment of minors, and believe that green card youth and their families face greater risks, are more likely to be misled and taken advantage of. Their citizenship status is being exploited and they are being used to fill the ranks in an immoral war that is murdering innocent victims of color. We join in solidarity saying: Dignidad y paz para todo! Legalizacion para todos! Alto a las redadas! Paz y justicia siempre. (Dignity and peace for all! Legalization for all! Stop the raids! Peace and justice forever.)

“My Future.com”

“CyCom” –cyber activities developing in the Pentagon
$50 – 70 billion in future Pentagon budgets Secretary Gates to quadruple the number of “cyberofficers” by 2011 Establishment of “Cybercommand” in the Pentagon Purpose: "develop cyberweapons for use in responding to attacks from foreign adversaries" under the direction of Lieutenant General Keith B. Alexander, who will add another star to his three in the move from the National Security Agency to his new command. “Cyber-military-industrial complex” has “launched a frenzy of buying” – Lockheed Martin, Gorthrop Gumman, General Dynamics, etc., gobbling up smaller tech companies to position themselves in this new market. Yes, the Pentagon sees cyberspace -- that expansive online constellation of worlds that never sleeps even when our computers are off -- as another battlefield terrain no different from the mountains of Afghanistan or the cities of Iraq (except that maybe on virtual battlefields we can actually win). In an exhaustive 350-page look at U.S. cyberattack capabilities put out in April 2009, the National Research Council's Committee on Offensive Information Warfare concluded that "enduring unilateral dominance in cyberspace is neither realistic nor achievable by the United States." Despite that cautionary word, this very month the Pentagon has moved to establish a new Cybercommand that won't shy away from either the word "unilateral" or "dominance." CyCom, as it's already known, will "develop cyberweapons for use in responding to attacks from foreign adversaries" under the direction of Lieutenant General Keith B. Alexander, who will add another star to his three in the move from the National Security Agency to his new command. In pursuit of the elusive, impossible dream of unilateral dominance in cyberspace, Defense Secretary Gates is looking to more than quadruple the number of cyberofficers by 2011; and though he didn't put a dollar figure on it, as the military services all rush to add "cyber" to their portfolio, the monies are going to add up fast. How much? Kevin Coleman, a consultant to the U.S. Strategic Command, which will house CyCom, estimates between $50 billion and $70 billion a year for cyberactivities in future Pentagon budgets. The true beneficiaries of the military's cyberturf war are sure to be the major Pentagon contractors that have been positioning themselves to absorb Washington's new cyberdollars just as they have absorbed war dollars, terror dollars, and homeland-security dollars. Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and General Dynamics have already launched a frenzy of buying in the area, gobbling up smaller tech companies and courting cyberinnovators. In 2007, for instance, Northrop Grumman purchased the Essex Corporation, a cybertech company, which CEO Ronald Sugar says has "grown significantly" since then. Military contractors have also been taking on hordes of "cyberninjas" to learn more about hackers. These young laborers have landed in one of the few sectors of the economy hiring these days. A recent New York Times description of their work environment should be enough to set screenwriters' pens twitching. "At a Raytheon facility here south of the Kennedy Space Center, a hub of innovation in an earlier era, rock music blares and empty cans of Mountain Dew pile up as engineers create tools to protect the Pentagon's computers and crack into the networks of countries that could become adversaries. Prizes like cappuccino machines and stacks of cash spur them on, and a gong heralds each major breakthrough." Without a doubt, cybercrime -- and even cyberterrorism -- pose actual dangers. But listening to all the scare-talk about cyberwar, we tend to forget that the most gruesome wars today are being fought with machetes, AK-47s, and crude improvised explosive devices fashioned out of repurposed walkie-talkies. The fact is that some of the most devastating wars of the future will be fought over food, water, and land, not to speak of religion, and those engaged in their brutal, messy battles will probably never log on to a computer or download a file. Certainly, cyberterrorism is a novel and sexy label, grist for next year's high-budget movies and summer pulp fiction. But in Washington it's likely to turn out to be little more than a new catchword in a predictable drama of contracts, turf, and corporations, of agencies and military services intent on capturing taxpayer dollars and winning or losing intra-bureaucratic wars. The story of how politicians, the Pentagon, and contractors conspire to inflame our fears with well-hyped threats of future cataclysm and then offer high-tech, highly bureaucratic, unbelievably expensive solutions that result in lots of weapons contracts, lots of corporate/military conferences, a few blue-ribbon studies, but no significant threat reduction is really the story of our time. Published on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 by TomDispatch.com Cyberscares About Cyberwars Equal Cybermoney Watching the Cybermilitary-Industrial Complex Form by Frida Berrigan

