No 5 / February 2007
War Profiteers’ News
The email newsletter of WRI's Global Initiative against War Profiteers || español | Index of past issues
Editorial
With this issue we start a series of articles to help you in your campaigning against war profiteers. A first step in a campaign is to research the corporation you want to target, so we focus on researching war profiteers in this issue. We are not researchers ourselves, but we recommend various sources for campaigners. We especially encourage you to use the guides for corporate research. An important strategy for obtaining good information is to develop relationships between organisations that research corporations and peace movement organisations. So we can share and combine skills. We need their research, and they need campaigns to change the situation of war profiteers. I encourage you to look for organisations doing counter corporate and research work in your area and see how you can collaborate with.
I would also like to mention that during the last World Social Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, WRI held a workshop on Networking Against War Profiteers. This workshop was very successful as people from different parts of the world came together to share their knowledge and their questions and needs for campaigning against war profiteers. This helps the development of our Global Initiative Against War Profiteers.
Finally, the last issue of War Profiteers' News was the first issue that was not only issued in English but also in Spanish. We hope to be able to publish it in more languages, especially French and German as these are the four WRI languages. We are always in need for translators, so if you can help us making this resources available in other languages please contact the WRI office.
Thank you,
Javier Gárate
Upcoming events
Shut DESO Protest and Petition Hand-in
CAAT, together with the Fellowship of Reconciliation, have collected thousands of Shut DESO petition signatures. They will be handing these petitions to the Treasury on Wednesday 7th March, the day on which DESO holds its annual conference.
7th March - 11 AM outside Queen Elizabeth Conference Centre. London SW1P 3EE, UK
For more information:
Barricade the War Machine in Pittsburgh
Friday, March 2 (M2), will be a day of civil disobedience and direct action against the war machine in Pittsburgh. The main action will be an attempt to barricade the National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC), a branch of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) that develops robotic vehicles and weapons delivery systems for the U.S. Army and Marines.
7:00am: Gather in Friendship Park (Friendship Ave and Mathilda St in Bloomfield) Pittsburgh, USA.
For more information:
http://www.organizepittsburgh.org/m2
Demonstration every Wednesday against EDO
Noise demonstration at EDO MBM, Home Farm Road, Brighton, UK.
Noise demonstration will be every Wednesday between 4 - 6 pm.
For more information:
WRI Seminar and Council 2007 in Israel
The annual WRI seminar and Council meeting will take place in Israel in 2007, probably in August. The theme of the seminar will be on militarism and gender. Please contact the WRI Office if you are interested in participating, and want to be kept informed.
warprofiteersnews
Email newsletter of War Resisters' InternationaI's Global Initiative on War Profiteers
War Resisters' International, 5 Caledonian Road, London N1 9DX, Britain; tel +44-20-7278 4040; fax +44-20-7278 0444; email javier@wri-irg.org
Subscribe/
Unsubscribe
To subscribe, you can go to the website of this list, or send an email.
To unsubscribe, send an email to warprofiteersnews-
unsubscribe@lists.wri-irg.org.
Donate to WRI!
War Resisters' International depends on your donations to be able to carry out its work. Donate to WRI online now at wri-irg.org/en/donate-en.htm.
War Profiteer of the Month
Alliant Techsystems
ATK — Alliant Techsystems is a $3.1 billion advanced weapon and space systems company with approximately 14,000 employees and operations in 23 states. The company is the world's leading supplier of solid propulsion systems and the nation's largest manufacturer of ammunition.
Alliant Techsystems, Inc. supplies aerospace and defense products to the U.S. government, U.S. allies, and government contractors.
The company also supplies ammunition to federal and local law enforcement agencies, and commercial markets.
It operates through three groups: Mission Systems, Launch Systems, and Ammunition Systems.
The Mission Systems group develops and manufactures gun-launched guided and conventional ammunition, tactical missile systems, tactical rocket motors and warheads, composite structures for aircraft and weapons systems, and other weapon systems and components. It also supplies propulsion solutions for missile defense, space, strategic, tactical, and commercial applications, as well as ordnance and control systems; structures for space launch vehicles, rocket motor casings, military, and commercial aircraft; telescope, satellite and spacecraft structures, optical benches, and antenna reflectors; and propulsion systems for aerospace vehicles and weapon systems. Further, this group develops technologies that address national security and homeland defense requirements in areas, such as directed energy, electro-optical and infrared sensors, aircraft sensor integration, antennas and radomes, signal processing, and specialized composites.
The Launch Systems group provides motors for human access to space, land- and sea-based strategic missiles, commercial and government space launch vehicles, and missile defense interceptors, as well as various missile defense propulsion and launch vehicle programs.
