To arms, citizens!

There were seven people, three women and four men. Their ages were over 55. The weapons they carried were a little of their blood in baby bottles, hammers, posters, and those tapes that indicate a "crime scene." Their target was the Kings Bay naval base in Georgia, USA, the largest nuclear submarine base in the world. They wanted to reveal that these nuclear weapons kill every day, simply by their existence and maintenance. They cut a padlock and entered the base on April 4, 2018, the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King.

But why? Why take such a high risk?

“I’m 60 years old now. At this point, I really see and understand how these weapons aren’t just deadly if they’re thrown. They’re deadly now, every day. I see them as the culmination of systems of violence, from top to bottom, down to the police gun in the street that kills and threatens to kill. These weapons are the bully’s baton, used in the same way as a gun when held against someone’s head. Even if you don’t pull the trigger, you’re using that weapon. So, we’re using these weapons every day. I’m not just concerned about whether they’re thrown, but how they’re used every day to extort (…) These weapons are the essential mechanism for enforcing these systems of white supremacy and global capitalism. That’s how I see it all. Going to Kings Bay with my friends was my way of withdrawing my consent to this system,” Clare Grady revealed to DemocracyNow!

NATO's 70th anniversary

On April 4, 1979, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established, a collective defense system formed by 28 countries from North America and Europe. Trump, in his speech commemorating the alliance's 70th anniversary, criticized allies who are not paying their share and warned: "We're considering 2% of GDP, and at some point, I think [each country's contribution] will have to be higher than that."

Joe Cirincione of Ploughshares responds: “We’ve all reached the point of accepting that national security equals military forces and weapons, when in fact, as you point out, national security is more often determined by the health and well-being of its citizens, the justice system, whether citizens feel involved in the country and have a role in the governance of the country.”

Cirincione demonstrates the absurdity of the proposal to increase NATO's arms spending: “The world as a whole spends about $1,7 trillion a year on weapons and military forces. One point seven. The United States and our NATO allies account for $1 trillion of that. So, more than half of all global spending is spent by the United States and our NATO allies. (…) Well, if you think Russia is the main threat, Russia only spends about $66 billion every year on defense. In fact, its spending fell by 20% between 2016 and 2017, the last year for which we have data. So, its spending is decreasing.”

Who profits?

It makes absolutely no sense to spend more, especially when the world faces serious issues in the economy, immigration, social justice, health, and well-being. Or rather: the sense might lie in knowing who benefits: “Who makes money from this? Well, most of the money we spend in this country [the US] on defense, and that Europeans spend, goes to a handful of defense contractors: Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, etc. They lobby incessantly for this increased spending in Washington, at NATO headquarters, in European capitals,” concludes Cirincione, in an interview with DemocracyNow!

What challenges do the Kings Bay Seven face?

Returning to the pacifists who entered the Kings Bay naval base. Martha Hennessy, 62, who participated in the action at the naval base, says the estimated sentence for each of the seven is 10 years, for property damage, destruction of property, conspiracy and trespassing: “My personal life is irrelevant compared to God’s creation that is being destroyed.”

The event took place on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King.

“We enter in peace on this sad anniversary of the martyrdom of a great prophet, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 50 years ago today, April 4, 1968, Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, as a reaction to his efforts to address 'the triple giants of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism.' (…) We resist militarism that has employed deadly violence to impose global domination. We believe reparations are necessary for stolen land, jobs, and lives,” says the official statement from Plowshares.

The USA, the world's biggest supplier of violence.

“Dr. King said, ‘The greatest purveyor of violence in the world (today) is my own government.’ This remains true in the midst of our endless war on terror. The United States has adopted a permanent war economy. ‘Peace through strength’ is a dangerous lie in a world that includes weapons of mass destruction, activatable by instant alert. Weapons like a Trident have the capacity to end life as we know it on planet Earth. Nuclear weapons kill every day through mining, production, testing, storage, and dumping, primarily on native indigenous lands. This weapons system is a cocked revolver held to the head of the planet,” the statement adds.

Brazil as an ally, or perhaps as a consumer.

"The President of the United States, Donald Trump, stated that Brazil will be designated as a major non-NATO ally of the United States. He also left open the possibility of Brazil joining NATO, a military organization formed by countries in Europe and North America, originating from the opposition to socialism led, at the time, by the now-defunct Soviet Union," says an article from Agência Brasil.

To arms, citizens! Not to obtain them, but to destroy them!

Notes

1. To learn more about Plowshares (in English): https://www.kingsbayplowshares7.org/

2. Onicide (masculine noun) - general extermination of lives and/or property; mass killing and destruction. (Houaiss)

3 To see the full interview on DemocracyNow! (in English): https://www.democracynow.org/2019/4/8/kings_bay_plowshares_peace_activists_face

4 To see the article from Agência Brasil:

http://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/internacional/noticia/2019-03/trump-brasil-sera-principal-aliado-dos-estados-unidos-fora-da-otan