Air Force Bugbots Micro Air Vehicle (MAVs) buglike dron
Air Force Bugbots Micro Air Vehicle (MAVs) buglike dron

Questions for the end of 1st session
What is your response to the notion of sacrifice as a dangerous hinge/engine/link between Christian doctrine and practices and U.S. war-culture? Is “sacrifice” a category of thinking and valuing that has meaning/importance for you? For your religious commitments? How and why?

Moravian Helicopter Spectacle
YouTube - Chinook Lands on Moravian's Quad - For Student Power

Economics Professor and the rhetoric of sacrifice
“I can think of three worthy purposes, off hand: Those who sacrifice salaries and stable home lives, if nothing else, to the service of their country deserve our support. Until the lion lies down peaceably with the lamb, we must encourage young people to consider similar sacrifices. ROTC encourages academic excellence. ROTC cadets who have taken classes with me have been above average students. They were willing to ask questions and follow up on points they found difficult, as we wish all students did.”

President Lincon’s letter to Lydia Bixby, mother of fallen soldiers
“I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours, to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of Freedom.”

Sacrificial Collision/Collusion/Colonization
Lutheran U.S. pastor Pres. George Bush “Good morning. This weekend, families across America are coming together to celebrate Easter. . . during this special and holy time each year, millions of Americans pause to remember a sacrifice that transcended the grave and redeemed the world. . . On Easter we hold in our hearts those who will be spending this holiday far from home – our troops. . . I deeply appreciate the sacrifices that they and their families are making. . . On Easter, we especially remember those who have given their lives for the cause of freedom. These brave individuals have lived out the words of the Gospel: “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. . .” “When I was young, I was taught that God loves me and that Jesus died for me. I was reminded to be thankful that God sent Jesus to die for my sins. . . during Lent and into Holy Week we lift up the death of Jesus as something he didn’t deserve. He was innocent of all charges. . . He died so we might be saved. He paid the ransom. God was pleased with Jesus’ sacrifice.” George S. Johnson, “Was Jesus Subversive? Considering the ‘other’ Reason Jesus Died on the Cross,” The Lutheran, March, 2008,

Memorializing “The Ultimate Sacrifice” www.operationneverforget.org
“Welcome to “OPERATION NEVER FORGET” whose mission and dedication is to building portraiture memorial busts of every service member whose been killed in theatre in Iraq and Afghanistan. The heroes of our nation who have answered our country’s call, Welcome to “OPERATION NEVER FORGET” whose mission and dedication is to building portraiture memorial busts of every service member whose been killed in theatre in Iraq and Afghanistan. The heroes of our nation who have answered our country’s call, fought a good fight and whose lives have been cut short by making the ultimate sacrifice. Shall they never be forgotten…or just a name on a wall.”

Popular email circulating in the US, Memorial Day, 2010
A mother asked this President... 'Why did my son have to die in Iraq ?'

A mother asked this President
A mother asked this President.. 'Why did my son have to die in Saudi Arabia ?'

A mother asked this President... 'Why did my son have to die in Kuwait ?'

Another mother asked this President
Another mother asked this President.. 'Why did my son have to die in Vietnam ?'

Another mother asked this President
Another mother asked this President... 'Why did my son have to die in Korea ?'

Another mother asked President... 'Why did my son have to die on a battlefield in France ?'

Yet another mother asked President.. 'Why did my son have to die at Gettysburg ?'

And yet another mother asked President
And yet another mother asked President... 'Why did my son have to die on a frozen field near Valley Forge ?'

Last in the series, with a personal comment from the email sender
'Heavenly Father ... why did my Son have to die on a cross outside of Jerusalem ?' The answer is always the same... 'So that others may live and dwell in peace, happiness, and freedom.' This was ed to me with no author. I thought the magnitude and the simplicity were awesome.

