Senator Stabenow ignores campaign to stop nuclear war games with NATO

Earlier this week the national organization Roots Action held demonstrations in numerous cities across the US. The topic of those demonstrations was to pressure the Biden Administration and members of Congress to stop holding nuclear war rehearsals with NATO.

Roots Action also provided an online petition, with the following language: 

NATO is rehearsing for nuclear war: flying B-52 long-range bombers from North Dakota to Europe, flying pretend bombing flights over Belgium, the North Sea, and the United Kingdom, and engaging in what NATO calls “a range of realistic and simulated events which can be found in a conflict.” The danger is of provoking an actual nuclear conflict.

The petition also included excellent links to background information, which was listed at the bottom of the petition page. Roots Action director Norman Solomon was also interviewed on Democracy Now! talking about the campaign.

I filled out the petition, since there was no organized action in Grand Rapids, which meant that my petition went to the Biden White House, Rep. Peter Meijer, along with Senator’s Peters & Stabenow. 

On Wednesday, I received an e-mail response from Senator Stabenow, which said:

Thank you for contacting me about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Your concerns are very important to me as our nation debates how to best address this challenge.

Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has created a dire humanitarian crisis. The U.S. has provided over $5 billion in humanitarian assistance to internally displaced Ukrainians and those seeking refuge in neighboring nations. I will keep working to ensure that Ukrainians have the resources they so desperately need during this horrific time.

As one of the Senators who voted against going to war in Iraq, I strongly believe that we must be very thoughtful and deliberate whenever considering the commitment of resources, both financial and military. I will continue to monitor the situation in Ukraine and keep your views in mind whenever considering related legislation in the U.S. Senate.

First, the most glaring thing about the response from Senator Stabenow, is that it completely ignored the text of the petition message, which was centered around the US/NATO nuclear war games. 

Second, Senator Stabenow decides to make her response about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, thus not taking any ownership of the role that the US has played in this conflict to date. 

Third, while Senator Stabenow acknowledges the US financial commitment to supporting Ukrainians who have been displaced by the war, she completely ignores the larger amount of money the US has provided to the Ukrainian government for weapons, which she has voted for.

Fourth, Senator Stabenow then wants to present herself as an anti-war voice, citing her initial opposition to the US war/invasion of Iraq in 2003. While it is true that Senator Stabenow did vote against that war/invasion initially, she voted for the ongoing US military action in Iraq throughout the rest of the Bush years between 2003 – 2008. This meant that Senator Stabenow voted for more US military spending as the US occupation of Iraq continued, along with the fact that the US was supporting torture at Abu Ghraib and the ongoing funding of US Private Military contractors, who were also guilty of human rights violations. 

Lastly, it is worth pointing out that since Senator Stabenow said that the US must be very thoughtful about US military aid, but this ignores the fact that Senator Stabenow has voted in favor of the Defense Department’s military budget every year while being a member of the US Senate. This mens that Senator Stabenow has voted to continue to provide over $3 Billion to the Israeli Apartheid regime, weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, US military action in Syria, Yemen & Afghanistan, and support for repressive military regimes in places like Colombia, Mexico, Honduras, along with supporting the ongoing US blockade of Cuba. 

It seems that Senator Stabenow doesn’t want us to know about her support for US militarism abroad and she definitely doesn’t want to do anything to even acknowledge the US nuclear war games that are taking place right now with NATO. In fact, it seems clear that Senator Stabenow is in no way concerned about the threat of nuclear war and how that puts every living thing at risk.