In an age when U.S. power can be projected through private mercenary armies and unmanned Predator drones, the U.S. military need no longer rely on massive, conventional ground forces to pursue its imperial agenda, a fact President Barack Obama is now acknowledging. But make no mistake: while the tactics may be changing, the U.S. taxpayer – and poor foreigners abroad – will still be saddled with overblown military budgets and militaristic policies.

Speaking January 5 alongside his Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, the president announced a shift in strategy for the American military, one that emphasizes aerial campaigns and proxy wars as opposed to “long-term nation-building with large military footprints.” This, to some pundits and politicians, is considered a tectonic shift.

Indeed, the way some on the left tell it, the strategy marks a radical departure from the imperial status quo. “Obama just repudiated the past decade of forever war policy,” gushed Rolling Stone reporter Michael Hastings, calling the new strategy a “[s]lap in the face to the generals.”

Conservative hawks, meanwhile, predictably declared that the sky is falling. “This is a lead from behind strategy for a left-behind America,” cried hyperventilating California Republican Buck McKeon, chairman the House Armed Services Committee. “This strategy ensures American decline in exchange for more failed domestic programs.” In McKeon’s world, feeding the war machine is preferable to feeding poor people.

Unfortunately, though, rather than renouncing empire and endless war, Obama’s stated strategy for the military going forward just reaffirms the U.S. commitment to both. Rather than renouncing the last decade of war, it states that the bloody and disastrous occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan – gently termed “extended operations” – were pursued “to bring stability to those countries.”

And Leon Panetta assured the American public that even with the changes, the U.S. would still be able to fight two major wars at the same time—and win. And Obama assured America’s military contractors and coffin makers that their lifeline – U.S. taxpayers’ money – would still be funneled their way in obscene bucket loads.

“Over the next 10 years, the growth in the defense budget will slow,” the president told reporters, “but the fact of the matter is this: It will still grow.” In fact, he added with a touch of pride, it “will still be larger than it was toward the end of the Bush administration,” totaling more than $700 billion a year and accounting for about half of the average American’s income tax. So much for the Pentagon’s budget being slashed – like we were promised – the way lawmakers are trying to cut those “failed domestic programs.”

The U.S. could cut its military spending in half tomorrow and still spend more than three times as much as its next nearest rival, China. That’s because China, instead of waging wars of choice around the world, prefers projecting its might by investing in its own country. On the other hand, the U.S. under the leadership of Obama is beefing up its military presence in China’s backyard, more interested in projecting its dwindling power than rebuilding its economy.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower once noted that every dollar going to the military is a dollar that can’t be used to provide food and shelter for those in need. Today’s obscene amount of military spending isn’t necessary if the administration wished to pursue the quaint goal of simply defending the country from invasion. Maintaining “the best-trained, best-equipped military in history,” as Obama says is his goal? That’s a different story – for a different purpose. Indeed, as Madeline Albright observed, possessing that kind of military might is no fun if you don’t get to use it, as Obama has with gusto in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Libya and Uganda.

The truth is that the Obama administration’s “new” strategy is more of the same—a reaffirmation of the U.S. government’s commitment to militarism for the all the usual reasons: to promote American hegemony and, by extension, the interests of politically connected capital. And U.S. officials aren’t shy about that.

Indeed, throughout the strategy document the ostensible purpose for having a military — to provide national security — repeatedly takes a backseat to promoting the economic interests of the U.S. elite that profits from empire. Repositioning U.S. forces “toward the Asia-Pacific region,” for instance – including the stationing of American soldiers in that hotbed of violent extremism, Australia – is cast not just as a means of ensuring peace and stability, but guaranteeing “the free flow of commerce.” Maintaining a global empire of bases from Europe to Okinawa isn’t necessary for self-defense, but according to Obama, ensuring – with guns – “the prosperity that flows from an open and free international economic system.”

Of course, that economic considerations shape U.S. foreign policy is nothing new. More than 25 years ago, President Jimmy Carter – that Jimmy Carter – declared in a State of the Union address that U.S. military force would be employed in the Persian Gulf, not for the cause of peace, freedom and apple pie, but to ensure “the free movement of Middle East oil.” And so it goes.

