PRESS ROOM

In rebuilding the economy, however, count on one thing: Defense contractors will put every last lobbying dollar into an attempt to convince the public, Congress, and whatever administration is in power that their sector is the country’s major engine for creating jobs. As Bill Hartung has shown, however, a close examination of such job-creation claims rarely stands up to serious scrutiny.

As part of American Muslims for Palestine's first-ever Virtual Palestine Advocacy Days, six members of congress spoke to our audience: Reps. Betty McCollum, Rashida Tlaib, Donald Payne, Jr., Debbie Dingell, Judy Chu, and André Carson; along with an amazing lineup of speakers, including Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, Rasha Mubarak, Salih Booker, Josh Ruebner, and our very own Dr. Osama Abuirshaid and Dr. Hatem Bazian.

"$100 million...That’s about how much money the governments of the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have spent lobbying in Washington since the two countries broke diplomatic ties three years ago. Much of that spending has been focused on battling each other, with Abu Dhabi seeking to paint Qatar as a terror-supporting rogue state while Doha has defended itself as a trusted western ally.

“It’s certainly one of the biggest fights that I’m aware of, at least in recent memory,” said Ben Freeman, the director of the Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative at the nonprofit Center for International Policy. “I can’t think of a bigger tiff that was more lucrative to [lobbyists] than this battle.”"

William Hartung, director of the Arms and Security Program at the DC-based Center for International Policy, told Al Jazeera arms sales were an "important factor" in the agreements. "The UAE has long wanted F-35 fighter jets," Hartung said, "and larger drones, which the US was unable to sell because of its commitment to Israel's military advantage."

The late John Frankenheimer directed two important movies in the 1960s that suggest that our current political reality resembles cinema art. Donald Trump may not be a “Manchurian candidate,” but his obsequious behavior toward Russian President Vladimir Putin brings to mind Frankeheimer’s suspense thriller “The Manchurian Candidate.” From the start of his presidency, Trump has taken numerous steps that have isolated the United States and provided openings for greater Russian prominence in the international arena.

“There is no rush to build a new ICBM,” William Hartung, director of the arms and security program at the Center for International Policy, wrote in a new fact sheet. “Upgraded versions of current missiles can do the job for years to come, and development of a new version could take a decade or more. The next administration should review the new contract as part of a careful consideration of whether ICBMs are needed at all.”

The president calls it a “previously unthinkable regional transformation.” But perhaps it both solidifies the power of medieval monarchies masquerading as modern states, as it ramps up sales of US weapons systems to them. Retired US Army Major Danny Sjursen says this alleged peace deal, announced with such fanfare on September 15th, does nothing for peace. Neither the people of Bahrain or the UAE or the Palestinians had any input in the process. Meanwhile the Saudis are of course behind the scenes, worried about the Shia people who live above where the oil is. And Sjursen says it is curious how Israel makes peace with avowed anti-Semites.

In the past, the exploits and the history of the Marine Corps always saved it in the halls of Congress from any serious cuts in funding or even criticism. But the task of rebuilding the federal government after four years of Donald Trump will be an expensive and arduous task. An initial step could involve the United States stopping the misuse of its military power by limiting its global involvement and the operational tempo of its military forces.

Early Warning features William Hartung of the Center for International Policy on the Pentagon's $13.3 billion contract award to Northrop Grumman for a new nuclear weapon.

The rubble was still smoldering at Ground Zero when the U.S. House of Representatives voted to essentially transform itself into the Israeli Knesset, or parliament. It was 19 years ago, 11:17pm Washington D.C. time on September 14, 2001 when the People’s Chamber approved House Joint Resolution 64, the Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) “against those responsible for the recent attacks.” Naturally, that was before the precise identities, and full scope, of “those responsible” were yet known – so the resolution’s rubber-stamp was obscenely open-ended by necessity, but also by design.

Scott interviews Danny Sjursen about his new book, which chronicles his own story of disillusionment with America’s endless wars, in addition to outlining what he believes should be the new attitude of true American patriotism. He calls this type of patriotism “patriotic dissent,” explaining that when one’s country has become an empire of military adventurism founded on lies, the truly patriotic thing to do is to oppose these trends.

"New ICBMs are both unnecessary and dangerous," William Hartung of the Center for International Policy says, adding, "[T]he process through which the new missiles are being developed — a 'sole source' contract without competition — is suspect, if not outright corrupt."