GDAMS Newsletter Jan 2012

8/3/2019 GDAMS Newsletter Jan 2012

1/9

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Organizers:

The International Pe

Bureau (IPB) is

dedicated to the vision

World Without War.

are a Nobel PLaureate (1910); over the years, 1

our officers have been recipient

the Nobel Peace Prize. Our

member organizations in

countries, together with indiv

members from a global netw

bring together expertise

campaigning experience in

common cause. Our current m

program centers on Sustain

Disarmament for Sustain

Development.

Institute for Po

Studies (IPS) is

community of pu

scholars and organ

linking peace, justice,

the environment in

U.S. and globally.

We work with social movemen

promote true democracy

challenge concentrated we

corporate influence, and mil

power. As Washingtons

progressive multi-issue think t

IPS has served as a policy

research resource for visionary s

justice movements for 50 years.

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No. 7 ! January 2012http://demilitarize.org/Global Day of Action on Military

Spending

17 April, 2012

On April 17, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) willannounce the military spending figures for 2011. Our GDAMS actions in

capital cities and other locations around the world will offer the mass media

photo opportunities and local stories about military spending. Local organisers

can schedule their action on or near the Global Day.

This is the second Global Day. Last years event, held on April 12, 2011, was a

big success, with nearly 100 actions in 37 countries. In 2012, activists will

organize many types of events, from protests at military bases to teach-ins.

Each location will devise its own approach. But all the events will highlight the

latest figure for global military spending, which will likely approach $1.7 trillion.Our campaign could be built around slogans such as: What would you do with $1.7

trillion?Make Jobs not War!etc. !To succeed in shifting military spending to human needs, we need to lift this

issue up much higher in the political debates of the coming year. We need to

draw in not thousands, but millions of people who refuse to accept the status

quo. And we need to encourage influential voices to speak out. As we reach out

to wider constituencies from labor to youth, we will multiply our impact.

This Newsletter will go over the global and regional trends in military spending

and give some initial steps towards planning your event! Here in Washington,D.C. were planning a Walk of Shame, visiting the military-industrial

corporations that profit off of our taxes without paying taxes themselves. No

More War-Profiteering Tax Dodgers!

Global Military Spending 2010

In the year 2010, the global trend in military spending took a turn from the

pattern of the past decade. World expenditure was $1,630 billion, a 1.3%

increase from last years figure and the slowest rate of increase since 2001.

Over the past decade, the average annual rate of increase was 5.1%.
http://demilitarize.org/event-reports/http://www.sipri.org/research/armaments/milex/factsheet2010http://www.sipri.org/research/armaments/milex/factsheet2010


2/9

MeetUp!

!!!!!!!Organizing an event? Be sur

register it at our MeetUp pag

meetup.com/gdams. This is

excellent tool to spread the wabout the concrete details of y

event. The more, the better! L

show the world how global

day really is.

!

!

!

GGGLLLOOOBBBAAALLL DDDAAAYYYooofffAAACCCTTTIIIOOONNN ooonnn MMMIIILLLIIITTTAAARRRYYY SSSPPPEEENNNDDDIIINNNGGG

The United States is once again the leader in military spending accounting for

$19.6 billion of the $20.6 billion global increase. Much of the deceleration and

cutbacks in spending worldwide have been caused by the global financial crisis.

The largest cuts came from crisis-hit Southern, Central and Eastern European

countries such as Greece.

China, ranking number two, has continued to increase military spending.

Between 2001 and 2009, Chinese military spending has increased 189%, and

another 12.7% in 2010. Conversely, the UK, France, Russia, Germany, and

India posted annual decreases in 2010 of 0.8%, 8.4%, 1.4%, 1.3%, and 2.8%

respectively.

Future U.S. military spending is expected to decrease due to the withdrawal of

troops from Iraq and perhaps Afghanistan, but looming talk of war with Iran

may dash those expectations. In crisis-wracked Europe, however, cuts are

almost certain to follow 2010s overall continental decrease of 2.8%. South

America and Africa, meanwhile, accelerated increasing military spending; the

former experienced a 5.8% increase and the latter a 5.2% increase.

