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Redundant Space Command Launched

Nukewatch Quarterly Fall 2019

President Trump announced Aug. 29, the establishment of a “Space Command” and named its first commander, Air Force Gen. Jay Raymond. Trump called it “the 11th combatant command” within the US military and said, “Space Com’ will boldly deter aggression.” The further militarization of NASA “will ensure that America’s dominance in space is never questioned and never threatened…”  The President claimed that Space Command  “will soon be followed by the establishment of the US Space Force as the 6th branch of the US Armed Forces.” But Congress has not yet approved a Space Force, and some have suggested that the program should be a section of the Department of the Air Force. Former Secretary of Defense James Mattis saw plans for a Space Force “as potentially redundant” and a waste of tax dollars, PBS News Hour reported. Trump’s choice of Gen. Raymond as the program’s chief proves this point. Raymond is currently the head of the Air Force Space Command, not to be confused with US Space Force or US Space Command. —Vanity Fair, Aug. 30; Washington Post, Aug. 29, 2019

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Trial of Kings Bay Plowshares 7 Started in Georgia

Illustration by Chrissy Nesbitt of supporters watching a closed-circuit television from a courtroom used for the overflow crowd of supporters during the first day of the trial of the Kings Bay Plowshares 7. Little else than pen and paper are allowed in the courthouse.

BRUNSWICK, Georgia — The Kings Bay Plowshares 7 federal court trial got started here, Monday Sept. 21, with the judge reading out the four charges against the seven defendants and then she began the tedious process of jury selection. The defendants in the nuclear weapons protest case are charged with three felonies and misdemeanor trespass for their April 4, 2018 protest conducted on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

That day, the seven snuck into the Kings Bay Georgia Navy Trident submarine base and conducted a nonviolent, symbolic disarmament action modeled after roughly 100 previous “Plowshares” actions in the US and Europe. The dramatic actions take their name from the original “Plowshares Eight” of 1980, when eight radical Christian pacifists hammered and poured their blood on nuclear weapons components in a GE plant in Pennsylvania.

With between 75 and 100 supporters and family members crowding the over-flow room equipped with a television view of the proceedings, and vigiling on the sidewalk outside the courthouse, Federal District Judge Lisa Wood slogged methodically through the questioning of the large jury pool. Ostensibly trying to weed out bias and prejudice against the opposing parties in the case, the otherwise boring monotony was broken by a moment of striking revelation.

Judge Wood was explaining the “presumption of innocence” that is granted to defendants in criminal trials. Judge Wood said that the burden of proving guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt” is on the government alone. Then the judge asked, “Does anyone here believe the defendants are guilty?”

An eye-popping nine prospective jurors raised their hands and said “yes.” This caused an audible gasp among the observers in the over-flow TV room. In following up, the judge asked how many had seen or read anything about the case. Seven of the nine had heard of the case, but two thought the defendants were guilty without knowing anything of the case beyond the government’s allegations. It was Vice President Dick Cheney who said “they wouldn’t be suspects if they weren’t guilty.”

Out of about 78 prospective jurors, a total of 24 answered they had worked on the Kings Bay Navy base themselves or had relatives who worked there. None admitted to having a “strong opinion about nuclear weapons,” and none answered that they had “any moral or philosophical opposition to nuclear weapons.”

By late afternoon 12 jurors and 12 alternates were chosen, and opening statements were made by the assistant US District Attorney Carl Kanoke for the government, and by attorney Bill Quigley representing Elizabeth McAlister, and by Clare Grady representing herself. The other five defendants will present their opening statements after the government case has been finished and just before they present their defense case.

Mr. Kanoke said he’d bring several witnesses from the security services who arrested and detained the defendants. He pointed out that two of the protesters wore GoPro video cameras and recorded 75 minutes of their go-in action, and said that the jury would get to watch the video themselves. He said it would be a simple, straightforward case to prove and that they would find all seven guilty.

Mr. Quigley said in his opening that the defendants won’t deny that they did what was on the video tape but that they were enacting their religious faith in Christian nonviolence. Quigley said in part that the seven used hammers to symbolically carry out the Biblical prophecy to “turn swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks.” The seven take the Bible and the Commandments very seriously, he said, particularly the rule against killing, while the nuclear weapons present at Kings Bay Naval Base have the explosive force of 3,600 Hiroshima events.  He reminded the jury that a manager of security at the base had said publicly that the defendants threatened no one.

Clare Grady spoke briefly about her work caring for the elderly. Activist Ralph Hutchison reports that “Clare spoke of the responsibility to do justice—‘only you can render a verdict,’ she told the jury. The most important virtue you bring to this is being human. ‘Our actions were not criminal,’ she said. ‘We’re saying we were there and we did this. It was a nonviolent, symbolic act of disarmament. The evidence will show that we acted to uphold the law.’”

