April 14, 2019, The Intercept

Secret report reveals Saudi incompetence and widespread use of U.S. weapons in Yemen

Since the brutal murder of Saudi dissident and Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi last October, Congress has increasingly pressured the Trump administration to stop backing the Saudi Arabia-led coalition fighting in Yemen and halt U.S. arms sales to Riyadh. In response, President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that if the U.S. does not sell weapons to the Saudis, they will turn to U.S. adversaries to supply their arsenals.

“I don’t like the concept of stopping an investment of $110 billion into the United States,” Trump told reporters in October, referring to a collection of intent letters signed with the Saudis in the early months of his presidency. “You know what they are going to do? They’re going to take that money and spend it in Russia or China or someplace else.”

April 9, 2019, IPE

Danica to divest weapons exporters to Saudi Arabia after govt ban

One of Denmark’s largest pension providers is to blacklist investments in companies that export arms to Saudi Arabia, along with its parent company Danske Bank.

Danica Pension – Denmark’s second biggest commercial pension fund with total assets of DKK566bn (€76bn) – and Danske Bank backed the Danish government’s ban on domestic companies exporting weapons to Saudi Arabia, a spokesman for Danica Pension confirmed to IPE.

April 8, 2019, Common Dreams

Rep. Barbara Lee’s Startling Vote to Boost Military Spending

What Barbara Lee did on the House floor three days after 9/11—speaking prophetic words and casting the only vote against a green light for endless war—remains the bravest wise action in Congress during this century. The contrast was jolting last week when her vote enabled the House Budget Committee to approve a bill with a $17 billion increase in military spending for next year and another such increase for 2021.

April 7, 2019, Al Jazeera

Saudi-led air raids ‘kill at least 11 civilians’ in Yemen’s Sanaa

Air raids by a Saudi-UAE-led coalition in a residential area in Yemen's Houthi-held capital, Sanaa, have killed at least 11 civilians, including children, according to local officials.

Youssef al-Hadrii, a spokesman for the rebel-controlled health ministry, was quoted by DPA news agency as saying that the attack on Sunday left more than 39 people wounded.

April 4, 2019, Middle East Eye

REVEALED: The full extent of US arms deals with Saudi Arabia and UAE

The United States has struck at least $68.2bn worth of deals for firearms, bombs, weapons systems, and military training with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates since the start of their war in Yemen – billions more than previously reported – according to data collected by an American think tank.

April 2, 2019, Temple Freely Magazine

Divesting Temple from the War Machine

The U.S. military budget – and defense profits – have risen sharply since the election of Donald Trump, with the latter up by 40 percent during his first year in office. Paradoxically, the end of the Mueller investigation will likely see a weapons windfall, according to CNBC, despite a logical reduction in tensions with Russia.

April 1, 2019, America, the Jesuit Review

Pope Francis: Countries that sell arms have no right to talk about peace

Nations that actively engage in arms dealing and help foment war in other countries should not expect to find peace in their own lands, Pope Francis said.

During a wide-ranging interview with the Spanish news program, "Salvados," which aired March 31, the pope was asked his opinion by journalist Jordi Evole regarding the Spanish government's sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia, which is currently engaged in a conflict with Yemen.

March 27, 2019, The Guardian

Trump wants to give 62 cents of every dollar to the military. That’s immoral

Donald Trump recently unleashed his dark vision for our nation and our world, in the form of his budget request to Congress.

A budget shows our values more clearly than any tweet, campaign speech or political slogan. It’s what marries detailed, dollar-and-cents policy decisions to deeper political – and moral – priorities.

One set of moral priorities – a different one – would end our endless wars and use the vast wealth of this nation to end poverty and lead to true security for all of us. It would invest in healthcare, well-paying jobs, affordable higher education, safe drinking water and clean air for all of us.

March 21, 2019, The Nation

Making Nuclear Weapons Menacing Again

“There is no higher priority for national defense,” the Pentagon declared last year, than for the United States to “replace its strategic nuclear triad and sustain the warheads it carries.” In plain English, this means spending an estimated $1.7 trillion to rebuild every component of the US nuclear arsenal: the entire three-legged strategic “triad” of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and long-range bombers.

March 4, 2019, The Intercept

Sanders, Warren, Ocasio-Cortez, and other lawmakers sign pledge to end America’s “Forever Wars”

Eight members of Congress have taken a pledge to work to bring ongoing U.S. global military conflicts to a “responsible and expedient” end, the result of a first-of-its kind lobbying effort by military veterans on Capitol Hill.