Living in Extraordinary Times

This week marked the anniversary of wars largely paid for with US taxpayer money. Twenty- three years ago on October 7, the United States began bombing Afghanistan not even a month after the 9/11 attacks. Brown University’s Cost of War Project estimates that the United States spent $2.313 trillion on the war in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2022 equating to almost $300 million per day for 20 years. In another study from 2022, the Cost of War Project estimated that the US has spent $8 trillion in additional post 9/11 wars including the war in Iraq. 

It is difficult to put these numbers in perspective as well as trying to keep the public’s attention on the impacts of the seemingly endless wars with so much competing for our attention. Ruth Benn recently wrote on the wtr-list serve after sharing information about how to support people within the NWTRCC network affected by Hurricane Helene:

“Meanwhile, I shall leave the computer today for our annual protest on the day 23 years ago when the US invaded Afghanistan and set the dominoes falling to where we are today. Thousands dead, millions displaced, cities and villages in ruins, and trillions of dollars plus human resources that could have been serving life on earth. When will they ever learn”?

The phrase October 7 has been repeated the past year to signal the war in Gaza; has meant many things to many people. There have been daily images of massacres, bombing of schools and countless people buried under the rubble.  An estimated 42,000 people have been killed with over 16,000 children dead. Over the past year NWTRCC has witnessed an incredible increase in interest and practice of war tax resistance (WTR) as many have made the connection of their tax dollars going to fund the slaughter of innocents. 

The Costs of War Project estimates that the US has spent at least $22.76 billion on military operations and US operations in the region since October 7, 2023. Unlike the tracking of US spending in the war in Ukraine, much of the spending in Israel has been intentionally obscured. The Associate Press recently published a story outlining the study by Brown University and stated “U.S. aid since the Gaza war started includes military financing, arm sales, at least $4.4million in drawdowns from U.S. stockpiles and hand-me-downs of used equipment.”  

The article also includes that Israel is the largest recipient of U.S. military aid in history-  $251.2 billion (adjusted for inflation) since 1958. The report acknowledges that it does not include the costs of expanding war in Lebanon which has intensified in recent weeks. CBS reported that over 2,000 people have been killed in the widening war with Lebanon in just the last two weeks.

This past weekend the Catholic Worker had a national gathering in Chicago hosted by Francis House Catholic Worker in celebration of their 50th anniversary. True to War Tax Resistance: A Catholic Worker Tradition, the gathering was well represented with many war tax resisters in attendance and speaking about WTR. Kicking off the program started with WTR Mike Bremmer sharing some of the highlights of decades of resistance to war and suggesting war tax resistance as a viable path. Brad Lyttle was in attendance as well as Lucia who hosted the November 2023 NWTRCC Gathering in Purchase, NY, Karl Meyer and many more. 

In the roundtable discussion on Nuclear Weapons, Anti-Nuclear Activism and Nuclear Accountability, war tax resistance was encouraged, as well as, support for WTR Susan Crane who is imprisoned in Germany and is hungry for news from the outside world (you can print articles and use them as stationary and write to her.) Another roundtable titled War and Peace in the Middle East convened by WTR Kathy Kelly and Cassandra Dixon was the most attended session indicating interest in people wanting to take action. Both shared about their travels in the Middle East and Afghanistan; the current situation in the region. 

Cassandra stated, “We are living in extraordinary times where we are witnessing an ongoing genocide on our phones, on our screens in real time. The actions we take have tremendous impacts and the stakes are high, not paying taxes for this genocide is not enough- we must do more.” Some resources were shared to encourage others to take collective action.  NWTRCC will be hosting our national gathering November 8-10 online. One of the sessions will be on organizing WTR 101 sessions in your area. You can find the schedule and register here. Let’s come together and strategize ways of making an impact in these extraordinary times!

Post by Chrissy Kirchhoefer

Speaking of extraordinary times…a group representing the Hibakusha, Nihon Hidankyo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their work in raising awareness of the horrendous harm of nuclear weapons; helping prevent nuclear weapons being used again. In the acceptance speech co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo, Toshiyuki Mimaki, stated “In Gaza, bleeding children are being held [by their parents]. It’s like in Japan 80 years ago.”