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8/3/2019 U.S. Organizer's Packet 2012
1/9
GlobalDayofActiononMilitarySpending
GDAMS2.0
OrganizersPacket
8/3/2019 U.S. Organizer's Packet 2012
2/9
ReadThisFirst.
WelcometoGDAMS2.0,oursecondGlobalDayofActiononMilitarySpendingonApril17,2012.Were
veryexcitedthatyoujoiningpeopleallovertheworldtoprotestthemind-bogglingamountofmoney
thatwerewastingonmilitaryspending.In2010,theworldspentover$1.6trilliononpreparingforand
fightingwars,andwereexpectingthatfiguretorisein2011aswell.Thatswhywerecallingonpeople
everywheretoOccupytheMilitary-IndustrialComplexonApril17.
Thanks to you, were beginning finally to see change. Some countries have actually reduced their
militarybudgets,andtheresnowbipartisansupportintheUnitedStates,theworldsleadingspender,
tocutbackonthemilitary.Wehave tomakesurethatthistrendcontinuessothatwecansee real,
seriousreductions.IftheydonthearfromusandhearfromALOTofusgovernmentleaderswillgo
backtoincreasingmilitaryspendingwhentheeconomyimprovesortheythinkwerenolongerpaying
attention.
Thisorganizerspacketwilltakeyoustep-by-stepthroughtheprocessoforganizinganeventforour
GlobalDay.WeaskyoutodotwothingsonApril17:
1) Highlightlastyearsfigureforglobalmilitaryspending,whichtheStockholmInternationalPeaceResearchInstitutewillreleaseonApril17.Wellbeabletosharethisfigurewithyouoneweek
beforetherelease.
2) Dosomethingpublicandvisibleandeyecatching.Wewanttomaximizemediacoverageofoureventsworldwide.
Beyond that, the focusof your action isup toyou.You can buildyoureventaround the amount ofmoneyyourgovernmentisspendingortherelationshipbetweenthehugeamountspentonthemilitary
and the penniesdevoted todevelopment.You can focuson militarybasesor armsexports.Youcan
protestexistingwarsorconflictsthatthreatentobreakout.Wewantthisdaytobeanopportunityfor
youtoraiseawarenessabouttheissuesthatmattertoyou.
Intheorganizerspacket,youllfind:
1) Alettertosendouttoyournetworkstoexpandyouraction2) FactSheetson:
a. InternationalMilitaryExpenditureb. U.S.BudgetControlvs.MilitarySpendingc. The2012NationalDefenseAuthorizationActd. Tax-DodgingWarProfiteers
3) ExamplesfromGDAMS2011tohelpyouplanyouractionforGDAMS2.0
OnApril 17,youwillbe joining with thousands and thousands ofpeople around the worldwho are
sayingNOtothemilitary-industrialcomplexandYEStoapeacefulandprosperousplanet.
8/3/2019 U.S. Organizer's Packet 2012
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LetterforyourNetworks
[Location,Date]
Dear____________,
In2010,globalmilitaryspendingsurgedtoanall-timehighofUS$1.63trillion.TheUnitedStatewas
responsiblefornearlyhalfthatamount,spending$698billion.
Giventhenumerouscrisesfacingtheplanet--economic,environmental,health,diplomatic--itis
imperativethatwecreateaglobalmovementtoshiftthismoneytohumanneeds.Weknowthatthere
arethousandsoforganizationsandmillionsofindividualswhosupportthispointofview.Weneednow
tobeginaseriousmobilizingefforttomakeitvisible.
Aspartofthiscampaign,weareorganizinganeventaspartoftheGlobalDayofActiononMilitary
SpendingforApril17.Wewillgatherin[place,time],wherewewill[describeaction].Onthisday,
peopleallovertheworldwilljointogetherinjointactionstofocuspublic,political,andmediaattention
onthecostsofmilitaryspendingandtheneedfornewpriorities.Sucheventswillhelpustobuildthe
internationalnetworkaroundthisissue.
PleasejoinusonApril17sothatwecanmakeourvoicesheard,herein[country]andglobally.
Sincerely,
LocalorganizerfortheGlobalDayofActiononMilitarySpending
8/3/2019 U.S. Organizer's Packet 2012
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8/3/2019 U.S. Organizer's Packet 2012
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BudgetCutsvs.theMilitaryIndustrialComplex
Obamasspeechestoutingdecreasesinmilitaryspendingdonotreflectanyrealcuts.Atleastnotnow.
TheBudgetControlAct
InhisspeechatthePentagonon January5th,Obamacitedthe
Budget Control Act, which requires a decrease in federal
spending. He allayed the militarys fears that cutting the
budgetwouldrequirecutstomilitaryspending:
[over] the past10yearsour defensebudget grewatan
extraordinarypace.Overthenext10years,thegrowthinthe
defensebudgetwillslow,butthefactofthematteristhis:It
willstillgrow.Infact,thedefensebudgetwillstillbelarger
thanitwastowardtheendoftheBushadministration.
Americasmilitaryspendingwillnotbecuttoanydegreeofrealsignificance,butwillsimplygrowata
slowerpace.