North America

On January 5th, President Obama outlined a plan to press correspondents at thePentagon regarding the near-term future of U.S. military spending. The

President explained that some cuts would occur over the next ten years, but

emphasized that the defense budget wasnt reallygoing to be cut:

Over the next 10 years, the growth in the defense budget will slow, but

the fact of the matter is this: it will still grow, because we have global

responsibilities that demand our leadership. In fact, the defense budget

will still be larger than it was toward the end of the Bush administration.
http://www.sipri.org/research/armaments/milex/factsheet2010http://www.sipri.org/research/armaments/milex/factsheet2010http://www.sipri.org/research/armaments/milex/factsheet2010http://www.defense.gov/Transcripts/Transcript.aspx?TranscriptID=4953http://www.sipri.org/research/armaments/milex/factsheet2010


3/9

!

GDAMS 2011:

Look Back, Get

Inspired!

This picture from Nairobi,

Kenya, was sent in by Umoja a

One.

In Ottowa, Canada, GDAMS

participants protested outside

national election debate.

Check out our Event Reportsand Photos page to see how o

message was delivered around

the world on April 12th, 2011!

In 2010, U.S. military spending topped $698 billion, an increase of 2.8% from

2009. This marks a slowdown in spending growth compared with the 7.4%

average annual increase over the past decade.

On January 26th, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta elaborated on the

presidents statements as he detailed a blueprint for the next decade that

would entail a combined military budget $467 billion lower than previous

projections. Nevertheless, the Pentagons base budget will continue to rise,

reaching $567 billion by 2017. The 2012 base budget has been approved at

$531 billion, plus an additional $115 billion for war spending in Iraq and

Afghanistan. Besides these so-called savings, Panetta and Obama spent a

great deal of time emphasizing the militarys commitment to NATO and the

possibility of a land war with Iran. The two have continuously repeated that

all options remain on the table with regards to the Islamic Republic.

That cuts to military spending will take shape gradually over the next tenyears, during which they could be altered or reversed to suit the interests of

the Defense Department, calls the credibility of the governments stated

intentions into question.

In Canada, Prime Minister Steven Harper has been forced to make $4 billion

in cuts to government spending, and Canadas Department of National

Defense will be affected. Canadas 2010 military budget, however, does not

reflect this new reality, as the government spent $22.8 billionan increase of

3.3% in spending from the previous year. Just how much of the burden of

austerity in the coming years will be borne by the military has yet to bedetermined.

Latin America

Over the past decade as the economic prosperity of Latin America has

continued to grow, military expenditures have steadily increased. Strong

economic growth in the region, with Brazil leading in GDP, has made it easier

for South American countries to increase spending. Over the past decade,

Latin American military spending has grown from $42 billion in 2001 to $70

billion in 2010. While this growth is significant, it is dwarfed by theapproximately $790 billion spent by North America in 2010.

With a rising GDP, Brazil continued in 2010 to be South Americas biggest

spender. Brazils ever-increasing role on the international stage, including its

bid for a permanent spot on the UN Security Council, has led to a desire for

increased military capabilities. Brazil has risen from the country with the 30th

highest military expenditure worldwide in 2001 to the 11th highest in 2010.

Additionally military expenditure as a percentage of Brazils GDP grew to

1.6% over the past year.

http://www.sipri.org/research/armaments/milex/factsheet2010http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.com/2012/01/department-of-national-defense-people.htmlhttp://www.sipri.org/research/armaments/milex/factsheet2010http://www.demilitarize.org/event-reports


4/9

Development Costs:

Whats at Stake?

UNICEF has appealed thiyear for $1.28 billion for 98

million women and childre

in 25 underdeveloped

countries. Thats less than

the U.S. military spends in

day!

The UN has estimated thaglobal commitment of $44

billion could eradicate wor

hunger.

To transition into asustainable green economy

the UN calls for a minimu

commitment of $40 billion

Meanwhile, the U.S.Department of Defense is

biggest polluter on the

planet!

The Urban Land Instituteand Ernst & Young estima

that deteriorating U.S.

infrastructure would cost

$2.2 trillion to repair!