If you are not willing to stand BEHIND our troops, Please, please feel free to stand in front of them.... If you are not willing to stand BEHIND our troops, Please, please feel free to stand in front of them.... Then long, long ago, a mother asked.. 'Heavenly Father ... why did my Son have to die on a cross outside of Jerusalem ?' The answer is always the same... 'So that others may live and dwell in peace, happiness, and freedom.' This was ed to me with no author. I thought the magnitude and the simplicity were awesome. ONE FLAG, ONE LANGUAGE, ONE NATION UNDER GOD!! ONE FLAG, ONE LANGUAGE, ONE NATION UNDER GOD!! If you are not willing to stand BEHIND our troops, Please, please feel free to stand in front of them....

Toby Keith YouTube - Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (The Angry American) YouTube - Toby Keith - American Soldier Lyrics from “The Red White and Blue” (The Angry American) American girls and American guys, will always stand up and salute. We'll always recognize, when we see ol' glory flying, There's a lot of men dead, So we can sleep in peace at night when we lay down our heads. My daddy served in the army where he lost his right eye, But he flew a flag out in our yard 'til the day that he died. He wanted my mother, my brother, my sister and me. To grow up and live happy in the land of the free. Now this nation that I love is fallin' under attack. A mighty sucker-punch came flying in from somewhere in the back. Soon as we could see clearly through our big black eye, Man, we lit up your world like the fourth of July. Hey, Uncle Sam put your name at the top of his list, And the Statue of Liberty started shaking her fist. And the eagle will fly and it's gonna be hell, When you hear Mother Freedom start ringing her bell. And it'll feel like the whole wide world is raining down on you. Ah, brought to you, courtesy of the red, white and blue. Instrumental break. Oh, justice will be served and the battle will rage: This big dog will fight when you rattle his cage. An' you'll be sorry that you messed with the U.S. of A. 'Cos we'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American way. Hey, Uncle Sam put your name at the top of his list, And the Statue of Liberty started shaking her fist. And the eagle will fly and it's gonna be hell, When you hear Mother Freedom start ringing her bell. And it'll feel like the whole wide world is raining down on you. Ah, brought to you, courtesy of the red, white and blue. Oh, oh. Of the red, white and blue. Oh, hey, oh. Of my Red, White and Blue. And I will always do my duty no matter what the price I’ve counted up the cost, I know the sacrifice Oh and I don’t want to die for you, but if dyin’s asked of me I’ll bear that cross with honor, cause freedom don’t come free. I’m an American Soldier an American Beside my brothers and my sisters, I will proudly take a stand When liberty’s in jeopardy, I will always do what’s right I’m out here on the front lines, sleep in peace tonight American Soldier, I’m and American, Soldier. Lyrics from “American Soldier” Ideology in lyrics above: peace is dependent upon war-as-sacrifice; vengeance/revenge ideology; centrality of military power for American self-identity

Lyrics from “American Soldier”
And I will always do my duty no matter what the price I’ve counted up the cost, I know the sacrifice Oh and I don’t want to die for you, but if dyin’s asked of me I’ll bear that cross with honor, cause freedom don’t come free.

Iraq Veteran and sacrificial rhetoric – Election 2009
An Iraq Veteran has a personal message for Barack Obama. The BBC Rated this video the #1 Political Ad of 2008.

Sacrificial Necessity – on both sides of the political spectrum
Mrs. Galvez, in The American Legion Magazine Cindy Sheehan, in her blog “People may not agree with the reason we went to war, but while our troops are over there, we can’t be telling the world that what they are doing is wrong. If we say that we support them, we have to support what they’re doing. . . for those who have made the supreme sacrifice in this war, the United States must prevail in Iraq.” Matt Grills, “Death, Not in Vain” American Legion, May 2007, 30. . . . it is so painful to me to know that I bought into this system for so many years and Casey paid the price for that allegiance. . . Goodbye America you are not the country that I love and I finally realized that no matter how much I sacrifice, I can’t make you be that country unless you want it.

Mark Heim’s sacrificial rehabilitation – the “stereophonic threads in the gospel accounts”
Jesus’ death unjust and wrong Jesus is supposed to die The “sacrificial crisis” Scapegoating most effective when it is invisible/naturalized Institutions to minimize escalation of social violence (military, legal, political) themselves caught up in mimetic contagion Jesus’ role: the sine qua non of scapegoats – to repeal scapegoating God in the breach disrupts scapegoating Slipperiness of this interpretation --how to “cure” sacrifice? --is sacrifice only overcome by more sacrifice?

