How are you feeling after this nail-biting election? Relieved? exhausted? apprehensive? That’s where we—the peacemakers— come in. Just as grassroots groups around the country are pushing Biden to embrace visionary policies such as a Green New Deal and Medicare for All, we have to push him for a new foreign policy, a feminist foreign policy that replaces militarism with international cooperation and diplomacy. We’re pushing Biden to stop U.S. support for the war in Yemen on day one. And we’re putting forward an exciting 10-point call for the Biden administration to re-envision U.S. policy from a feminist perspective. Add your name to endorse our 10 Challenges for Biden and we will deliver it while he considers his cabinet and policies.
U.S. relations with the rest of the world must be based on respect, cooperation, and diplomacy—not war. We are challenging President-elect Biden to agree to:
Reduce Military Spending, Invest at Home. Under both Republican and Democratic administrations, we have been allocating over $700 billion dollars to the Pentagon. Instead, we want Biden to significantly cut the Pentagon budget and use that money to invest in what really keeps us safe: universal healthcare, infrastructure, a Green New Deal, education, housing, tax cuts for the lowest incomes, and humanitarian aid. To do this, he must create a transition program for workers to move from military to peace-based jobs.
End Wars, Use Diplomacy, and Respect International Law. Biden must stop U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen. He must finally get U.S. troops out of Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. He must rejoin the Iran Nuclear Deal and remove crippling U.S. sanctions against Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, and others.
China is Not Our Enemy. During the 2020 election, Biden and Trump competed with each other on who could do more China-bashing. Now, more than ever, we need cooperation, not another Cold War and that’s why we are calling on Biden to fight COVID, not China!
Stop Supporting Israel’s War on Palestinians. $3.8 billion dollars a year for Israel to maintain a system of apartheid is shameful! A Biden administration must hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law and Palestinian human rights.
Stop Arming the Middle East, No Weapons to Human Rights Violators. Rather than isolating Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after the gruesome murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Trump continued weapons sales to the Saudis and has now set up a weapons deal with the United Arab Emirates, in exchange for them normalizing relations with Israel. Biden must block Trump’s deal with the UAE, stop arming the Middle East, and end the U.S. practice of selling or giving weapons to countries — such as Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the Philippines — that violate human rights.
Work for a Nuclear-Free World. A peaceful country is a country that abides by its obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). We are calling on Biden to remove missile defense systems from Europe and end NATO expansion. And we want to see the U.S. join the UN’s Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Close Overseas Military Bases. Did you know that the U.S. has nearly 800 military bases in more than 70 countries and territories abroad? The U.S. needs to begin the process of closing those bases and using the U.S. military to protect the nation, not seek new enemies overseas.
Grow a Green Local Peace Economy. The U.S.needs a feminist peace economy that respects people and the planet, and is based on giving and sharing that’s local and relational. Biden must begin his term in office by supporting the Green New Deal and developing a feminist foreign policy.
End the Corporate Influence of Weapons Manufacturers. Weapons manufacturers donated millions of dollars to both candidates’ campaigns — a down payment to ensure they will continue to see their profits rise. A president for peace can begin to address this endless cycle by denying cabinet positions for any former CEOs or lobbyists from weapons companies and rejecting policy recommendations from think tanks funded by weapons manufacturers.
Stop Militarizing the Border and the Police. After Obama’s reign as Deporter-in-Chief and Trump’s policy of family separation, it is more important than ever that we stop these attacks on migrants and refugees. Likewise, we must end racist U.S. policing, as well as the transfers of military-grade weaponry and surveillance equipment to local police departments.
Joe Biden promised us during his campaign that he would return our country to “normal.” But does “normal” mean kowtowing to weapons manufacturers, retaining bloated Pentagon budgets, continuing support for Israeli apartheid, imposing neoliberal policies on Latin America, creating a new conflict with China?
No. We have to redefine “normal” as a country that stops arming human rights abusers, develops a just and principled foreign policy towards Palestine/Israel, acts like a good neighbor to Latin America, stops the new cold war with China, slashes Pentagon spending, and more.
So let’s start the transition to a just foreign policy before Biden gets to the White House. Join us today in supporting the 10 challenges that would make Biden a President for Peace, and would bring a feminist vision of the world into the White House.