Far from affecting change, Obama is ensuring continuity. “U.S. policy will emphasize Gulf security,” states his new military strategy, in order to “prevent Iran’s development of a nuclear weapon capability and counter its destabilizing policies” — as if it’s Iran that has been destabilizing the region. And as Obama publicly proclaims his support for “political and economic reform” in the Middle East, just like every other U.S. president he not-so-privately backs their oppressors from Bahrain to Yemen and signs off on the biggest weapons deal in history to that bastion of democracy, Saudi Arabia.

Obama can talk all he wants about turning the page on a decade of war and occupation, but so long as he continues to fight wars and military occupy countries on the other side of the globe, talk is all it is. The facts, sadly, are this: since taking office Obama doubled the number of troops in Afghanistan; he fought to extend the U.S. occupation in Iraq– and partially succeeded; he dramatically expanded the use of killer drones from Pakistan to Somalia; and he requested military budgets that would make George W. Bush blush. If you want to see what his military strategy really is, forget what’s said at press conferences and in turgidly written Pentagon press releases. Just look at the record.

Charles Davis has covered Capitol Hill for public radio and the international news wire Inter Press Service. More of his work may be found on his website.

Medea Benjamin is cofounder of CODEPINK: Women for Peace and GlobalExchange.

Do you know where your money spends the night?  Wall Street banks are trashing our economy and our environment in the name of their own profits—do you buy into their corruption and greed?

It’s time to Pink Slip Big Banks and invest in a more peaceful and just future by moving your money!  How?

Here are some great resources:

•    Tool: Find a Bank or a Credit Union near you


•    Print: Download and print out our PINK SLIP BIG BANKS statement to hand into your bank when you close your account

•    Checklist: 7 Simple Steps To Move Your Checking Account

•    Make socially responsible investments as an alternative to bank CDs or money market accounts

•    Share your banking story with us! Upload a video to our website, submit a photo, or email us your story.

Moving our money is one of the powerful ongoing direct actions that has come out of the growing Occupy movement.  Join an Occupy action near you today and put your money and your body where your values are.  And meet us online at www.womenoccupy.org.

The Divine Feminine at OWS

The evolutionary advantages of bonobo lifestyle, well-known among primatologists, served as an introduction to our first Divine Feminine discussion at Occupy Wall Street. Tired of male-dominated spaces and conversations, female occupiers were insisting on the importance of coming together simply for the sake of, well, coming together. Unlike WOW (Women Occupying Wall Street), there was no agenda, no actions being planned. The purpose was solely to meet and share what was on our minds without men present.

To be perfectly honest, I entered my first Divine Feminine discussion out of duty rather than desire. I had more than enough commitments, caucuses and events competing for my time – meeting for meeting’s sake was not a priority. I was also a bit put off by the group’s name, with its whiff of gender essentialism. I was more interested in dismantling gender binaries than discussing estrogen with a bunch of earth mothers.

But I have also experienced my share of sexism at Occupy Wall Street. I have watched too many women shrink from sharing their ideas, too many temperate voices shouted out of conversations, and too many important issues squeezed off of the agenda. I have heard too many terrible stories testifying to the very real violence and dangers plaguing female occupiers as night falls. And after over a month of pushing aside the things that are most important to me – family, friends, physical health – in the name of building a better world, the idea of taking time to nurture human relationships, bonding, and conversation, hit a nerve. So I figured I would make a show of solidarity, get in touch with my Divine Femininity for a few minutes, and then get back to work.

It turned out I was not alone. Perching just outside the circle to signify their non-commitment, several attendees announced at the outset that they could only stay ten minutes, just came to check things out, “what is Divine Feminine anyway?” That’s when my friend Ketchup shared the story about the bonobos, explaining that when women spend time together, all of society benefits; when we isolate ourselves, society suffers. By the time she reached this simple conclusion, everyone had drawn in closer.

Ten minutes came and went and nobody left, except to run to a bathroom or grab a hot chocolate from the nearby falafel cart. One woman returned triumphantly wielding a large pizza and proudly announced that she had used her “Divine Feminine powers” to procure it from the OWS kitchen team. Over the course of the night it became clear to me that the value of the group, what set it apart from the 60-odd other groups operating at Occupy Wall Street, had nothing to do with biology. Rather, what kept us there was a testament to how, as one woman put it, “the feminine act of listening is beautiful and radical.”

