SMART Security for Real Security: A PSR proposal for endorsement and action

Worries about "security," in many forms, have plagued most of our citizens in recent years. The issues of real insecurity from fear of terrorism, from preemptive war, from spread of nuclear weapons, from loss of jobs and health care, and from starvation of domestic needs, have been hijacked, straitjacketed and misdirected by the present
administration into a growing militarism, a unilateral aggressive foreign policy and curtailment of civil liberties. To address, redirect and promote a genuine alternative response to these widespread popular concerns, Physicians for Social Responsibility  (PSR) has formulated proposals for a program of SMART Security - Sensible, Multilateral, American Response to Terrorism - detailed below. PSR is encouraging
their widespread discussion, endorsement and support by citizens, religious and political leaders, and organizations. It seeks to inject these proposals into the current election debates, to persuade undecided voters and to urge adoption by candidates for Congress and the Presidency.

SMART Security*

As an organization of health care professionals and other concerned citizens, we believe that a core value of America’s national security policy must be to "first, do no harm." Unfortunately, the Bush administration’s go-it-alone reliance on military force is doing more harm than good. It is likely to lead to more anger aimed at the United States – anger that might well lead to future terrorist attacks. And the administration’s push for usable nuclear weapons and a policy of targeting other nations for nuclear first-strike attacks is leading countries like North Korea and Iran to seek their own nuclear weapons as
a way of "deterring" the U.S. The U.S. is the world’s only military superpower. There’s no doubt that we are strong. But are we smart about security? It’s time to stop acting out of fear, and to start acting from core American values that respect life, the environment that sustains it, and the freedoms that allow for a full and healthy debate about the
future of our nation. It’s time for SMART Security.


SMART Security means pursuing policies that effectively prevent acts of terrorism, the spread of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, and the devastation of war. It’s time we reject the role of the go-it-alone policeman of the world. America needs to work with a growing community of allies on addressing the root causes of terrorism. It’s time we say no to those who would build new "mini-nukes" and other unneeded weapons systems. America needs to actively support international treaties to help prevent the spread of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. America needs to invest more at home – on health care for all Americans, rebuilding our schools and education system, creating jobs, and stopping the pollution of our air, land and water.

THE PLATFORM FOR SMART SECURITY

1. Strengthen International Institutions and Support the Rule of Law to Prevent Acts of Terrorism and Future Wars:

  • Increase support for multilateral diplomacy and international institutions like the United Nations; work collectively to eliminate terrorist networks and resolve international conflicts.
  • Increase funding for humanitarian programs, which address the root causes of instability and terrorism, like hunger, illiteracy and unemployment.
  • Reject unilateral preemptive war as a means of resolving international conflict; actively support institutions that can bring terrorists to justice, like the International Criminal Court.
  1. Reduce the Threat and Stop the Spread of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction
  • Demonstrate global leadership by renouncing the first use of nuclear weapons, the development of new nuclear weapons ("mini-nukes"), and the testing of nuclear weapons.
  • Honor our international commitment to work for the elimination of nuclear weapons, while increasing funding to secure "loose" Russian nuclear weapons and materials so they don’t fall into the hands of terrorists.
  • Strengthen US commitment to international treaties like the Biological Weapons Convention and the Chemical Weapons Convention.
  1. Change Budget Priorities to Reflect SMART Security Needs
  • Eliminate military spending on obsolete and unnecessary weapons systems and use those resources to strengthen local "emergency responders" (such as fire, police, and public health departments), as well as for meeting urgent domestic needs like health care, education, jobs, and similar needs.
  • Provide adequate peacekeeping and re-development funding in troubled nations like Afghanistan and Iraq to secure long-term peace and stability.
  • Provide new investments in renewable and safe energy alternatives, which will reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil and the growing threat of global warming.

So far, the effort here is endorsed by PSR and ABOLITION 2000: The Western Pennsylvania Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, a coalition of more than 20 organizations. Brochures for information and endorsement of SMART Security are available for distribution by individuals and organizations. Additionally the proposals will be disseminated through the media. Meetings of citizen delegations with candidate campaigns are to be arranged.

A special event for information and discussion and to launch the SMART Security campaign will be led by National Field Director of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), Ira Shorr, on Friday, April 23 at 7pm at the Community of Reconciliation in Oakland. Shorr will talk, lead discussion and entertain with political satire, "JessTrussme, an Ultra-Compassionate Conservative."

For more info contact: PSR-Pittsburgh, PO Box 7241, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, psr-pgh@igc.org, 724-339-4279

- Daniel Fine