REP. PETER DEFAZIO — Given that the war in Afghanistan has entered its ninth year without clearly defined objectives or an exit strategy, I wanted to provide you an update of my continued opposition to our head-in-the-sand Afghanistan policies. We recently saw a major shakeup in military leadership in Afghanistan, but it is clear that this will not translate to a major change in strategy.
Nuclear “Renaissance” Stalls: Collapse of Flagship Reactor Project Expected
MICHAEL MARIOTTE — The flagship project to build a new nuclear power reactor in the United States — the one that provided the economic model for most new reactor proposals since — is in serious trouble and likely will collapse of its own weight before construction can even begin.
Drone Protesters Challenge Genocidal Policy
JASON WHITED —
Fourteen nonviolent direct actionists at Creech Air Force Base in Southern Nevada face charges for entering the base to protest the use of unmanned weapons which kill indiscriminately halfway around the world. These weapons are guided to their targets from air-conditioned trailers at Creech. Trial for the “Creech 14†is set for September 16, but their action has focused UN attention on the issue of drone warfare.
Time to Get Out of Afghanistan
RALPH NADER — The war in Afghanistan is nearly nine years old — the longest in American history. After the U.S. quickly toppled the Taliban regime in October 2001, the Taliban, by all accounts, came back stronger and harsher enough to control now at least 30 percent of the country. During this time, U.S. casualties, armaments and expenditures are at record levels.
Top 5 Social Security Myths
EDITOR– The “realities†listed in this article are correct as far as they go, but they do not go far enough. While it is strictly true that “there is no Social Security crisis†because the Social Security Trust Fund “is full of U.S. Treasury Bonds,†the implication is that everything is all right. This is emphatically not the case. Please read the MoveOn article and also the PeaceWorker editorial that follows it.
PeaceWorker Comments on Social Security Article
PETER BERGEL — For decades, beginning during the Vietnam War, our elected leaders have tried to mask the size of the national debt they have permitted to accumulate by “borrowing†the surplus from the Social Security Trust Fund. This was done without consulting the public in any way, and largely without public knowledge, even though this money was set aside from all workers’ paychecks in an insurance program guaranteed to provide funds for them in their old age. To be precise, the government purchased U.S. T-bonds with our insurance money.