Wendelin shares her story during our "Ambiguous Upsparkles" story session with Eve Ensler

In the past weeks I’ve experienced numerous bonobo-style communities emerge from the radical, beautiful, and sometimes challenging, act of listening at OWS. Last week after a Safer Spaces sleep-out, as we drank our coffee and rolled up our sleeping bags, the person I slept next to suggested everyone play a game. I was about to skip it when, realizing I hadn’t even learned my fellow safe-spacer’s name, I checked myself and decided to stick around. After five minutes of the silly exercise – depicting our hairstyle evolution on pieces of cardboard – it was clear that we would no longer need a pink flag to demarcate the safe space we had created among one another. Just the day before the sleepout, two people I had never met separately, mysteriously, showed up to lend support as I was facilitating a meeting that threatened to be disrupted. I later learned they were friends of someone with whom I had locked tear-filled eyes during a particularly moving moment of the story-sharing session I help coordinate. After the session we had bonded over the experience, and when I briefly mentioned the meeting, she silently enlisted everyone she knew to attend. Like bonobos, they showed up to protect the group’s ideas against violence and possible “infanticide.”

Haircut evolution: post sleep-out games with Safer Spaces

Which brings me back to evolution. In the early days of Occupy Wall Street, before Divine Feminine and WOW were formed, I found my home in the Speak-Easy Caucus. Like WOW, Speak-Easy originated as a safe space for voices and ideas that were being pushed out of the larger conversation of the General Assembly. Originally open to anyone who did not identify as 100% male, Speak-Easy later evolved to include a spectrum of individuals, from female-bodied people identifying as women to male-bodied people who did not identify as traditionally masculine. Although it made sense for Speak-Easy to include a diversity of people, including men, who had difficulty having their voices heard, many women felt it was also important to maintain a safe space exclusively for women and non-males – and thus, WOW was born. Speak-Easy itself would later disband as many of its members became active in the Queer Caucus.

This week the entire structure of the General Assembly and Occupy Wall Street will evolve to adopt the spokes council model passed by the General Assembly on Friday. The spokes council model is meant to improve coordination, accessibility and transparency at Occupy Wall Street and to better empower marginalized voices in groups such as WOW, the Queer Caucus and the People of Color Working Group to communicate their needs and be involved in decision-making. The model is not without its critics – it has undergone countless revisions, been the subject of daily teach-ins, and was presented to the General Assembly on four occasions before finally achieving approval by a 9/10 consensus on Friday. The adopted proposal is itself a living document, and was accepted with the understanding that it would continue to evolve in response to the many concerns raised by members of the OWS community.

It’s no surprise that Occupy Wall Street is far from perfect. But what I have witnessed in the evolution of Occupy Wall Street, what differentiates us from dominant society and makes this movement worth fighting for, is a genuine willingness to confront our problems and create a community where all voices can be truly equal. We have a lot working against us, not the least of which is centuries of practice doing things the other way – building hierarchies based on race, class and gender, protecting systems of privilege and rewarding the loudest and most dominant voices. But slowly, together, we are learning how to listen.

I’ve heard people poke fun at the emphasis we put on “Process” at Occupy Wall Street. To me, the beautiful and radical act of listening is not about feminine or masculine, but simply about respect – respect for each other and, yes, for our agreed-upon (and ever-evolving) processes of communicating and interacting. When process breaks down – when groups operate without consensus, people and ideas are attacked, voices are silenced – there is no criteria of inclusion that can enforce a “safe space.”

Without respect for each other, we are nothing but chimpanzees. In order to survive, we must learn to live like bonobos. And the more we continue to evolve together, the better the chances that evolution will one day lead to revolution.

Yesterday afternoon, as members of the Occupy Wall Street demonstration rallied in solidarity with postal workers in New York City, I received the following letter of support from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW):

Solidarity letter from Canadian Union of Postal Workers [click to enlarge]

“Your actions in demanding justice, fairness, equality and peace inspire us. You are smart, strategic, creative, non violent and inclusive.”