The Ammunition Systems group supplies small-caliber military ammunition, medium-caliber ammunition, ammunition and rocket propellants, energetic materials, commercial and military smokeless powder, law enforcement and sporting ammunition, and ammunition-related products.
The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Edina, Minnesota.
History
In 1990, ATK became an independent company when Honeywell spun off its defense businesses, which had supplied defense products to the U.S. and its allies for 50 years. Since then, the company has grown to become a major aerospace and defense contractor through a combination of internal growth and a series of key strategic acquisitions, including Hercules Aerospace in 1995 and Thiokol Propulsion and the ammunition businesses of Blount International in 2001. A series of other acquisitions and key contract wins have continued to increase the company's presence in the aerospace, defense, and commercial ammunition markets.
Corporate Facts
- Headquarters: Edina, Minnesota
- Telephone: 952-351-3000. Fax: 952-351-3009
- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dan Murphy Strategy To build on our core businesses of conventional munitions and rocket motors and grow as a leading provider of advanced weapon and space systems.
- President and Chief Executive Officer: Dan Murphy
- Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer: Nick Vlahakis
- Employees Approximately 15,000
- Internet address: www.atk.com
- E-mail address: atk.corporate@atk.com
- Stock ticker symbol: ATK
- Number of shareholders New York Stock Exchange - Approximately 9,400
Locations More than 50 facilities in 23 states. Representatives in more than 50 countries.
Campaign of the Month
SMASH EDO
The pressure on Brighton based arms manufacturer EDO MBM continues to mount as the campaign enters its third year. Brighton anti-war activists have identified EDO MBM as a key link in the military machine currently being turned loose in the Middle East. A subsidiary of U.S arms giant EDO Corp, they manufacture unmanned combat drones as well as vital components for Raytheon’s Paveway laser guided bomb and the helicopter borne Hellfire missile. Edo build the interface system for the Paveway, which was the most used guided munition in the aerial bombardment of Iraq. The Hellfire is used by the Israeli military for ground attacks and targeted assassinations. It was a Hellfire missile that destroyed the ambulance leaving Qana on 23rd July 2006
Brighton peace activists, many of whom have worked with the International Solidarity Movement in Palestine, have banded together under the name SMASH EDO, to expose the company and close down its Brighton operation. The company has been the subject of a continuous campaign, starting with a peace camp in August 2004.
Andrew Beckett, press spokesman for SMASH EDO, explains “ As a town Brighton was at the forefront of the U.K movement against the war in Iraq – the day war broke out six or seven thousand people gathered to protest in the town centre and ended by ransacking the town hall – We are supposed to be a U.N International Peace Messenger City and yet we tolerate the presence of arms manufacturers, who profit from war. EDO manufactures bomb release mechanisms for the U.S, U.K and Israeli militaries. The recent Israeli onslaught on Lebanon was being conducted with the help of weaponry made in our town. In the last months Israel has engaged in an illegal assault on the civilian population of Gaza and has invaded Lebanon killing hundreds of Lebanese civilians. These are war crimes under international and English Law. Israel could not carry out these acts without the support of foreign corporations. We are ordinary people who object to those who profit from death and we aim to bring back the true horror of the ‘War on Terror’ back to the factory floor."
Campaigners regularly hold noisy demos outside the factory to remind the management of their complicity in war crimes. Non-violent direct action such as locking to the gates, occupying the roof or blocking the road aims to disrupt production and highlight the nature of the business conducted inside the anonymous looking factory. The campaign has a high profile in the local media.
Sussex police have been determined to shut down the campaign. They have made over 30 arrests at the factory and in town centre demonstrations. All but four of those arrested have had their charges dropped. An attempt by the company to create an exclusion zone around the factory using the anti-stalking laws collapsed ignominiously in the High Court costing EDO over £1 million in legal fees. The campaign has continued to grow and aims to prove that “Every bomb that is dropped, every bullet that is fired in the name of this war of terror has to be made somewhere. And wherever that is it can be resisted”
For more information:
http://www.smashedo.org.uk
Campaigning against war profiteers
Getting a basic overview of the company:
Doing research of a company can be easier that you think, if you follow the right steps. Some basic steps that you should follow are:
- Know what you want, be clear what you are looking for
- Check around – find what has already been done
- Look for leads: Lots of good stories begin with a rumour
- Note all references as you may need to come back to them
- Review your findings, have you answered what you were looking for?
Some first steps for researching a company are: Go to their website address, here you will find lots of information of what they are doing, but treat this information carefully since the corporations are promoting themselves. Their Annual Report will have information on their business. Check out websites and resources of NGOs doing work on this field. Don’t ask them to do your research, but check to see what they have already done. Use search engines, you can sign up for Google alerts and they will send you information related to the company or topic you choose. The media can be helpful, but information should be checked for accuracy. You can also find corporate information in business and financial resources. Libraries are always good sources, the best is to go to a reference or business library which have the most useful information on companies.