Similarly, Colombia and Peru have experienced a surge in expenditures but for

different reasons. In an effort to crush internal resistance groups, both

Colombia and Peru hiked military spending in 2010. As the top recipient of U.S.

military aid in the western hemisphere, Colombias expenditures have increased

72% since 2001, as the country continues its U.S.-backed militarization. Since2001, Peru and Colombia have seen $800 million and $3.9 billion increases

respectively.

Central America

Military spending in Central America has increased significantly over the past

five years. For example, in El Salvador spending increased from $106 million to

$133 million, in Guatemala spending rose from $134 million to $160 million,

and the BBC claimed that in Honduras spending went from $63 million to $172

million. The SIPRI database, meanwhile, reported $235 million spent inHonduras in 2010. Some critics have offered that the U.S. is providing military

aid to Central America as a means to counterbalance Venezuela and other

South American states, using the rhetoric of the War on Drugs as a cover.

In 2010, Mexico spent $4.86 billion on its armed forces, which represented a

25% increase over the previous 4 years. The Mexican defense budget was

expected to grow by 6.67% to $5.26 billion in 2011 or by an average of 4.48%

over the next decade. The Mexican Defense Ministry has proposed creation of

18 new Special Forces battalions containing 600 personnel each for a total of

11,000 additional staff.

Obama requested $310 million for Mexicos drug war in 2011 under the Mrida

Initiative, which according to the State Department has allocated $1.5 billion

since 2008. As U.S. personnel oversaw the illicit transport of arms into the

hands of Mexican drug cartels through Operation Fast and Furious, and a death

toll likely upwards of 60,000, Plan Mexico has amounted to a bloody war on

the poor, incentivizing corruption, normalizing violence and institutionalizing

torture.

Middle East and North Africa2011 was a tumultuous year in the Middle East and North Africa. On the

Arabian Peninsula, it was a year of continued militarization. Saudi Arabia spent

a staggering 10.4% of its GDP (four times the global average) in 2010 on its

military, and continued on that track with the purchase of $30 billion worth of

U.S. fighter jets in December 2011 (on top of the record $60 billion the House

of Saud handed over to the U.S. Military-Industrial Complex last year).
http://www.otherwords.org/articles/more_us_aid_wont_end_mexicos_drug_warhttp://www.fpif.org/articles/obamas_mexicogatehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/08/mexico-drug-wars-death-toll


5/9

Bahrains Pearl Roundabout, bl

with the smoke of Royal P

projectiles.

The Israeli Air Force is subsidized

$3 billion of U.S. tax dollars each ye

British Prime Minister Tony Blair

a good relationship with Gadd

Since 2005, the UK sold more t

$156 million in weapons to Libya.


The United Arab Emirates spent $3.5 billion on bunker-busters and other

weapons, and Kuwait purchased nearly $1 billion worth of Patriot missiles. As

talk of war with Iran escalates, the arms race is on for U.S. allies in the region.

After months of popular unrest, president Ali Abdullah Saleh finally left Yemen

for the U.S. this month, though his Gulf Cooperation Council-brokered exit leftpower in the hands of his cronies. American military aid to Yemen doubled in

2011, even as 225 were killed in the uprising and over 1,000 injured.

The uprising in Bahrain resulted in some 55 deaths, hundreds of injuries and

hundreds more political incarcerations. The government, declaring a state of

emergency implementing martial law, called in military support from the Saudi-

dominated Gulf Cooperation Council. As Bahrain hosts the U.S. Navy's fifth

fleet, Washington largely stayed silent on the violent, ethnically-driven

government response to peaceful protests, and looked away as activists and the

medical personnel who cared for them were kidnapped and tortured by policeforces. Indeed, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed the Bahraini

Foreign Minister in Washington in October 2011 as protestors faced death

sentences for their peaceful activities in Bahrain.

Israel's military spending peaked in 2011 at approximately $22.5 billion, but

after Israelis demonstrated over the summer to get more funding for social

programs, the Netanyahu administration announced significant cuts for 2012

and 2013 in military spending. The US announced in December 2011 that it

would be deploying 9000 troops to Israel in 2012 to build a joint task force in

preparation for a possible war in the Middle East. In 2011 the U.S. provided $3billion in Foreign Military Financing to Israel.