Every day we Occupy Wall Street I am fueled and inspired by gestures of solidarity from around the world. Last week members of CODEPINK LA sent pizza to the demonstration; on Monday morning, two CODEPINK supporters visiting from Canada stopped by Liberty Plaza on their way to the airport and were inspired to make a donation; yesterday I received news that a “care package” is on its way to Liberty Plaza from our PINK sisters in San Francisco Bay Area.

Every contribution and every message of solidarity strengthens the 99%.

Thank you for your support.

The general assembly convenes for Day 5 of Occupy Wall Street

I arrive and it’s beautiful. Everything is cleaner, more organized and more vibrant than I left it. Spirits are high in the General Assembly (GA) and even nature is cooperating, lending us a little sunlight. Since Justin was arrested yesterday for using a megaphone the GA has adopted a system of self-amplification referred to as the “people’s microphone.” A new speaker begins by testing the volume – “MIKE CHECK!” and everyone within hearing distance echoes in unison: “MIKE CHECK!” People are becoming accustomed to speaking in brief, clear, beats and hearing their words reflected back to them by their peers – a democratic improvement on the megaphone. As one cardboard sign says, REVOLUTION IS EVOLUTION.

A riveting message from the finger-painting station

The GA welcomes back one of yesterday’s arrestees, who reports that she was hospitalized after the NYPD denied her access to prescription medication and told her she was suicidal when she demanded information about her brother, who was also arrested. A member of the medical team tells me another arestee has deep wounds where his wrists were bound with zip-ties so tight that police officers had to use needle-nosed pliers to sever them, further mauling his wrists in the process. Everyone who has been arrested during our peaceful protest has returned to Liberty Plaza upon being released.

A GA facilitator asks for a “vibes check:” we signal good vibes all around. People are naturally and intuitively adopting the many hand gestures we’ve developed to communicate: “I agree/I feel good about that”, “I disagree/I feel bad about that”, “I have a direct response,” “I block

One of the many services available in Liberty Square

that idea,” “point of process,” “point of information,” “shorten your sentences,” and “I’d like to be put on the speakers’ stack.” The young woman taking stack informs us that most of the speakers thus far have been men, and asks if any non-male identifying participants would like to speak. Grateful for the invitation, I take the opportunity to wish everyone a happy International Peace Day and announce a rally to support Bradley Manning organized by CODEPINK and other peace groups for this Friday. People take fliers and signal their support by wiggling their fingers towards the sky. In Liberty Plaza, we are all Bradley Manning.

CODEPINK and the Granny Peace Brigade: partners in peace

As people are leaving work we march on Wall Street, led by the bombastic musical stylings of the Rude Mechanical Orchestra. I march with Eva-Lee, a seasoned CODEPINKer and member of the Granny Peace Brigade. She is in awe of what young people are doing and says it’s unlike any other demonstration she’s experienced:

“it’s the process even more than the issues. I’m just blown away by how people are treating each other!”

Quiet hours in Liberty Plaza: Make Out Not War

During the evening GA the Principles Committee passes around copies of a framework they’ve prepared for discussion: “Principles of Solidarity [Working Draft of Consolidated points for Discussion].” Someone voices a concern: the media is so desperate for any kind

of statement from us that they will take this and use it to represent us. The point resonates with the GA. I share the concern that the document

will be misinterpreted as a set of demands, which continue to be the focal point for most interviewers asking me about the demonstration, and decide not to post my photo of the document online.

A member of the committee, who tells us he stayed up until 3 am drafting the document, responds to the questions ermerging from the GA. His words resound through the plaza, as the people’s microphone brings us back together:

I know this is challenging // “I know this is challenging”
But I love you all // “but I love you all”
And we can do this. // “and we can do this.”
You can reject the draft // “You can reject the draft”
You can reject the committee // “you can reject the committee”
What’s important// “what’s important”
Is to stick this through.// “is to stick this through.”
We’ll make 100 drafts// “We’ll make 100 drafts”
If you think this is worth a try// “If you think this is worth a try”
A step in the right direction// “A step in the right direction”
We can try it.// “We can try it.”
We can always try again// “We can always try again”
Start anew// “Start anew”
But it’s too important// “But it’s too important”
To not try.// “To not try.”
We will not sleep// “We will not sleep”
Until we can give you something // “Until we can give you something”
That proudly identifies// “That proudly identifies”
What you’re doing // “what you’re doing”
Which is fucking amazing. // “Which is fucking amazing.”