Tension: surrogacy and sacrifice
Delores Williams Joanne Marie Terrell “The resurrection of Jesus and the Kingdom-of-God-theme in Jesus’ ministerial vision provide black women with the knowledge that God has, through Jesus, shown humankind how to live peacefully, productively and abundantly in relationship. Humankind is therefore redeemed through Jesus’ life and not through Jesus’ death.” Terrell refuses to give up on the idea of sacrifice, “. . . particularly the notion of sacrifice as the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something with a higher claim, a potentially salvific notion with communal dimensions that got lost in the rhetorical impetus of the language of surrogacy.”

Questions for Consideration
Do you find yourself leaning more towards Williams or Terrell on the issue of sacrifice as a framework for understanding salvation? Why? What is your response to the notion of sacrifice as a dangerous hinge/engine/link between Christian doctrine and practices and U.S. war-culture? Is “sacrifice” a category of thinking and valuing that has meaning/importance for you? For your religious commitments? How and why?

Questions What would you recommend to U.S. Christians and churches regarding the problematic link between sacrifice and war-culture? What should they do? What language comes to mind for you to describe the losses of war? Does the problem of sacrificialism work in a similar way for you here in comparison with what I have described in the U.S.? Given the problem of sacrificialism and war-culture, do you think it is possible to “rehabilitate” the construct of sacrifice in Christianity in such a way to avoid these dangers? What would such a reconstruction look like?

More Questions What is your response to the notion of sacrifice as a dangerous hinge/engine/link between Christian doctrine and practices and U.S. war-culture? What would you recommend to U.S. Christians and churches regarding the problematic link between sacrifice and war-culture? What should they do? What language comes to mind for you to describe the losses of war? Does the problem of sacrificialism work in a similar way for you here in comparison with what I have described in the U.S.? Given the problem of sacrificialism and war-culture, do you think it is possible to “rehabilitate” the construct of sacrifice in Christianity in such a way to avoid these dangers? What would such a reconstruction look like?

Questions. . . Along the lines of Giroux’s thinking, is “military to democracy as fire is to water”? (p 18) What do you make of Giroux’s understanding of the mission of higher education? “. . . At the heart of any form of inclusive democracy is the assumption that learning should be used to expand the public good, create a culture of questioning, and promote democratic social change” (117) What do you make of Giroux’s concerns about the interpenetration of war-culture into higher education? If at least some of the results of the “militarized civilian university” include, the production of weapons, increase in the arms race, collusion with forces of secrecy and domination, subversion of or inadequate resources dedicated to scientific knowledge that could be peaceful and/or non-militarized, the imposition of the assumption that using civilian institutions to suit military desires and pursuits is the normal way of doing things

Signs of U.S. War-culture’s Increase
Revolving employment door between military and civilian institutions Increased secrecy regarding war-culture’s financial accounting Expansion of military mobilization (over 900 domestic military bases; over 700 international military bases) Contracting out of military base construction, maintenance, security Slippage of appropriate bounds of authority and constitutional weakening According to the report released in June, 2009, by the bipartisan Legislative Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, More than 240,000 contractor employees, about 80 percent of them foreign nationals, are working in Iraq and Afghanistan to support operations and projects of the U.S. military, the Department of State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Contractor employees outnumber U.S. troops in the region. While contractors provide vital services, the Commission believes their use has also entailed billions of dollars lost to waste, fraud, and abuse due to inadequate planning, poor contract drafting, limited competition, understaffed oversight functions, and other problems. “Official Commission Press Release,” Commission on Wartime Contracting in Afghanistan and Iraq, June 5, 2009, accessed 06/15/2009.

Additional signs Increased sophistication of recruiting techniques;
Increased budget line of military institutions dedicated to advertising, collaboration with other cultural institutions to enhance military “brand”; Increased budget lines of defense corporations dedicated to lobbying, advertising to enhance brand and suggest its indispensability for the United States Increased interpenetration of military applications, practices, themes, ethos into an ever wider array of cultural sites

Additional Facets War-culture and Economics: over 3 trillion dollars for Iraq/Afghanistan wars According to Stiglitz, $16 billion per month spent on wars in 2008 (equal to annual budget of UN) Additional $500 billion per year that U.S. spends on “regular expenses” of Defense Dept. 2007: 10th year in a row that Defense Dept. “flunked its financial audit.