Revolution has dramatically changed North Africas military landscape over the

past year. In Egypt, the military government that succeeded Hosni Mubarak has

recently cracked down on protestors and has been slow to fulfill its promise of

a democratic Egypt. Meanwhile, the Libyan uprising was transformed into a

Western military invasion, tearing apart infrastructure and civil society. By

October, according to Joe Biden, the U.S. alone had spent $2 billion on what

the administration refused to call a war.

During Gadhafis regime, military spending was relatively low. However,between 2005 and 2008, Libya received approximately $1 billion in arms

transfer agreements with Western Europe and $300 million with Russia.

Prior to his ouster, Tunisian president Ben Ali controlled his potentially

threatening military by trimming the defense budget, delaying promotions, and

requiring early retirement for skilled officers. In contrast, this month Defense

Minister Abdelkarim El-Zbidi requested US assistance for military equipment,

facilities and training, pointing to a potential future increase in military spending

for the country. Currently, this defense aid is being framed as a crucial means to

economic and social stability.
http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2213107&Language=en


6/9

!!!!Drone strikes in Somalia h

proliferated during the Oba

administration.

!!!!!

Kenyan Human Rights activist

Amin Kimanthi was rendered

Uganda by the U.S.-backed Ugan

government. There he was tortured

his captors and interrogated by U

and British agents

!!

Chinese military spending, up 12.

has prompted the U.S. and its Pac

allies to pump more money

weapons into the region even tho

at around $90 billion, China spe

less than 20% of the U.S. mili

budget.


The Middle East and Africa have the lowest rates of disclosure on military

spending. Assuming that military spending across the region increased one

percent from its 2010 average, the region would have spent over $120 billion on

military expenditures. As the costs of quelling populations in Egypt, Yemen and

Syria have gone undisclosed, this estimate may be low.

Africa

As warfare continues to plague the resource-rich Congo, U.S. military

engagement in the Horn of Africa has steadily risen and threatens to reach new

heights.

The United States continues to escalate its drone war on the Horn of Africa

with a risingcivilian death toll. In late October 2011, the Washington Post

confirmed that the United States erected a multi-million dollar drone base inArba Minch, Ethiopia. Originally, the drones were stated to be unarmed, but it

is now clear that the U.S. is flying weaponized Reaper drones from the base. An

annex at the airfield will also hold drones with the capacity to employ Hellfire

missiles and satellite-guided bombs.

Kenya has also become a hotspot of U.S. military activity in the horn. Although

U.S. officials denied collaborating with Kenya to invade Somalia, the U.S. had

increased its military aid to Kenya to $700 million by late November 2011.

Military assistance and counter-terrorism support comprised much of this

figure. In total, Kenya has increased its military spending to 2.8% of its GDP in2011, and this number is likely to rise.

Under the guise of increasing further stability to the region of East Africa, the

U.S. has also consistently supported the International Military Education and

Training program in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2010,

approximately $500,000 was awarded to the program, and the same amount will

likely be given to the DRC this year, despite use of child soldiers" amidst an

ever-rising death toll atop the more than 5.4 million killed since 1998.

East/Southeast AsiaThe United States is shifting its military attention to the Pacific, China is

returning to double-digit military increases, and other countries in the region are

boosting military spending as their economies recover from the financial crisis.

The United States is beefing up military commitments with the Philippines and

Indonesia, and expressing concerns about a China threat. It also provided

Taiwan with a recent upgrade of its F-16 fighters.

After dropping to a single-digit increase in military spending in 2010, China

returned to double-digit increases in 2012.
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/International/15-Sep-2011/US-drones-kill-9-civilians-in-Somaliahttp://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-drone-base-in-ethiopia-is-operational/2011/10/27/gIQAznKwMM_story.htmlhttp://www.hrw.org/news/2011/10/04/us-don-t-finance-child-soldiers


7/9

!

In the Philippines, the army and p

have been linked by Human R

Watch to death squads responsibl

hundreds of executions.!!!

