Issue Position: War, Peace, and Militarism

Issue Position

Military madness is killing our people, undermining our economy,
and threatening our security.

Costly and misguided military adventurism in Iraq and Afghanistan and expensive military bases around the globe continue to severely undermine our economy and threaten to bankrupt us financially and spiritually. The cost of maintaining the massive military system is simply not sustainable and diverts precious resources away from industries which produce many more jobs, goods and services per dollar spent.

President Eisenhower had it right when he said "the total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- [of] an immense military establishment [has] grave implications [for] the very structure of our society." He warned us in 1961 of the growing influence of the military-industrial complex and his words are even more true today, given that our defense policy is driven in large part by corporate profit rather than our real security interests.

For Fiscal Year 2011, the military budget for the Pentagon and other agencies comes close to $900 billion. Including costs for expenses incurred by past military spending, the tab comes to a whopping $1.4 trillion, or 48% of the budget. The so-called peace dividend we expected at the end of the Cold War was never realized and we now see the highest military spending in the past 60 years. The Congressional Research Service estimates that over $1 trillion has been spent just on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. This money would have been much better spent on domestic programs and to pay down the ever-growing national debt. The military budget is the single largest threat to the financial solvency of the US and a vigorous debate about the size of it must produce substantial cuts.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have proven to be drastic mistakes, yet Congress continues to pour money into them even though "victory" as the military defines it is impossible. Terrorism cannot be confronted with endless and aimless war, which only inflames its causes. Terrorism has to be confronted as an ideology adopted by radicals who have been marginalized economically and socially.

The lives of brave American soldiers and civilians continue to be lost at an alarming rate. Suicides of traumatized soldiers have increased, yet society does little to address the needs of those who have sacrificed the most. It is time to stop the carnage. Tom Clements will be a strong voice for bringing the troops home now, and for providing the support they and their families will need on their return.

The specter of nuclear disaster still hangs over our heads while steps toward nuclear disarmament, which is both international and domestic law, proceed only slowly. The New START treaty recently negotiated with Russia is a small step toward reducing nuclear stockpiles, but DeMint, who carries a life rating of 98.55% by the American Conservative Union, has come out solidly against it. Clements will push to ratify the treaty and move toward more nuclear weapons cuts as required by treaty and work for greater non-proliferation efforts.

Clements has and will continue to oppose plans to rebuild the nuclear weapons infrastructure currently underway at the Department of Energy (DOE). The "modernization" of the nuclear weapons complex is little more than a give-away to the corporations that feed off DOE and have created a dependency on government funding for employment around DOE sites across the country. Here in South Carolina, Clements will oppose the creation of a government-subsidized "nuclear park" at the 300-square mile Savannah River Site and will push for cleanup of the site and transition to its use by clean industries financed by private investors.

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