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Report, 2009
China and Russia both tripled their armament expenditure in last decade Boeing remained the top arms producer in the most recent year for which reliable data is available - with arms sales worth $30.5 billion. All the top 20 companies are American or European The number of people forcibly displaced by conflict has also increased in recent years, with internally displaced persons (IDPs) reaching 26 million, more than twice the number of refugees, says the Sipri report. "For a large share of these people, no sustainable solution is in sight. Mass population displacement is often a result - and even a goal - of violence against civilians."

National Priorities Project: Allocation of Tax Dollars, April 2010 26
National Priorities Project: Allocation of Tax Dollars, April military health debt int gov Income sec Housing food Vet. Benefit envir. Sci. Education Int. Affairs Transpor. publication examines federal spending estimates for Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09). Federal spending reflected the events of 2009: financial institutions collapsed, there was a global economic downturn, and a domestic housing crisis. These events required federal fiscal responses, among them: the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), decreased interest rates, increased unemployment insurance, and the federal housing tax credit. In turn, this affected the proportions of federal outlays for FY09. The spending in the categories of Government (TARP), Housing & Community (housing tax credit) and Income & Labor (unemployment insurance) was relatively greater as a proportion of the total budget in FY09. As a result, the spending in other categories such as Military and Health was relatively lower as a proportion of the total budget. Income Security & Labor Income Security & Labor includes funding for job training, disability, retirement, unemployment insurance, and social security. The total Income Security & Labor authority is down in FY11 relative to FY10 largely due to decreases in unemployment benefits in FY11 that have been raised and extended with additional COBRA payments through FY10. Increases are seen in this category to address backlogs of disability payment claims and to re-institute higher levels of reviews of those collecting disability and supplemental security income payments. Health Health includes funding for Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP and other health-related expenses. The total Health budget authority is up in FY11 relative to FY10. Mandatory budget authority increases as costs increase and more people qualify for government programs. Also, the NIH and FDA receive more funds for research and monitoring. Grants to states for Medicaid is reduced in FY11 and again in FY12 after a temporary increase from the Recovery Act which expires after the first quarter of FY11. States received an across-the-board increase in the percentage match from the federal government, and states with high unemployment rates received additional percentage matches. Military Military includes funding for national defense and security, nuclear weapons activities and international security assistance. The total Military budget authority is up in FY11 relative to FY10 with increased salaries and benefits for military personnel and significant spending authority increases for programs related to nuclear nonproliferation and international weapons reduction and safekeeping. In FY12, costs associated with Overseas Contingency Operations decrease in the base budget. What remains to be seen is whether the Department of Defense will request further spending supplementals to support war-related expenses Interest on the Debt The Interest on the Debt has increased in FY11 relative to FY10 much of which can be attributed to increased interest payments on Treasury Debt Securities. In FY11, it is projected that smaller amounts of interest will be received from the Unemployment Trust Fund, whereas larger interest payments will be received from the Railroad Retirement Trust Fund, loans to the Commodity Credit Corporation, and Unemployment Insurance Loans to States, to name a few. Food Food includes funding for agriculture and nutritional assistance. The total Food budget authority is up in FY11 relative to FY10 with increases to WIC (Women, Infant and Children's supplemental food and nutrition program), SNAP (Food Stamps), and children's school nutrition programs. Cuts are seen in FEMA emergency food and shelter program and subsidies for milk and peanut producers. Farm subsidy payments to “wealthy farmers” (non-farm AGI >$500,000 or farm AGI >$750,000) are reduced. Veterans' Benefits Veterans' Benefits includes funding for healthcare, housing, and income benefits for veterans. The total Veterans' Benefits budget authority is down in FY11 relative to FY10 due to a temporary compensation supplemental in FY10 and a front-loading of housing funds in FY10. Budget authority for veterans' education is greater in FY11 with an upward adjustment in benefits. Hospital and medical spending authority increases for more services and facilities. Administrative operating costs increase to hire additional workers to process back-logged claims. Spending is also targeted towards a paperless claims/records system that has been piloted and will roll out nationally. Transportation Transportation includes funding for the development and support of air, water, ground, and other transportation. The total Transportation budget authority is down in FY11 relative to FY10. After an initial boost for high speed rail in FY10, funds for the remainder of the 