President Obama addresses U.S.

Australian troops in Darwin,

2500 more Marines will be deployed

Indian soldiers parade the corpse

female peasant villager killed

Operation Green Hunt. Presi

Obama describes the U.S.-I

relationship as one of the defi

partnerships of the 21st Century.


In May, Beijing announced that it would increase military spending by 12.7%,

bringing its official annual expenditure to just over $90 billion. China has been

putting special emphasis on naval modernization and began trials of its new

aircraft carrier, a refurbished former Soviet ship.

Japan, despite the cost of recovering from last years earthquake/tsunami, ismoving ahead with the purchase of F-35 fighter jets. It is also easing its ban on

arms exports. South Korea continues to increase its military spending and is

rapidly increasing its military exports. It is also building a controversial naval

base on Jeju Island that has sounded alarm bells in China and elsewhere.

Southeast Asian countries are also increasing their military spending, in part as a

response to China. Indonesia, which has the largest military in Southeast Asia,

has announced a 35% increase for 2012. In September, the Philippines added

another $142 million on naval outlays, over and above its increased funds for

2011.

Australia

In 2009, Australias Ministry of Defense issued a White Paper entitled

Defending Australia in the Asia-Pacific Century: Force 2030, which outlines

an aggressive plan for Australian military expansion. The document promises a

significant focus on enhancing our maritime capabilities. By the mid-2030s, we

will have a heavier and more potent maritime force.

Australia has made no effort to conceal that its ramped-up military spending isintended to counter growing Chinese influence in the Pacific. So far Sino-

Australian exchanges have remained strictly verbal, and not all signs point to

confrontation. Exercise Co-operation Spirit, a recent joint Chinese-Australian

military exercise focused on earthquake disaster response, shows that the two

countries have remained generally cordial despite increasing tensions. However,

renewed U.S. initiatives in East Asia in conjunction with Australias apparent

ambition to curb Chinese expansion, such cooperation may be short-lived. And

last November, president Obama announced the deployment of 2,500 Marines

to Australian bases on the Northern coast.

South Asia

In South Asia, already one of the worlds most militarized regions, regional

rivalries continue to drive significant increases in military acquisitions. Alarmed

by the opening of China-friendly ports in Sri Lanka and Pakistan and by

Chinas military spending hikes, the Indian government increased its military

budget some 12% in 2011 to purchase new fighter jets and modernize its navy.

The Indian military is also actively repressing rural indigenous populations as

part of Operation Green Hunt.
http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/10/04/us-don-t-finance-child-soldiershttp://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/28/india-budget-military-idUSSGE71R02Y20110228


8/9

!!!!

Pakistani men stand behind the graof four civilians killed in by a U

drone strike. Drones have strai

U.S.-Pakistan relations, having killed

many as 2,179 civilians.

NATO refused to investigate civi

deaths caused by its bomb

campaign in Libya in 2011. Estim

of civilian casualties of the West

intervention range from a

hundred, to more than 1,100.


In neighboring Pakistan, which has been racked by Islamist militancy and a

power structure perpetually wary of encroachment by India, military spending

also saw a 12% increase in 2011. Analysts suspect the actual increase is greater,

since certain payroll expenses have been reclassified into the civilian budget.

This was the second consecutive double-digit increase in the military budget,

even as development spending was cut in halfover the same period.

However, even as the actual disbursement of military funds remains largely

opaque, the military is encountering increasing scrutiny in the wake of notable

controversies, including the cross-border U.S. raid from Afghanistan that killed

Osama bin Laden and the murder of Pakistani journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad.

And disagreements with the U.S. over drone strikes that kill civilians and the

double murder committed with diplomatic immunity by CIA agent Raymond

Davis may see the flow of U.S. dollars to the Pakistani military slow down as

the government refuses to keep its borders open to U.S. arms shipments totroops in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Indias eastern neighbor Bangladesh, a significant contributor of

forces to international peacekeeping missions, has embarked on a five-year plan

to boost its spending by nearly 50% on new acquisitions. Government officials

cite the countrys outdated military equipment and numerous peacekeeping

commitments, but observers also see an effort to carve out an exclusive

economic zone, which may be rich in offshore oil deposits. The Dhaka-based

GDAMS partner Changemaker has led a campaign to commit the country to

the UN Millennium Development Goals and to implement the UN Programof Action to curb small arms traffic, which flourishes along the Bangladesh-

Burma border.