The GA break into small groups to discuss the document. At 9:50 pm someone interrupts with an emergency announcement: Jerry of Ben and Jerry’s has donated 4 cases of ice cream to the demonstration.

We are all Troy Davis

As we continue to hash out the principles, people bring around tray after tray of small bowls of rum raisin, chocolate, and cookie dough. Throughout the GA people have been circulating to distribute apples and collect trash

. I continue to be amazed at how this rag-tag collection of unemployed, underemployed,

debt-ridden souls manages to feed thousands of people and accomplish what our government does not: caring for each other’s basic needs and engaging in true democracy. The twitter hashtag #needsoftheoccupiers solicits everything from independent journalists to extension cords to birthday cake:

“@OccupyWallStNYC: Member of legal team’s wife’s birthday. He spent it here defending us. Can somebody send a cake here tomorrow? #needsoftheoccupiers”

At 10:33 pm we receive another emergency announcement: someone has just learned via text message that Troy Davis will be executed in 20 minutes. The announcement chills the square, as his last words resonate through our bodies and voices:

The struggle for justice// “The struggle for justice”
Doesn’t end with me. // “Doesn’t end with me.”
This struggle // “This struggle”
Is for all the Troy Davises who came before me // “Is for all the Troy Davises who came before me”
And all the ones who will come after me. //“And all the ones who will come after me.”
Keep working // “Keep working”
Keep the faith. // “Keep the faith.”

We have a moment of silence. I take the hands of the once-strangers sitting on either side of me. I hear people crying. Rain starts to fall. The peoples’ microphone speaks:

We are the 99% // “We are the 99%”
We are all Troy Davis// “We are all Troy Davis”
May his soul fly high // “May his soul fly high”
And may his spirit be with each one of us // “And may his spirit be with each one of us.”

Some decide to march to the courthouse. We make sure they are accompanied by a camera and a member of the legal team and send them on their way.

Be Safe // “Be safe”
Be careful // “Be careful”
Go with our love // “Go with our love”

It’s well after midnight. We have not made it through the Principles of Solidarity – at least not on paper. More food arrives: delicious-looking salads, snacks, fruit and vegetable smoothies. The friendly people in our new-and-improved kitchen station promote their offerings, ask what else we need (nothing – we have more than enough!) and encourage everyone to eat. No-one will go hungry in Liberty Plaza. I see the bike bloc leaving for their nightly run and signal with my bell I’d like to join them. They wait patiently as the marchers return and people light candles. I hear the people’s mic propose changing the name of Liberty Plaza to Troy Davis Square.

Police look on as the 99% try to get some rest

We ride past the line of police guarding the metal barricades still blocking Wall Street: me in my pink, Joe at my side in rainbow knee-high stockings. The scene reminds me of an iconic image of a CODEPINKer piercing through a line of riot police with a smile and a pink feather boa — an inspiring symbol of our power to disarm the military industrial complex with humor and positive energy. I sail through the financial district with renewed faith in our mission to bring our war dollars home where they belong and resist the endless funding of death and destruction.

The police may have succeeded in occupying Wall Street with fear and violence, but we have succeeded in exposing their commitment to protecting corporate greed over human need. Together with our friends in Liberty Plaza, we are creating an alternative, peaceful, vision based on beauty, joy, and hope.

We are the 99%, and we are winning.

Day three of the encampment at Liberty Plaza, formerly known as Zuccotti park, is coming to a close. A lively group stands at the corner waving cardboard signs to passersby: JOIN US. WE ARE THE 99%. Helium balloons pop up throughout the park, boosting morale and providing helpful markers (“Where are you sleeping?” “Over by the red balloon”). From the other side of the park, where we sit eating some of the $6,000 worth of pizza donated to the protest thus far, we hear a loud stream of honking from Broadway. People jump to their feet, speculating it’s the Hell’s Angels. Rumor has it they are part of the 99%.