5-year plan continue at the requested lower levels. Other proposed changes include $4 billion for a new National Infrastructure Innovation and Finance Fund, cuts to grants-in-aid for airports (part of the FAA) and cuts to the FHA (Federal Highway Administration). Education Education includes funding for elementary, secondary, higher and vocational education. The total Education budget authority is up in FY11 relative to FY10 with substantial increases to Pell grants (individual maximum awards increase by $200 to $5550) and savings from subsidy cuts to private lenders. Other changes include decreases in discretionary spending for individual institutions including National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Gallaudet University, and Howard University. Increases in discretionary spending were seen in programs such as English Learner Education and Supporting Student Success in the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools. State-level Recovery Act funds targeted for schools end in FY11 and, coupled with continuing declines in state tax revenues, local primary and secondary schools face challenging decisions ahead. Likewise, state community colleges and universities face declining federal and state contributions ultimately placing higher costs on students, many of whom are returning to school due to under- and unemployment. Environment, Energy & Science Environment, Energy & Science includes funding for natural resources and environment, supply and use of energy, and science and research activities. Although total budget authority for this category is flat in FY11 relative to FY10, there are changes within the category. More money is allocated for basic research and laboratories while funding for NASA's behind-schedule, over-budget Constellation project is down. Substantially increased funding for federal-level energy efficiency and conservation programs serves two purposes: greening homes reduces reliance on fossil fuels and the work of energy audits, home sealing and insulation creates jobs. Low priority Corps of Engineers programs were cut as was the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository program which was deemed non-viable. NOAA received additional funding for FY11 for satellite systems and IT infrastructure in an effort to improve meteorological and environmental forecasting. Housing & Community Housing & Community includes funding for housing assistance and credits, community development, disaster assistance, and services supporting social needs. The total budget authority for this category is down from FY10 to FY11 with an end to the First Time Home Buyers Credit which was intended to stimulate the housing market. Also of note are reductions to budget authorities for Housing for the Elderly and Housing for the Disabled. Some of these monies are shifted to tenant-based rental assistance. The administration justifies these cuts because of delays, cost-overruns, and decreased economy of scale for these projects. In addition to cuts, the administration calls for a general revision of these housing programs. Because budget determinations and program revisions happen independently of one other, we sound a note of caution as it is possible for budgetary cuts to be approved in the absence of programmatic change, potentially jeopardizing these vulnerable populations. International Affairs International Affairs includes funding for diplomatic, development, and humanitarian activities abroad. The total budget authority is down from FY10 to FY11 with less funding to Diplomatic and Consular programs and Embassy Security, Construction, and Maintenance after substantial increases in funding in FY09 and FY10. Global health initiatives for AIDS relief and malaria prevention receive proposed additional funding in FY11. Government Government includes funding for commerce, law enforcement, overhead costs of federal government, and undistributed offsetting receipts. The total budget authority is negative in FY11 and FY12 and significantly down from FY10 to FY11 as the repayment of TARP funds from financial institutions, proposed savings from healthcare reform, and elimination of waste in the Treasury due to payment systems modernization are greater than the proposed expenditures. Increased funds are provided for Community Oriented Policing (COPS), for asset limit reform, for regulatory reform to the financial system and for programs to boost innovation, domestic manufacturing, and exports. Federal Aid to States The following table outlines several federal programs and grants for states for fiscal years The Obama administration continues to focus on rebuilding the economy and creating jobs for millions of unemployed and underemployed people. Also driving the budgetary agenda are efforts to improve and expand healthcare and education access as well as efforts towards conservation and shifting to renewable sources of energy. Like federal programs, state aid programs are being evaluated and consolidated. For example, as part of the administration's Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) proposal, the President's budget proposes to consolidate 38 programs into 11 new programs including the Effective Teachers and Leaders State Grants included in the table below. For the remainder of FY10 and into FY11, states face grave fiscal challenges with the end of state-level Recovery Act funds coupled with significant declines in tax revenues. Many states project drastic budget short-falls for FY11 and beyond necessitating cuts in many high value programs.

De-escalating U.S. War-culture: A Primer for Peace Advocates

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