Western Europe

To a far greater degree than in the U.S., budgetary constraints within Europe

brought on by the global financial crisis have forced a reduction in military

expenditure for a majority of countries. As reported by the Wall Street Journal:

In the wake of the world-wide financial crisis, defense spending byEuropean members of NATO is expected to decline by 2.9%, after

adjusting for inflation, between 2010 and 2015.

The U.K, France, Spain and Denmark all reduced spending in 2011. Countries

that witnessed growth in spending included Norway, Portugal and Italy. While

defense spending in the Netherlands has fallen sharply since 2006 and is

expected to continue on this trend until 2015, the country did witness growth in

2010 to a total of $11billion. Germany also increased military spending in 2010,

though projected defense budgets for the next five years indicate that Germany

will reduce spending by 21%, while the UK is projected to cut their defensebudget by 11% and France by 2%.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/MF09Df02.htmlhttp://articles.janes.com/articles/Janes-Sentinel-Security-Assessment-South-Asia/Defence-budget-Bangladesh.html


9/9

Time to Start Thinki

About Your Action!

In the U.S. April 17th is TDay. If you are organizingevent in the U.S. be sure

link the issues: its y

money! Dont let it go

waste, death and destructi

Start working on your VisDisplay! Use the statistics

this newsletter, and s

tuned for more graphi

factsheets and hando

from the GDAMS tea

Show people in your city j

how much money is goi

into the military, and w

that money could do if sp

otherwise!

Plan your conferenseminar or film screeni

Educate your commun

about the issues and disc

strategies of how to eff

real change!

Keep us in the loop! Be sto let us know what you

planning so we can share

of our ideas online!

Dont Forget

Let us know if youreplanning an event for Apri

17 ([email protected]

share your ideas with

others around the world!

Sign up on our Facebookpage

Follow us on Twitter


Eastern/Central Europe

Defense budgets in East Europe are finally expected to expand again in 2012.

This is in contrast to previous years when many East European military budgets

were slashed in order to cope with the 2008 2009 global economic crisis. For

example, although 2010 East European defense spending totaled $76.7 billion,

it is expected to increase to $161.3 billion by the end of 2015. Estonia reported

it would fulfill its NATO commitments in 2012 by increasing its defense budget

by 21% for a total of 340.6 million Euros. Estonia is the only Baltic State

meeting the 2% of GDP NATO requirement. The Baltic is purportedly lacking

in air defense, which is unsettling for NATO considering Russias defense

budget in 2011 was about $63 billion and expected to rise 3.2% in 2013.

Poland supplied more than half of Central and East Europes military budget

for 2011, spending $17.5 billion. Southern Europe, meanwhile, saw large

military budget cuts. For example, Bulgarias defense budget was reduced by

28%. Despite Bulgarian budget reductions, the defense industry has been crucial

to Bulgarias economy. In 2011 Bulgaria exported $380 million of weapons and

recently signed military accords with Israel for joint defense trainings.

Furthermore, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovakia and Romania are

looking to purchase used Eurofighter planes from Germany in the coming year.

American ambassador to NATO, Ivo Daalder, said that the proposed missile

defense system in East Europe would continue as planned to protect from

threats of Iranian attacks, despite Russian outrage at the installation and the

complete lack of actual Iranian threats to attack Europe. The U.S. missile

shield plans calls for Raytheon SM-3 interceptor sites in Romania and Poland

and the installation of a radar site in Turkey. Therefore, while European voters

have generally been more interested in social and economic stability spending, it

appears that the threat of war with Iran is causing NATO and the US to push

Central and East European member states to ramp up military spending steadily

over the next several years.
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=8862332&c=EUR&s=LANhttp://www.facebook.com/%23!/groups/100733129991763/http://www.twitter.com/globalday412mailto:[email protected]

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GDAMS Newsletter Jan 2012

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