Most recently, the 214th General Assembly stated that "The events of September 11, 2001 (9/11), have made it clear that achieving security for the country within the context of global security is still and will remain a challenge. In some ways, those events should have made clear that devastation can come in unexpected ways, that methods of prevention are not always successful, that violence usually begets violence, and that technological fixes are problematic." (Minutes, 2002, Part I, pp. 52-55.)

In his February 2nd budget request for fiscal year 2005, President Bush is planning on spending more on the military — $421 billion discretionary budget authority — than the next 25 countries combined, while reducing funding for programs that address vital human security and environmental needs. If you add proposed spending for foreign military aid and training and mandatory spending on military retirement and health care, the cost rises to $470 billion. The President is expected to wait until after the November elections to ask for another $50-100 billion for the ongoing costs of the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan (as well as 30,000 additional troops). This could bring the total for FY05 military spending to more than $520 billion.

Mr. Bush has also proposed an increase in the military budget through 2009 — by $20 billion per year — while cutting billions from domestic and international humanitarian programs. Are these the right priorities for our country?

To realize national security we must take reasonable measures in partnership with the United Nations, as well as other governments, to assure the public's safety from armed attack. The most effective, humane, and inexpensive ways to achieve national security are through global disarmament, cooperative and peaceful prevention of deadly conflicts, and addressing the root causes of violence. In FY05, we do not need expensive, dangerous nuclear weapons ($17 billion) or missile shields ($11 billion) for this. Nor do we need expensive new fighter planes ($14 billion), battle ships ($11 billion), or hundreds of thousands of troops deployed around the world.

Runaway military spending and cuts in programs that address basic human needs will not advance national security in the years ahead. The U.S. Congress must act by reining in military spending and shifting budget priorities to address basic human security and environmental needs.

Millenium Development Goals

Real security is possible only when the root causes of global terrorism, such as poverty, inequality and economic disparity, are addressed. At the Millennium Summit in September 2000, world leaders agreed to support the Millennium Development Goals, an ambitious agenda for reducing poverty and improving living conditions (see page 3).

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) supports these goals as an acceptable minimum by 2015. But at present levels of assistance, and without other policy changes, the world is way off track in achieving these goals.

The additional foreign aid required to reach the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 is between $40-$60 billion a year. Given the size of the United States economy and its wealth relative to other countries, the U.S. share would be an additional $10-$15 billion annually for these programs. This is a very small percentage of the current amount of military spending.

Suggested Action

The President's budget is out of line with current global and national needs. The huge military budget, escalating costs from the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, and permanent extension of the tax cuts are likely to bankrupt the federal government in the years to come, undermining our country's capacity to address domestic and global needs and meet future challenges. Please urge your Members of Congress to support shifting federal budget priorities away from military spending toward meeting human and environmental needs at home and abroad.

Millenium Development Goals

Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.

• 2015 Target: Halve the proportion of people living on less than $1 a day and those who suffer from hunger.
• More than a billion people still live on less than $1 a day: sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and parts of Europe and Central Asia are falling short of the poverty target.

Achieve universal primary education.

• 2015 Target: Ensure that all boys and girls complete primary school.
• As many as 113 million children do not attend school, but the target is within reach. (e.g. India should have 95 percent of its children in school by 2005.

Promote gender equality and empower women.

• Targets for 2005 and 2015: Eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015.
• Two-thirds of illiterates are women, and the rate of employment among women is two-thirds that of men. The proportion of seats in parliaments held by women is increasing, reaching about one third in Argentina, Mozambique and South Africa.

Reduce child mortality.

• 2015 Target: Reduce by two-thirds the mortality rate among children under five.
• Every year 11 million young children die before their fifth birthday, mainly from preventable illnesses (down from 15 million in 1980).

Improve maternal health.

• 2015 Target: Reduce by three-quarters the ratio of women dying in childbirth.
• In the developing world, the risk of dying in childbirth is one in 48, but virtually all countries now have safe motherhood programs.

Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

• 2015 Target: Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and the incidence of malaria and other major diseases.
• Forty million people are living with HIV, including five million newly infected in 2001. Countries like Brazil, Senegal, Thailand and Uganda have shown that the spread of HIV can be stemmed.

Ensure environmental sustainability. Targets:

• Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources.
• By 2015, reduce by half the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water.
• By 2020 achieve significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers.
• More than one billion people lack access to safe drinking water and more than two billion lack sanitation. During the 1990s, however, nearly one billion people gained access to safe water and the same number to sanitation.

Develop a global partnership for development. Targets:

• Develop further an open trading and financial system that includes a commitment to good governance, development and poverty reduction — nationally and internationally
• Address the least developed countries' special needs, and the special needs of landlocked and small island developing States
• Deal comprehensively with developing countries' debt problems
• Develop decent and productive work for youth
• In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries
• In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies — especially information and communications.
• Many developing countries spend more on debt service than on social services. New aid commitments made in the first half of 2002 could mean an additional $12 billion per year by 2006.

Consider the Choices: The Costs of War vs. Meeting Human Needs

$121 billion to $1.6 trillion

Cost of War: Total cost of waging war against Iraq, occupation, nation-building, reconstruction, humanitarian aid, claims and reparations, impact on oil markets, and macroeconomic impact over ten years. 1

Alternative Investment: Fill the gap between human development needs in the poorest countries and current funding levels for humanitarian and international development assistance from donor countries to meet the UN's Millennium Development Goals ($100 billion more per year). 2

$75 billion to $500 billion

Cost of War: Occupy Iraq and impose martial law for up to ten years. 1

Alternative Investment: Fully fund international efforts to meet World Health Organization treatment and prevention goals for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other common preventable and treatable diseases in the poorest countries for several years ($32 billion more per year). 2

$25 billion to $100 billion

Cost of War: Reconstruct Iraq after bombing and destroying it and support nation-building for up to ten years. 1

Alternative Investment: Extend universal primary education to all children around the globe who are not currently enrolled for several years ($13 billion more per year) 2

$50 billion to $140 billion

Cost of War: Deploy troops to the region, wage war against Iraq, and redeploy troops. 1

Alternative Investment: Fill the anticipated combined revenue shortfall for state governments in the U.S. for 2003. ($80 billion) 3

$1 billion to $10 billion

Cost of War: Humanitarian assistance to post-war Iraq for up to ten years. 1

Alternative Investment: Provide health coverage for 732,064 children in the U.S. for a number of years ($1 billion). (6) OR Extend access to clean water and sanitation to over one billion people in the 50 poorest countries for one year ($9 billion). (2) OR Expand school lunch programs to 300 million children and expand nutrition programs to 450 million women, infants, and pre-school children in the poorest countries for one year ($6 billion). 7

Sources

(1) William D. Nordhaus, "Iraq: The Economic Consequences of War," The New York Review of Books, December 5, 2002.

(2) Oxfam International, "Last Chance in Monterrey: Meeting the Challenge of Poverty Reduction," Oxfam Briefing Report, March 2002.

(3) Financial Times, "Bush Rebuffs States' Request for Cash," February 25, 2003.

(4) Washington Post, "Pentagon Costs of War on Terror at $28 Billion," February 22, 2003.

(5) Amount needed to double U.S. FY02 spending for child disease and survival programs, food aid, refugee assistance, multilateral development banks, Peace Corps, USAID operations, voluntary contributions to international organizations, debt relief, and other development and humanitarian aid. White House Office of Management and the Budget, The Budget of the United States Government, February 2002.

(6) Children's Defense Fund, "An Interfaith Prayer Service for Children," Washington National Cathedral, February 11, 2003 (program handout).

(7) George McGovern, "Yes, We Can Feed the World's Hungry Children," Parade Magazine, December 16, 2001.