Peace Group Will Protest War Profiteer Northrop Grumman

BALTIMORE PEACE ACTION, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Apt. 206., Baltimore, MD 21212

PRESS RELEASE-FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 2, 2021

CONTACT: Max Obuszewski 443-761-5899 or mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net

                        Richard Ochs 443-846-6638 or rjochs at Comcast dot net

Peace Group Will Protest War Profiteer Northrop Grumman

WHO:   Peace Action is the nation’s largest grassroots peace network with chapters and affiliates in states across the country. It organizes its network to place pressure on Congress and the administration through write-in campaigns, internet actions, grassroots lobbying and direct action. Maryland Peace Action is part of that network, and Baltimore Peace Action is a chapter of the State organization. 

Baltimore Peace Action holds these beliefs. War is not a suitable response to conflict.  Every person has the right to live without the threat from nuclear weapons. The United States government must change its priorities which favor the elite, and provide sufficient resources to end the extreme income inequality prevalent in our society. Most recently, Maryland Peace Action was part of a coalition to commemorate the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

WHAT: Members of Baltimore Peace Action protested the Bush/Cheney invasion of Afghanistan, and predicted that the only victors of this imperial misadventure would be weapons contractors.  Pulling U.S. troops out of Afghanistan was the right decision. However, the weapons contractors still determine U.S. foreign policy. This is undemocratic, and must be challenged.

 It was decided to write a letter to CEO Jackie Warden of Northrop Grumman requesting a meeting.  The group intends to deliver the letter to a Northrop Grumman facility.

WHEN: Friday, September 3, 2021 at 4:30 PM

WHERE: Northrop Grumman, 1580 W. Nursery Road A, Linthicum Heights, MD 21090

WHY: We are pleased that President Biden withdrew U.S. troops from Afghanistan, but his administration requested a military budget larger than Trump’s.  Unless this changes, there will be a continual search for enemies and other countries invaded.

The U.S.-sponsored carnage, death and destruction in Afghanistan cannot be forgotten: “Over 775,000 US troops have fought in Afghanistan since 2001. Of those, 2,448 were killed, along with almost 4,000 US contractors. Approximately 20,589 were wounded in action according to the Defense [sic] Department. Afghan casualty figures are difficult to calculate, since ‘enemy deaths’ that include civilians are not counted. Carl Conetta of the Project on Defense Alternatives estimated that at least 4,200–4,500 civilians were killed by mid-January 2002 as a consequence of the US assault, both directly as casualties of the aerial bombing campaign and indirectly in the humanitarian crisis that ensued. By 2021, the Associated Press were reporting that 47,245 civilians had perished because of the occupation. Afghan civil rights activists gave a higher total, insisting that 100,000 Afghans (many of them non-combatants) had died, and three times that number had been wounded.” [Tariq Ali, August 16, 2021]

  The debacle in Afghanistan occurred because weapons contractors are the tail that wags the dog.  Northrop Grumman plays a deadly game.  It uses campaign contributions to buy legislators, its  lobbyists make sure that the taxpayer trough is wide open for weapons contracts and finally the corporation uses the revolving door between Congress, the Pentagon and Northrop Grumman to promote war.  It is necessary that weapons contractors are made aware of our concerns about democracy and the misuse of tax dollars going towards weapons of war rather than human needs.

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