The Shadow Project reminds us that we invented, developed, and used atomic weapons in war. It reminds us of the consequences of using them, and that we have an obligation, not just to keep that memory alive, but to create public pressure for a change in our current national policy.
SMART (Sensible, Multilateral, American Response to Terrorism) is PSR's alternative to the Bush Administration’s permanent global War on Terrorism. The War on Terrorism sounds and acts tough, with its preemptive war, unilateralism, new nuclear weapons, and massive military buildup, but it is counterproductive. It is itself a threat to our national security, because it continues and accelerates policies developed in both Democratic and Republican administrations, and perpetuates the very conditions of fear and hatred that led others to attack us in 2001.
The War on Terrorism escalates violence around the world and alienates not only the Islamic world, but our closest allies as well. It has led to the rejection of many international treaties, the development of new nuclear weapons, a large military buildup, massive increases in military spending, and preemptive war.
Choosing SMART will make us more secure than the War on Terror, because SMART strengthens international cooperation to reduce violence, while the War on Terror uses force and violence to try to stop force and violence. We cannot be the world's policeman, and it is presumptuous of us to ignore the system of justice that the nations of the world have jointly created. SMART Security supports, rather than contradicts, America’s fundamental values of civil liberty and the rule of law, and it supports the international system of justice that has been developing since 1945.
The heart of SMART is international cooperation grounded in the rule of law. It is based on the principles of peaceful coexistence, equal justice, and mutual aid. The genius of SMART is that it packages those principles in a clear, coherent agenda: a foreign policy "brand" that people can understand and embrace.
There are four components to the SMART Platform:
1. Strengthening international institutions and supporting the rule of law;
2. Stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction;
3. Changing budget priorities to reflect SMART security needs;
The SMART platform was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives with the support of many national groups. It has little likelihood of succeeding without public pressure from you. Here is what you can do to help:
DETAILS OF THE SMART PLATFORM:
1. Prevent Acts of Terrorism and Future Wars by Supporting the Rule of Law and Strengthening International Institutions
A. Join, use, and obey the International Criminal Court (ICC).
B. Reject unilateral preemptive war as a means of resolving international conflict.
C. Renounce extra-judicial assassinations.
D. Actively support and adhere to the UN and other cooperative security and human-rights treaties, institutions, and programs.
E. Increase funding for humanitarian and sustainable development programs such as ICC, which address the root causes of instability and terrorism, like hunger, illiteracy, and unemployment.
2. Reduce the Threat and Stop the Spread of Nuclear and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction
A. Set an example for the rest of the world by renouncing the first use of nuclear weapons, the development of new nuclear weapons, and the testing of nuclear weapons.
B. Adhere to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (Nuclear Weapons fact sheet).
C. Stop the development of "Star Wars" and recommit to the ABM Treaty.
D. As a first step toward the elimination of nuclear weapons, work with Russia to dismantle nuclear warheads and reduce nuclear stockpiles to no more than 1000 on each side.
E. Increase funding for programs to secure Russian nuclear weapons and materials, so they won’t fall into the hands of terrorists.
F. Rejoin the global effort to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention (Biological Weapons fact sheet).
G. Provide adequate funding and commitment to strengthen the inspection regime of the Chemical-Weapons Convention, while accelerating the disposal of U.S. chemical weapons stockpiles in a manner protective of public and environmental health. (Chemical Weapons fact sheet)
3. Change Budget Priorities to Reflect Real Security Needs
A. Eliminate military spending for Cold-War-era weapons like the F-22 fighter jet and for other wasteful Pentagon programs, and invest those resources in urgently needed domestic health care, education, jobs, etc. (See how your tax dollars could be better spent.)
B. Provide dramatic new investments in renewable and safe energy alternatives that will reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil and the growing threat from global warming.
C. Provide funding for adequate peacekeeping and development in troubled nations like Afghanistan and Iraq, to secure long-term peace and stability.
4. End Cycles of Violence
A. Address legitimate grievances, as was done in ending apartheid in South Africa.
B. Mediate conflicts through processes such as the Good Friday Accords in Northern Ireland, and support the UN's capacity to do so by paying US debts to the UN.
C. Reduce the arms trade.
D. End support for tyrannical regime, and increase support for indigenous movements for democracy.
E. Close the Western Hemispheric Institute for Security Cooperation (formerly School of the Americas).