FundingfortheDefenseDepartmentwillbedecreasedonlyinspecificareassuchas:
14% drawdown in troops from the armed forces,which result fromAmericasde-escalation in military
involvementinIraqandAfghanistan.
In responseto the troopdeductions, inAugust 2011the Wartime Contracting Commission released a
report stating that despite the decrease in troops,
there are now more than 260,000 private military
contractorsinIraqandAfghanistan.
So as the military replaces soldiers with private
contractors and the White House claims its extending
budget cuts to the bloated Military-Industrial Complex,
onceagainthetruthisthatworkingpeoplewhopaytheir
taxes are stuck with the bill for the biggest military on
earth, with a budget slarger than the next seventeen
countriescombined.
AccordingtotheFiscalTimes,Ifdefensecutsarelimited
to $489 billion.the administration will have to impose
majornewcutsindomesticprograms,toavertthemuch
largercutsinthePentagonbudget.
Source:http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2012/02/14/the-proposed-2013-
defense-budget-shaving-the-balloon/
8/3/2019 U.S. Organizer's Packet 2012
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The2012NationalDefenseAuthorizationAct:
WhatSpendingCuts?
PresidentObamasignedthe2012NationalDefenseAuthorizationAct(NDAA)attheendof2011.While
CivilRightsgroupsareoutragedattheActslegalizationofindefinitedetentionwithouttrialofcitizensandnon-citizensalike,thedefenseindustryisupinarmsbecauseObamaclaimedtheActwouldreduce
themilitarybudget.Infact,hisclaimwasnotentirelytrue:militaryspendingissettoincreaseoverthe
nextdecade.
Table:PentagonBaseBudgetSpendingPlansCompared2012BudgetVersus2013,in$billions
Year 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
FY-2012Request 553.0 570.7 586.4 598.2 610.6 621.6 632.8 644.1 655.7 667.5
FY-2013Request 527.6 525.4 533.6 545.9 555.9 567.3 579.3 592.4 605.4 617.9 634.2
The2013Pentagonbasebudgetrequestwas$525.4billion,whichisabout1%lessthanthebasebudgetfor 2012. The Overseas Contingency request for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistandecreased from
$115.1billionto$88.5billionforacombinedmilitarybudgetof$613.9billion.
ThistotaldoesntreflecttheDepartmentofEnergys(DOE)nuclearweaponsprogramsorotherdefense
programs.TheDOErequested$17.7billionfornuclearweaponsactivitiesand$7.2billionforadditional
defenserelatedactivities.Thisbringsthetotalupto$639billion.Theamountis$30.7billionlessthan
thepreviousyear,buthigherthanspendingattheheightoftheColdWar.
AftertheKoreanWarended,thedefensebudgetdroppedtwenty
percent. After both the War in Vietnam and the Cold War itplummetedbythirtypercent.After the Iraqwarhas supposedly
ended,theUSdefensebudgetcontinuesathistorichighs!
OnJanuary 12th, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta claimed 7,000
troops would be removed from Europe, and conventional
weaponsprogramswouldalsofacecuts.
As Panetta complained about dwindling ship and plane stocks, he failed to mention that the trend
towardincreasedtechnologicalcapabilitieshasreducedtheneedforlessefficientshipsandplanesand
thatthesenumbershavebeendecliningforseveralyears.
WashingtonwantstoselltheideathatthePentagonfacesthesamefiscalausterityassocialprograms,
which is just plain false. OnApril17th, wevegot tosend the message to the government and their
friends in the Military Industrial Complex that we dont buy their propaganda. We know military
spendingcutswhenweseethem.Whatneedtochangearethegovernmentspriorities: theU.S.isnot
broke,butthatdoesntmeanwedontneedtofixit.
8/3/2019 U.S. Organizer's Packet 2012
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However, in return, GE received another long-term contract to
research alternatives for the second engine, already widelyconsideredunnecessary.In2010,GECEOJeffreyImmelttookhome
$15 million, but the company paid an astounding negative 64.1
percent corporate tax rate, receiving over $3 billion from the IRS.
Astoundingly,Immeltwastappedin2011toheadPresidentObamas
advisorycouncilonjobs,evenasGErelocatedthousandsofU.S.jobs
toChinathatyear.
Rakinginwellover$50billioninU.S.governmentcontractsin2010-2011,theBethesda,Maryland-basedLockheed
Martinremainsagiantinmilitarycontracting.Butdeeppocketsdontcomecheap.In2011,theyearofourfirstGloba
DayofActiononMilitarySpending,Lockheedanditssubsidiariesshelledoutover$15milliononlobbyists.Sofarin
2012,thecompanysemployeePAChasdishedatnearly$1milliondirectlytothecampaignsofmembersofCongress,
withover60percentgoingtocongressionalRepublicans.
TheProjectonGovernmentOversightestimatesthatLockheedhashadtopayover$590millioninvariouspenalties
forfraud,misconduct,andworkerabuseovertheyears.Thecompanyhasapparentlyalso cooperatedwithlobbyists
for the repressive Gulf monarchyof Bahrain, where Lockheedhas done hundredsofmillionsof dollars worthof
businessovertheyears.