On the internet you can find most of the information you will need and there are many useful links for researching war profiteers and corporations in general, and we can not include them all. We are working on a detailed list in our Wiki
(http://wri-irg.org/wiki/index.php/WarProfiteers), we welcome contributions. But we would like to highlight some of them here.
We draw your attention to two corporate research guides: The Corpwatch (www.corpwatch.com) research guide from the US and the Corporate Watch (www.corporatewatch.org.uk) guide from the UK. These two guides are very helpful regarding the steps you should follow and with many useful resources. WRI published an article by Frida Berrigan “The Military Industrial Complex: How to research corporate connections” in our Broken Rifle No 67 (http://wri-irg.org/pdf/br67-en.pdf) where you will find many useful tips and sites to search war profiteers in the USA.
We list the following sites because their links on war profiteering:
- Campaign Against Arms Trade:
(http://www.caat.org.uk/links/) in the UK has a detail list of links divided in four sections: Arms trade campaigns, research and campaigning, arms industry and government. - War Resisters League – Stop the Merchants of Death:
(http://www.warresisters.org/smod/links.shtml) With links on counter corporate & peace and justice groups - Arms Trade Resource Center:
(http://www.worldpolicy.org/ projects/arms/links.html)With links on, Defense contractors, industry organizations, international organizations, think tank, regional, Africa, Latin America, Middle Eadt and Asia - Netwerk Vlaanderen:
(http://www.netwerkvlaanderen.be/en/)Good resources especially on banks with links on: Sustainable economy/development, alternative banking/financing, peace organisations, human rights organisations, environmental organisations and various. - Campagne tegen Wapenhandel:
(http://www.stoparmstrade.org/)With good resources on the arms trade and: International reports and institutions, Dutch defense industry, the biggest 10 world arms producers and peace organisations.
Activist at Alliant Tech dismissed
On February 1st, a group of peace activists gathered in the undersized Hennepin County Courtroom in Edina, MN to once again face charges of "criminal trespass" for entering the property of Alliant Techsystems, a local war profiteer and notorious manufacturer and seller of indiscriminate and illegal weapons such as cluster bombs, depleted uranium munitions, land mines, as well as rocket motors for delivery of nuclear bombs via missiles.
78 defendants were on the court docket and over 40 had shown up for trial, claiming their innocence even though the Edina City Prosecutor offered a deal of a $5.00 fine for those choosing to plead guilty. Many defendants were anxious to have the opportunity to speak in court about their convictions which led them to this collective act of resistance to this present war (where some of these weapons have been used) and to corporations profiting from war and offensive weapons which masquerade as 'national defense'.
Before the trial began, the Prosecutor requested to meet with a smaller representative group of the defendants. When he inquired as to what we'd like to see happen, a member of AlliantACTION, the group coordinating the weekly vigil presence in front of the offices of this war profiteer stated, "We'd like to see these charges dismissed." Patrick Leach, the Prosecutor for the City of Edina where Alliant Techsystems (ATK) has their world headquarters, readily agreed. He expressed his concern about the cost to the city of having a number of police officers waiting around in court, ready to testify against us rather than out performing their public safety roles.
AlliantACTION has faithfully voiced opposition to the weapons made by ATK for more than ten years, with 666 arrests having been made for nonviolent civil resistance over the years. Four times in that 10 year period juries have found defendants 'not guilty' of criminal trespass charges after they have carefully listened to testimony about ATK as a war profiteer and maker of illegal, indiscriminate weapons.
For more information:
http://www.circlevision.org/alliantaction.html
http://www.warresisters.org/smod/smod_hp.shtml
BAE Systems placed above the law
On the 14th of December the Attorney General announced that the Serious Fraud Office was dropping its investigation into bribery allegations involving BAE Systems in Saudi Arabia. A wide range of individuals and bodies have since voiced serious concerns, including MPs, the OECD, Institutional Investors and 130 non-governmental organisations. Campaign Against Arms Trade and the Corner House in the UK have informed the government of their intention to judicially review the decision.
For more information:
http://www.caat.org.uk/caatnews/2007_02/cover-story.php
Belgian banks score better than foreign banks
Tuesday, 06 February 2007
Recent research conducted by Netwerk Vlaanderen has revealed that Belgian banks that offer sustainable investment products invest less of this money in arms producers than foreign banks operating on the Belgian market. The research also revealed significant differences between Belgian banks.
For more information:
The email newsletter of WRI's Global Initiative against War Profiteers || Index of past issues