WHEREAS THE U.S. MILITARY SERVES NO USEFUL PURPOSE AND IS USED SOLELY FOR IMPERIALIST WAR AND TO ENRICH ARMS MANUFACTURERS; AND WHEREAS THE U.S. MILITARY WREAKS TERRIBLE SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION WHICH IS THREATENING THE FUTURE OF LIFE ON EARTH; AND WHEREAS THE U.S. MILITARY CONSUMES ENORMOUS AMOUNTS OF RESOURCES THAT COULD BE USED TO SUSTAINABLY PROVIDE FOR HUMAN NEEDS, THE GREEN-RAINBOW PARTY OF MASSACHUSETTS RECOGNIZES THAT CUTTING U.S. MILITARY SPENDING IN HALF (OR SOME OTHER ARBITRARY AMOUNT) IS NOT ENOUGH.
THE GREEN-RAINBOW PARTY CALLS FOR THE TOTAL ELIMINATION OF THE U.S. MILITARY AND WEAPONS INDUSTRY AND REDUCTION OF U.S. MILITARY SPENDING TO ZERO.
THIS SHOULD INCLUDE THE ELIMINATION OF ALL MILITARY SPENDING WHETHER IT IS PART OF THE OFFICIAL “DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE” BUDGET OR BUDGETED THROUGH OTHER U.S. GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, E.G., NUCLEAR WEAPONS BUDGETED THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.
WE CALL FOR A COMPLETE FEDERAL AUDIT TO FIND AND ELIMINATE SECRET MILITARY SPENDING.
THE GREEN-RAINBOW PARTY WILL NOT SUPPORT SPENDING ANY MONEY ON OFFENSIVE MILITARY ATTACKS, INVASIONS, OCCUPATIONS OR THREATS AGAINST COUNTRIES ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD OR ON PRODUCING OR BUYING WEAPONS WHICH WOULD BE USED FOR THESE PURPOSES.
WE ALSO OPPOSE ALL U.S. ARMS SALES TO OTHER COUNTRIES.
THE GREEN-RAINBOW PARTY DEMANDS THAT U.S. FOREIGN POLICY BE CONDUCTED THROUGH FAIR, HONEST AND OPEN DIPLOMACY WITHOUT VIOLENCE OR THREATS, AND THAT THE U.S. GOVERNMENT RECOGNIZE THE SOVEREIGNTY AND INTERESTS OF OTHER COUNTRIES AS BEING EQUALLY IMPORTANT AS OUR INTERESTS.
THE GREEN-RAINBOW PARTY CALLS FOR A COMPLETE TRANSFORMATION OF U.S. SPENDING AND ECONOMY OUT OF WEAPONS, WAR AND COLONIAL OCCUPATION.
THE GREEN-RAINBOW PARTY IS IN FAVOR OF SPENDING NECESSARY TO CARRY OUT THIS TRANSFORMATION AND NECESSARY TO DISMANTLE WEAPONS.
THE GREEN-RAINBOW PARTY CALLS FOR REPARATIONS TO BE PAID TO VICTIMS OF THE U.S. MILITARY AND ITS WARS ALL OVER THE WORLD.
VETERANS SHOULD HAVE THEIR HEALTHCARE PAID FOR THROUGH A SINGLE PAYER UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM THE SAME AS EVERYONE IN THIS COUNTRY, NOT THROUGH A SEPARATE MILITARY HEALTHCARE SYSTEM.
WE RECOGNIZE THAT ELIMINATING THE U.S. MILITARY IS A BIG CHANGE, AND THEREFORE MIGHT SEEM TOO RADICAL TO SOME PEOPLE, BUT WE TAKE THIS POSITION BECAUSE IT IS A MORAL AND EXISTENTIAL IMPERATIVE.
Showing 3 reactions
Sign in with
FacebookAlso, between the individual states of the USA, since the USA Civil War, there has been peace, which has allowed USA to develop to an unprecedented extent. We have not experienced declared war here at home since the 1860s.
The USA and Costa Rica reveal a glimpse of what is possible with world disarmament, and even with unilateral disarmament, here in USA.
The investments wasted on USA armament over the past decade, (spent until now on weapons which can only damage and harm), if used constructively, could significantly slow our climate catastrophe.(4,5).
Global 2020 military expenditures of 1,433.4 billion $(5), at an initial cost per billion $/GtCO2eq of 22.62(8) could, if invested in lowering CO2eq emitted, avoid or drawdown an estimated 63.37 GtCO2eq, or more than a thousand times the global CO2eq emitted in 2012.(9) At this yearly rate, the historic cumulative CO2eq released; ~1,600 billion GtCO2eq(10), could be drawn down completely in 25 & 1/4 years, back to pre-industrial levels.
As the world’s leading aggressor, the USA must lead global disarmament.
Brian
-
1.) “Historically, Costa Rica has generally enjoyed greater peace and more consistent political stability than many of its fellow Latin American nations. Since the late 19th century, however, Costa Rica has experienced two significant periods of violence. In 1917–19, General Federico Tinoco Granados ruled as a military dictator until he was overthrown and forced into exile. The unpopularity of Tinoco’s regime led, after he was overthrown, to a considerable decline in the size, wealth, and political influence of the Costa Rican military. In 1948, José Figueres Ferrer led an armed uprising in the wake of a disputed presidential election between Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia (who had been president between 1940 and 1944) and Otilio Ulate Blanco.52 With more than 2,000 dead, the resulting 44-day Costa Rican Civil War was the bloodiest event in Costa Rica during the 20th century.
The victorious rebels formed a government junta that abolished the military altogether, and oversaw the drafting of a new constitution by a democratically elected assembly.53 Having enacted these reforms, the junta transferred power to Ulate on 8 November 1949.”
2.)“Following the brief Costa Rican Civil War in 1948, it permanently abolished its army in 1949, becoming one of only a few sovereign nations without a standing army.121314
The country has consistently performed favorably in the Human Development Index (HDI), placing 63rd in the world as of 2017, among the highest of any Latin American nation.15 It has also been cited by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as having attained much higher human development than other countries at the same income levels, with a better record on human development and inequality than the median of the region.16
3.)Costa Rica also has progressive environmental policies. It is the only country to meet all five UNDP criteria established to measure environmental sustainability.17 It was ranked 42nd in the world, and third in the Americas, in the 2016 Environmental Performance Index,18 and was twice ranked the best performing country in the New Economics Foundation’s (NEF) Happy Planet Index, which measures environmental sustainability,1920 and was identified by the NEF as the greenest country in the world in 2009.21 Costa Rica plans to become a carbon-neutral country by 2021.222324 By 2019, 99.62% of its electricity was generated from green sources2526 particularly hydro, wind, geothermal and solar.27”
4.) [in 2015]" 54 percent of all [USA] federal discretionary spending, a total of $598.5 billion" was military spending.(NPPhttps://www.nationalpriorities.org/campaigns/military-spending-united-states/)
5.) [in 2020] direct USA estimated military spending of 684.6 billion $ (List of countries by military expenditures), compares to Global Military spending of 1,433.4 billion $
8.) Calculated from estimated totals at https://www.drawdown.org/solutions/table-of-solutions
9.) https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.GHGT.KT.CE
10.) https://ourworldindata.org/co2-and-other-greenhouse-gas-emissions