The trial continues Tuesday with the prosecution’s case, and is expected to last through Friday.

The seven Kings Bay Plowshares defendants are Elizabeth McAlister, 79, of Jonah House, Baltimore; Fr. Steve Kelly, 69, of the Bay Area, California; Carmen Trotta, 55, of the New York Catholic Worker; Clare Grady, 59, of the Ithaca Catholic Worker; Martha Hennessy, 62, of the New York Catholic Worker; Mark Colville, 55, of the Amistad Catholic Worker, New Haven, Connecticut; and Patrick O’Neill, 61, of the Charlie Mulholland Catholic Worker, Garner, North Carolina.

– John LaForge, for Nukewatch

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Congressional Bills Challenge US Nuclear War Systems, Plans and Policies

Nukewatch Quarterly Summer 2019

Tri-Valley CAREs in California reports that Congressional representatives can step up to seven proposed bills that would reduce, restrict and even abolish US nuclear weapons systems. The legislative “sparks must be fanned by grassroots action in order to grow into full-fledged policy change” and progress toward nuclear disarmament.” Using the capitol switchboard (202) 224-3121, let your lawmakers know you want them to sign on. To see the full text of the bills, go to Congress.gov and type in the bill number. The bills in need of co-sponsors and vocal support include:

  • H.R. 1086, the Hold the LYNE (low-yield nuclear explosive) Act of 2019, would prohibit production and positioning of a “more usable,” submarine-launched nuclear warhead (the W76-2). Senate tandem bill is S. 401.
  • H.R. 669, Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2019, would forbid the president from using a nuclear weapons attack without a Congressional declaration of war. Senate tandem bill is S. 200.
  • H.R. 921, to “Establish the Policy of No First Use of Nuclear Weapons,” states simply: “It is the policy of the United States to not use nuclear weapons first.” Senate tandem bill is S. 272.
  • H.Res. 302, is a resolution (weaker than a H.R. law) “embracing the goals and provision of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons,” renounces first-use of nuclear weapons, ends the one-person/presidential power to use nuclear weapon attacks, removes US nuclear weapons from alert status, and cancels plans for replacement of the nuclear weapons complex. No tandem resolution in Senate. —For more info on the bills visit <trivalleycares.org>

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Is the US Military A Rape Culture?

Nukewatch Quarterly Summer 2019

There were 20,500 instances of sexual assault in the US military in 2018, and a 50% increase in assaults against women in uniform since 2016, the Pentagon reports. One of two annual reports on Sexual Assault in the Military noted a 38% overall increase in what it called “unwanted sexual contact” since the 2016 survey, and it found that women endure 63% of the assaults, although they make up only 20% of military personnel. One in 16 women reported being sexually assaulted, compared to one in 100 men. The 2019 survey interviewed 100,000 active-duty men and women in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. The Marine Corps had a far higher rate of assaults on women, with one in 10 reporting assault, two times the rate in the Air Force and the Army. In April 2018, Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Kurt Stein was suspended for publicly joking about sexual harassment at his command, calling allegations “fake news.” Representative Jackie Speier, D-Calif. told the New York Times, “We’ve thrown about $200 million at this problem for eight years, and this report suggests it’s not working.” The other report surveyed the military’s officer training academies, and found likewise that sexual assaults rose by 50% over all since 2016. In Minnesota last April, a first-ever tally of sexual assault in the state’s 13,200-strong National Guard found 90 instances, 94% of which targeted women who make up 20% of the Guard.

—New York Times, May 3 & 17, and Minneapolis StarTribune, April 26, 2019; USA Today, April 12, 2018

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What’s NATO Ever Done?

Nuclear-Armed Terrorist Organization creates enemies

In April 2019, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will celebrate its 70th anniversary in Washington, D.C.* In view of the alliance’s war zone atrocities, attacks on civilians, civilian objects, and abuse of prisoners, anti-war demonstrations will greet what critics have dubbed this “Nuclear-Armed Terrorist Organization.”

NATO’s crimes, including the desecration and mutilation of corpses,   bombing of allied troops, torture of prisoners, and drone strikes on civilians, have fueled the recruitment of militants and even terrorists in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, and Somalia.

On March 20, 2012, Pakistani lawmakers demanded an end to all NATO/CIA drone strikes against their territory. Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Jalil Jilani said on April 26, 2012, “We consider drones illegal, counter-productive and accordingly, unacceptable.”

On May 31, 2011, former Afghan President Hamid Karzai gave what he called his “last” warning against NATO’s bombing of Afghani homes saying, “If they continue their attacks on our houses … history shows what Afghans do with trespassers and with occupiers.”