***

Charged with Possession of a Deadly Weapon: Sidewalk Chalk

10 am: I arrive in the plaza to find five people have already been arrested during a march from Liberty Plaza to Wall Street for the opening bell of the Stock Exchange. At around 11:00 am a crowd rushes towards the sidewalk on Broadway chanting “shame!” – police are arresting two people for drawing on the sidewalk with colored chalk. Returning to the scene of the crime Andrea Osborne, one of the chalk offenders, tells me that before she was arrested, one of the NYPD officers told the demonstrators it was okay to draw on the sidewalk.

“I don’t know what they’re trying to do. I think they’re really afraid of us and they’re trying to instill the same fear into us.”

The General Assembly of NY convenes in Liberty Plaza

People converge for a General Assembly – one of many that will take place today – to give legal updates and advice. The General Assembly, or GA, is an open, participatory forum through which decisions and announcements for Occupy Wall Street are made and the various working groups responsible for organizing Occupy Wall Street were formed. There is a committee for everything from medical help to direct action; as of today there is also a dumpster-diving committee and a hygiene committee. The food committee, who on Saturday announced “no-one will go hungry on Wall Street” is concerned about the lack of vegan meal options. Every time I have been hungry, there has been food. Nobody can say we are not organized.

Occupy Wall Street Media Committee hard at work

The media committee of the GA announces they’ve been fielding requests about how to respond to reporters asking “what is our one demand?” This question has pervaded  the weekly GAs ever since Adbusters first issued the call to Occupy Wall Street back in July. The media committee reminds us that we are all here for our own reasons and no-one can speak for the group, but proposes that anyone interviewed include the following two words in their statement: “join us.” The proposal is passed through consensus demonstrated by raised hands, wiggling fingers, knocking fists.

Bring Our War Dollars Home!

Seeing my hot pink “Bring Our War Dollars Home” sign, a member of the media team says “hey, CODEPINK! Thanks for the oatmeal!” I’m as surprised by the recognition as I am by her revelation that she has even seen food today; the only stationary presence in the park (with the exception of people sleeping), the media team never seem to stray from their intricately wired laptop hub, except maybe to light cigarettes. I ask her how she knew it was CODEPINK who brought the oatmeal: Twitter, naturally.

Occupying Wall Street on Saturday - photo courtesy of cphantasm

On Saturday CODEPINK joined the mass demonstration at Bowling Green, marching with a Make Jobs Not War banner and encouraging people to demonstrate what they wanted to “make” instead of war with our mobile Make ____ Not War photo booth. In the week leading up to Saturday’s demonstration we joined with the Arts and Culture committee of the GA in creative, participatory actions aimed at demilitarizing Wall Street and building for the mass occupation.

Throughout the day I see various people – some familiar, some not – adopting the CODEPINK “Bring Our War Dollars Home” sign and its message. A young man asks if he can hold the sign for awhile. He is part of the 99% who are outraged that our tax dollars are spent killing people in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Palestine, while record levels of Americans are living in poverty. I watch as reporters ask members of the Granny Peace Brigade what the sign is about and why they’re here, pointing out that most people demonstrating are a fraction of their age. A Granny throws her fists and face towards the sky shouting with glee: “YES! And thank GOD!”

***

Police look on as protesters add to the collage of pizza-box signs

Night falls and I reconvene with The Arts and Culture Committee, who are discussing how to keep momentum and spirits up – hula hoops, radical cheerleaders, music – and the criminality of sidewalk chalk (apparently it’s legal if we clean it up afterwards).

At 9:00 pm the first vegan pizzas arrive. The ever-expanding collection of recycled pizza-box signs covering the sidewalk by the park demand an end to wars, funding for healthcare, bail outs for student debt, jobs, environmental and economic justice, and freedom for Troy Davis and Bradley Manning.

At 9:30 the sound of hundreds of hands clapping from the other side of the park  signals the GA is meeting. The message appears on a giant white sheet projected from a digital screen where anyone can send a message to people in the park and post to twitter and other social media.

Digital message screen in Liberty Plaza

I send a message to the digital screen: I see beauty all around me. I look around at my brothers and sisters in the A & C committee, weary but alert. For some it is their seventh day of action and the third night spent in the park.
We are tired. We are together. We are here.
JOIN US.