Prevent Nuclear War/Maryland needs your help in challenging Northrop Grumman
Friends,
Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Apt. 206, Baltimore, MD 21212. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net
Kathy Warden
Chief
Executive Officer and President
Northrop
Grumman Corporation
1580A
West Nursery Road
Linthicum
Heights, MD 21090
January 22, 2024
Dear Ms. Warden:
As peace and justice activists, we
are coming together around the country on January 22, that day in 2021 the United Nations Treaty
on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) entered into force. Since then, it
has been signed by 93 nations and ratified by 70.
Prevent Nuclear War/Maryland activists have celebrated the Treaty since it opened for signature at the United Nations in New York on 20 September 2017. It is appropriate that Maryland activists will gather outside Northrop Grumman, 1580A West Nursery Road, Linthicum, Maryland, on January 22 at 4 PM to leaflet workers. Your corporation is the third largest weapons contractor in the world taking in $32 billion in 2022 for military hardware.
According to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, the $43.7 billion spent by the U.S. on nuclear weapons in 2022 means that, every minute, $83,143 was diverted from healthcare, housing, and other needs in our country! And the leading nuclear weapons contractor in the U.S., as you well know, is Northrop Grumman which in September 2020 was selected by the U.S. Air Force to receive a $13.3 billion contract for the development of the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent [sic] program.
Another grave concern of our group is the role you are playing in the Gaza Strip in the ongoing attack on noncombatants, which South Africa has described as genocide. The watchdog site Investigate indicates that your company “supplies the Israeli military with a wide variety of weapons, including various missile systems.” Our leaflet explains that producing nuclear weapons is a theft from the poor, and that any military contractor supplying weapons to Israel will be complicit in the war crimes being committed in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Your company’s technologies are also integrated into Israel’s main weapon systems, including its fighter jets, missile ships, and trainer aircraft. Northrop Grumman has provided Israel weapons for decades and, says Investigate, “these weapons have repeatedly been used against Palestinian civilians, resulting in numerous casualties as well as mass destruction of homes and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, and water and electric systems.” This notorious list of weaponry you have supplied to Israel also includes Sa'ar 5 warships, which have participated in the assault on Gaza. Unfortunately, the Biden administration has supported the brutal Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip.
Pope
Francis in the annual Christmas message condemned war and weaponry provided by
the global arms industry. This year’s message also included condemnation of the
ongoing slaughter in the Gaza Strip, as he mourned the children killed, which
he called the "little Jesuses of today."
We are asking you to end your addiction to weapons contracts, and instead participate in a conversion project to instead develop humanitarian and sustainable products. For example, we applaud the corporation for its success in the role played in developing and maintaining the James Webb Telescope project. Currently, though, it seems 87% of your business are arms sales.
We have been informed that a Northrop Grumman employee will accept our letter and deliver it to your desk. We would appreciate if we could meet with you or one of your subordinates as soon as possible to discuss the issues raised in the letter. We look forward to your response.
In peace,
Kathy Warden, CEO [Kathy.Warden@ngc.com] and Northrop Grumman workers from Prevent Nuclear War/Maryland
On January 22, 2024 we are at Northrop Grumman, 1580A West Nursery Road, Linthicum, Maryland, at 4 PM to leaflet workers. On January 22, 2021, the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons entered into force. According to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, the $43.7 billion spent by the U.S. on nuclear weapons in 2022 means that, every minute, $83,143 was diverted from healthcare, housing, and other needs in our country! And the leading nuclear weapons contractor in the U.S. is Northrop Grumman which in September 2020 was selected by the U.S. Air Force under a $13.3 billion contract awarded for the development of the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent [sic] program.
The
watchdog site Investigate indicates that Northrop Grumman “supplies the
Israeli military with a wide variety of weapons, including various missile
systems.” The leaflet will explain that producing nuclear
weapons is a theft from the poor, and that any military contractor supplying
weapons to Israel will be complicit in the war crimes being committed in the
Gaza Strip and the West Bank. As part of the visit to Northrop Grumman, a
letter will be delivered to Kathy Warden, CEO.
Prevent
Nuclear War/Maryland urges the CEO and the workers to consider a conversion
project for Northrop Grumman to nevermore seek weapons contracts and instead
manufacture and develop humanitarian projects.
For example, we applaud the corporation for its success in the role played
in developing and maintaining the James Webb Telescope project. We
welcome a response at mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net.
Donations can be sent
to Max Obuszewski, Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Apt. 206,
Baltimore, MD 21212. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at]
comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their
lives." Eugene Victor Debs
No comments:
Post a Comment