While bombing Libya in March 2011, NATO refused to aid a group of 72 migrants adrift in the Mediterranean. Only nine people on board survived. The refusal was condemned as “criminal” by the Council of Europe.

In a Feb. 12, 2010 atrocity kept secret until March 13, U.S. Special Forces commandos killed a teenage girl, a pregnant mother of 10, a pregnant mother of six, a police officer and his brother, and are accused of trying to cover-up the killings by digging bullets out of the victims’ bodies, washing the wounds with alcohol and lying to superior officers.

NATO jets bombed and rocketed an allied Pakistani military base for two hours Nov. 26, 2011, killing 26 Pakistani soldiers and wounding dozens more. NATO has refused to apologize.

On April 12, 1999 during NATO’s Operation Allied Force, a U.S.-piloted F-15E attacked the railway bridge over the Juzna Morava River with two precision laser-guided AGM-130 missiles, both of which hit a five-car civilian passenger train that was crossing the bridge killing between 20 and 60 people. Amnesty International said the attack should have been stopped when the train was hit, and that the second bombing was a war crime.

On April 23, 1999, again during the unlawful war on Yugoslavia, NATO bombed the headquarters of Radio Televisija Srbije, the state-owned broadcasting system in Belgrade, destroying the building. Sixteen civilian employees were killed and 16 wounded. Amnesty International said the NATO bombing  was a war crime, and Noam Chomsky called it an act of terrorism.

Headlines Record NATO Crimes

NATO’s crimes the world over have made these headlines:

  1. “U.S. Airstrike Said to Kill at Least 10 Afghan Civilians,” New York Times, Feb. 11, 2019
  2. “American Airstrikes Kill Civilians, Including Children, Afghans Charge,” New York Times, Jan. 26, 2019
  3. “Did Airstrike Kill Taliban Mastermind or Civilians,” New York Times, Jan. 24, 2019
  4. “C.I.A.-Led Afghan Forces Leave Grim Trail of Abuse: Brutal Acts Stoke Residents’ Anger and Inspire Accusations of War Crimes,” New York Times, Dec. 31, 2018
  5. “At Least a Dozen Civilians Killed in Afghan and U.S. Operation,” New York Times, Nov. 28, 2018
  6. “Navy SEAL is Accused of Bloodthirsty Killings,” New York Times, Nov. 16, 2018
  7. “Report: 3,301 civilians killed in U.S.-led strikes in Syria since 2014,” Duluth News Tribune, Sept. 24, 2018
  8. “Study: U.S. killed 500 civilians,” Minneapolis (Mpls.) StarTribune, June 3, 2018
  9. “‘Killed, Shovel in Hand’: Afghan Farmers are the Latest Victims of a Chaotic War,” New York Times, March 19, 2018
  10. “More Afghan Civilians are Victims of Targeted Attacks, UN Says,” New York Times, Feb. 16, 2018
  11. “American Airstrikes in Afghanistan Stir Debate Over Who Was Killed,” New York Times, Nov. 11, 2017
  12. “U.S. Airstrikes kill at least 13 civilians,” Mpls. StarTribune, Nov. 5, 2017
  13. “Airstrike Kills at Least 25 at Street Market in Yemen,” New York Times, Nov. 2, 2017
  14. “11 Afghans Killed in U.S. Airstrike,” New York Times, Aug. 31, 2017
  15. “3 Children Among Dead in a Raid In Somalia,” New York Times, Aug. 26, 2017
  16. “Afghans Say U.S. Strike Hit Civilians,” New York Times, Aug. 12, 2017
  17. “Civilian deaths from U.S.-led strikes on ISIS surge under Trump administration” [to an estimated 3,800], Guardian, June 6, 2017
  18. “Civilian deaths a windfall for militants’ propaganda,” Mpls. StarTribune, April 2, 2017
  19. “U.S. Airstrike ‘Probably Had a Role’ in Mosul Civilian Deaths, Commander Concedes,” New York Times, March 29, 2017
  20. “U.S. strike reportedly killed 30 Syrians,” New York Times/Mpls. StarTribune, Mar. 23, 2017
  21. “U.S. military says fight with Taliban killed 33 civilians,” Mpls. StarTribune, Jan. 13, 2017
  22. “U.S.-led strikes in Iraq, Syria have killed at least 188 civilians, military says,” Duluth News Tribune, Jan. 3, 2017
  23. “U.S. admits its airstrikes likely killed Afghan civilians,” Washington Post/Mpls. StarTribune, Nov. 6, 2016
  24. “U.S. Drones Hit Civilians, U.N. Says,” New York Times, Sept. 30, 2016
  25. “Residents Say U.S. Strike Killed Civilians,” Wall Street Journal, Sept. 29, 2016
  26. “Pentagon: Errors led to hospital strike,” New York Times, & Mpls. StarTribune, May 1, 2016
  27. “A Moral Debt for Bombing a Hospital,” editorial, New York Times, April 30, 2016
  28. “Airstrike on Afghan hospital stirs fury,” New York Times/Mpls. StarTribune; and “19 die in apparent U.S. airstrike on Afghan hospital,” Los Angeles Times, Oct. 4, 2015
  29. “U.S. soldier pleads guilty to killing 16 Afghan civilians during raids” (“Staff Sgt Robert Bales pleaded guilty to 16 counts of premeditated murder”), Guardian, June 5, 2013
  30. “U.S. marine pleads guilty to urinating on corpse of Taliban fighter in Afghanistan,” Guardian, Jan. 16, 2013
  31. “U.S. troops posed with body parts of Afghan bombers,” Los Angeles Times, April 18, 2012
  32. “Drones At Issue… Raids Disrupt Militants, but Civilian Deaths Stir Outrage,” New York Times, March 18, 2012
  33. “G.I. Kills 16 Afghans, Including 9 Children in Attacks on Homes,” New York Times, March 12, 2012
  34. “NATO Admits Airstrike Killed 8 Young Afghans, but Contends They Were Armed,” New York Times, Feb. 16, 2012
  35. “Informer Misled NATO in Airstrike That Killed 8 Civilians, Afghans Say,” New York Times, Feb. 10, 2012
  36. “Video [of Marines urinating on dead fighters] Inflames a Delicate Moment for U.S. in Afghanistan,” New York Times, Jan. 12, 2012
  37. “Commission alleges U.S. detainee abuse,” Mpls. StarTribune, Jan. 8, 2012
  38. “Six Children Are Killed by NATO Airstrike in Afghanistan,” New York Times, Nov. 25, 2011
  39. “American Soldier Is Convicted of Killing Afghan Civilians for Sport,” New York Times, Nov. 11, 2011
  40. “U.S. Drone Strike Kills Brother of a Taliban Commander,” New York Times, Oct. 28, 2011
  41. “Afghanistan officials ‘systematically tortured’ detainees, UN report says,” Guardian, & BBC, Oct. 10; Washington Post, Oct. 11, 2011
  42. “G.I. Killed Afghan Journalist, NATO Says,” New York Times, Sept. 9, 2011
  43. “Cable Implicates Americans in Deaths of Iraqi Civilians,” New York Times, Sept. 2, 2011
  44. “Civilians Die in a Raid by Americans and Iraqis,” New York Times, Aug. 7, 2011
  45. “NATO Strikes Libyan State TV Transmitters,” New York Times, July 31, 2011
  46. “U.S. Expands Its Drone War to Take On Somali Militants,” New York Times, July 2, 2011
  47. “NATO admits raid probably killed nine in Tripoli,” St. Paul Pioneer Press, June 20, 2011
  48. “NATO airstrike blamed in 14 civilian deaths,” St. Paul Pioneer Press, May 30, 2011
  49. “Libya Effort Is Called Violation of War Act,” New York Times, May 26, 2011
  50. “Raid on Wrong House Kills Afghan Girl, 12,” New York Times, May 12, 2011
  51. “Yemen: 2 Killed in Missile Strike,” Associated Press, May 5, 2011
  52. “NATO Accused of Going Too Far With Libya Strikes,” New York Times, May 2, 2011
  53. “Disposal of Bin Laden’s remains violated Islamic principles, clerics say,” Associated Press, May 2, 2011
  54. “Photos of atrocities seen as threat to Afghan relations,” St. Paul Pioneer Press, March 22, 2011
  55. “Missiles Kill 26 in Pakistan,” New York Times, March 18, 2011
  56. “Afghans Say NATO Troops Killed 8 Civilians in Raid,” New York Times, Aug. 24, 2010
  57. “A dozen or more” Afghan civilians were killed during a nighttime raid Aug. 5, 2010 in eastern Afghanistan, NATO officers said. Chicago Tribune, Aug. 6, 2010
  58. “Afghans Say Attack Killed 52 Civilians; NATO Differs,” New York Times, July 27, 2010
  59. “Afghans Die in Bombing, As Toll Rises for Civilians,” New York Times, May 3, 2010
  60. “New inquiry ordered in killing of Afghan civilians during raid,” CNN, April 5, 2010
  61. “Pakistan Angry as Strike by U.S. Kills 11 Soldiers,” New York Times, June 12, 2008
  62. “Marines Used ‘Excessive Force’ in Afghan Civilian Deaths,” Washington Post, April 14, 2007

For “No To NATO” events in Wash. D.C. see:

<no2nato2019.org>

<no-to-nato.org/en/>

<worldbeyondwar.org/notonato/>

Fact sheet by John LaForge for

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