A letter to Bridget Moix of the Friends Committee on National Legislation

Dear FCNL,

Here is the text of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s final address:

As we peer into society’s future, we — you and I, and our government — must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering for our own ease and convenience the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow.

Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense. We have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security alone more than the net income of all United States corporations.

Now this conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence — economic, political, even spiritual — is felt in every city, every Statehouse, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet, we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources, and livelihood are all involved. So is the very structure of our society.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.

What Eisenhower feared has come to pass. Our government is in the hands of the military-industrial complex and has been ever since the assassination of President John. F. Kennedy. We have been powerless to prevent, or shorten by even one day, the wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. It is of no use to appeal to members of Congress. Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic majority just voted for the largest increase in military funding in history. Increased Pentagon funding means only one thing: more war, more civilian deaths and more environmental degradation.

We must face the fact that the FCNL has completely failed to prevent or stop wars or, in any way, mitigate the consequences of war. This is from a recent headline article on the FCNL website:

“Today, the president is expected to sign into law a giant spending package to fund government operations for the rest of fiscal year 2022. The legislation, which places President Joe Biden’s first stamp on the federal budget, will boost Pentagon spending to $782 billion. This massive amount includes $743 billion for the Department of Defense and nuclear weapons programs under the Energy Department and military construction programs. An additional $6.5 billion in military assistance to Ukraine was also included in the package” (Spending on War Soars to New Heights in Government Funding Agreement by Allen Hester)

Unless, and until, the FCNL addresses the reality of our current situation our efforts will be ineffectual, or worse. Don’t you see that we are actually going backwards? It’s no use appealing to Nancy Pelosi. She championed and praised the increase in the Defense budget. It is not always easy to know what to do but the FCNL must, at least, begin to speak truth to power. Our democracy is actually in danger of collapsing under the weight of war, greed and environmental degradation. The greed of the military-industrial complex and the 1% is destroying our country and our world. We can’t pretend any longer that the people govern through their representatives; government is in the hands of the military-industrial complex.

In the FCNL 2021 Annual Report, there is an article, Dismantling Racism and Militarism in US Foreign Policy. In this article, Diane Randall is quoted as saying, “Entrenched racism and militarism will require new thinking and ways of working together.” What is this new thinking? Is anyone at FCNL not acquainted with the works of David Ray Griffin? I don’t see any acknowledgement, or recognition, of his important work in calling the war machine to account. Griffin is a man who is dedicated to peace and a brief list of some of his books may help provide the answer to the question Diana Oldham, FCNL Foreign Policy Director, asks, “Why is the US government so reliant on the use of threats, coercion, and military force around the globe, and why can’t our policy makers admit it’s not working.”

• The New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions About the Bush Administration and 9/11
• The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions and Distortions
• Christian Faith and the Truth Behind 9/11: A Call to Reflection and Action
• New Pearl Harbor Revisited: 9/11, the Cover-up and the Exposé
• The Mysterious Collapse of World Trade Center 7: Why the Final Official Report About 9/11 Is Unscientific and False,
• 9/11 Ten Years Later: When State Crimes Against Democracy Succeed
• Bush and Cheney: How They Ruined America and the World

I will continue to support the FCNL because, as Meg Hummon says in the Annual Report, “I’m glad to support activism by diverse young people and continued activism by my generation.” Unfortunately, I can’t continue to think of the FCNL as an effective instrument for peace or truth-telling unless there is an honest recognition that the WTC buildings were destroyed by controlled demolition. Without war, you can’t sell weapons or invade other countries. That is why “… the US government is so reliant on the use of threats, coercion, and military force around the globe.”

Thank you for your consideration of the above.

Yours in peace,