Although currently implementing a five
year, $75-million contract with the U.S
Army among other lucrative deals
Honeywell hasnt let its considerableearnings(over$33billionin2010)driveup
itstaxbill.Thankstoitsfivesubsidiariesin
offshoretaxhavens,theNewJersey-based
contractor actually received $471 millio
backfromtheIRSin2010.
One of the most notorious tax dodgers in the
world, General Electric has been making
lemonade out of lemons for decades. Its
contract to construct the controversial (and
unnecessary)secondenginefortheF-35Joint
StrikeFighterwascancelledin2011shortlyafter
GDAMS,butnotbefore$3billionwassunkonit.
Boeing, the worlds leading aircraft manufacturer, is also a
contracting giant. After the company secured billions of dollars
worthofnew government contracts in2010-2011, Boeingsvice
president appeared before Congress in 2011 to lobby against
future defense cuts. And even though the company pulled in
nearly $10billion inprofits from2008-2010,Boeing nonetheless
took$178millionbackfromtheIRSduringthatsameperiod.
INSULTTOINJURY
Itsbadenoughthatbillionsofdollarsarefunneled away from social priorities a
home to U.S. military contractors. Bu
worsestill,accordingtoaU.S.governmen
report, U.S. taxpayers lost more than $
trillion to contractor fraud in the firs
decade ofthe2000s.Its timetoredirec
our tax dollars away from fraudsters, ta
dodgers, and war contractorsand bac
tonationbuildingathome.
GlobalDayofActiononMilitarySpending
MILITARYCONTRACTORRAPSHEETFourmilitarycontractorswhotakeyourtaxmoneybutdodge
theirownobligations.
8/3/2019 U.S. Organizer's Packet 2012
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Rallies,DisplaysandDemonstrations
Athens, Greece In the iconic Syntagma Square in front of the Greek Parliament,
protestors set up a visual display showing world military spending, and comparing
thosefigureswiththeestimatedcoststoachievetheMillenniumDevelopmentGoals.
Fairfield, California At Travis Air Force Base, activists from Code Pink,
VeteransforPeace,theSanFranciscoAFSCandMilitaryFamiliesSpeakOut
delivered theirmessagedirectly tomembersoftheU.S.Air Forceas they
commutedtowork.Theydisplayedbannersoutsidethebasesentranceand
handedoutleafletswithinformationonmilitarywaste,andonalternatives
tomilitaryspending.
Augusta,Maine 400activistsfromVeteransforPeace,theUnionof
MaineVisualArtistsandRagingGranniesfilledthestatehousewherea
localmayor spokeoutagainst forced localbudgetcutsonaccountof
the soaring costs of war that leave cities and towns underfunded.
Anothertheme wasunity:Itstimeweshowedthelinksbetweenall
theissuesandputoutanalternativesustainablevisionforthefuture.
Seoul,SouthKoreaPeaceactivistssetupadisplayandheldarallyfeaturingpro-
peaceparliamentariansoutsidetheParliamentbuilding.Theycalledforanendto
militarization,anda morepeace-orientedforeignpolicytowardsothercountries
intheregion.
Seminars,ConferencesandFilmScreenings
London,UK The Movement for the Abolition of War brought dozens of
people togetherfor a2hour public meetingentitledWelfare ofWarfare
withpresentersfromgroupssuchasScientistsforGlobalResponsibility,War
onWantandUnitingforPeace.
Dadabari Kota, India The Rural Development and Youth Training Institute
invitedbudgetspecialiststodiscussadvocacyissuesanddevelopmentneedswith
ruralvillagers.
VirtualAdvocacy
ReligionsforPeaceincorporatedGDAMSintotheircampaigntopetitiontheUNSecurityCouncilseeking
a10%reductioninmilitaryspendingamongmemberstates.
Britains Campaign Against the Arms Trade launched a Twitter Campaign, asking followers to tweet
alternativestomilitaryspendingtotheTreasuryDepartment.
GDAMS2011:TheWorldSays
NOToExcessiveMilitary
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DontHavetheTime/ResourcestoMountaBigAction?
DontWorry!CheckouttheseEasyActions!
1) Findahigh-trafficspotinyourcity,gatheracoupleofpeopleandhandoutinformativetax-dayflyers:
This one comes from the War Resisters League,
anditshowswhereyourtaxdollarsreallygo:
2) Create a graphic representation and set it upsomewherewheremanypeoplewillseeit.Usethe
pie chart from the War-Resisters League, or use
this chart based on a recent study from the
Political Economy Research Institute at the
University of Massachusetts, Amherst. It shows
that we dont need the military to provide jobs,wed be much better off using that money on
greenjobs,healthcareandeducation!
3) GetyourmayortosignontoCodePinks Conference of Mayors Anti-
War Resolution, available at:
http://codepink.org/article.php?id=
5774
4) Occupy the Military IndustrialComplexinyourarea!Payavisitto
defensecontractors,militarybases,or lobbyists with offices in your
area.Askthemwhytheydeserveto
profit off our taxdollarsand catch
themontape!
5) AskUs!EmailGDAMSorganizerNoahGimbelattheInstituteforPolicyStudies:[email protected]