Friends,
Many of you have signed on to the letter to the CEO of Northrop Grumman. If others want to sign on, please let me know ASAP. As part of the War Industries Resistance Network, members of Prevent Nuclear War/Maryland and Maryland Peace Action will a protest at Northrop Grumman on Earth Day at 3 PM. We hope to deliver the letter during the protest. Kagiso, Max
Kathy Warden
Chief Executive Officer and President,
Northrop Grumman Corporation
1580 W. Nursery Road A
Linthicum Heights, MD 21090
April 22,
2022
Dear Ms. Warden:
As peace and justice activists, we
recognize that Northrop Grumman and other military contractors have a policy of
hiring former senior military officials, making large campaign contributions,
and spending even more on lobbyists for which in 2019, N-G outspent all
of its nuclear defense industry competitors. Your lobbyists helped kill a
bill that would have studied whether we needed the Ground Based Strategic
Deterrent, a very expensive replacement of the Minuteman missile. Despite a
lifetime cost of ¼ of a trillion dollars (and rising) the launch on
warning GBSD is just as likely as the Minuteman to provoke an accidental
nuclear war, both of which are “uniquely destabilizing.” See https://uploads.fas.org/2021/02/GBSD-Fact-Sheet-Program-Flaws.pdf.
Former Secretary of Defense [sic] William Perry called land-based
missiles some of the most dangerous weapons in the world, and that the greatest
risk was not a Russian “bolt” but a US “blunder:” https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/2020-06/rethinking-land-based-nuclear-missiles.pdf.
President
Joe Biden is requesting $813 billion for the Pentagon and military-related
programs for the coming fiscal year, an amount that has a good
chance of climbing even higher. This proposal includes $50.9 billion in
nuclear weapons spending, which includes investment in the GBSD. The larger the military budget, the more fossil fuel
emissions. The Pentagon is the single biggest source of carbon pollution
on earth. So every tax dollar that is wasted on weapons, including
nuclear, is a tax dollar which could have been used to mitigate climate chaos
or to improve the nation’s public health.
We spend more on nuclear weapons than all other nations combined. Meanwhile we have more deaths from COVID-19 than any other nation.
We are writing to you on Earth Day, as our planet is facing a climate chaos crisis, and unless serious action is taken by all of us, Mother Earth is doomed. A recent United Nations report makes absolutely clear that we are living at a time of Code Red on climate. Unfortunately, Northrop Grumman and other military contractors are on the wrong side of the crisis. Your profits are garnered by wars and threats of war. War is not green.
President Putin’s threat to use nuclear weapons in the invasion of Ukraine has created the most tense nuclear weapons crisis since 1962 when Russia installed nuclear weapons in Cuba. Instead of cuts in nuclear arsenal budget, the Administration has proposed is a $7.7 billion increase from last year’s proposed budget including $5 billion for the B 21 long range strike bomber made by Northrop Grumman, which is also capable of deploying nuclear and conventional weapons.
Of course, nuclear weapons and climate chaos are existential threats to Mother Earth. We are asking you to end your addiction to weapons contracts, and instead start to develop humanitarian and sustainable products.
On June 10, 1963 President John Kennedy delivered his “Peace Speech” at American University, calling for peaceful co-existence with the Soviet Union: “What kind of peace do I mean and what kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace — the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living — the kind of peace that enables… [people] and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children — not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women — not merely peace in our time but peace in all time.” In this time of crisis, we cannot afford to ignore Kennedy’s call for peace.
We would appreciate if we could meet with you or one of your subordinates as soon as possible. We would request that Northrop Grumman get out of the weapons business and concentrate on humanitarian products. We ask you to discontinue your out-sized lobbying efforts, campaign contributions and the use of the revolving door.
Every year, support for the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons grows. Currently there are 60 nations that have ratified it. According to those nations, the work that you are doing is illegal as well as immoral. As more nations ratify, N-G will be stigmatized for this work. It could eventually affect your bottom line. Already New York City has voted to divest from nuclear weapons: https://www.pressenza.com/2021/12/new-york-city-council-votes-for-nuclear-weapons-divestment-reaffirms-nyc-as-nuclear-weapon-free-zone-and-calls-on-us-to-sign-nuclear-ban-treaty/
Work with us on making this a better country by engaging in efforts to secure
our democracy. Winning contracts through buying influence on dangerous
weapons systems puts the United States and the whole planet at risk. Instead,
N-G technical expertise could be devoted to solving the mysteries of the
universe for peaceful purposes not for war.
We look forward to your response.
In peace,
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