This is a request you sign a petition, but more, it shares a strategy and understanding you may want to own. The points are not new, but putting them on the table together points the way ahead. It’s about addressing the world-wide military situation, something we rarely dare think about, but should. If a thousand or so of us share this strategic understanding and articulate it well before 11/11/2018, things might change quite radically. The points are not original or difficult to agree with.

1. MILITARISM IS GROWING. World military spending is now some 70% higher than at the end of the Cold War and looks to increase further. Sophisticated arms industries in the US, UK, Russia, France, China, Japan and other states are expanding and supplying most countries with lethal arrays of weapons. Companies push their wares avidly.

2. THE MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX IS INSIDE GOVERNMENT. The military and arms companies are (undemocratically) inside most governments, especially the heavily armed members of the UN Security Council. The military-industrial complex is in political control, and shapes most of the media with scares, distrust, nationalist themes and rumours of wars.

3. ARMS ARE THE PROBLEM, NOT THE SOLUTION. THEY CAUSE MOST WARS. Arms, not territorial gain, cause most wars. WW1 was precipitated by four arms races. Arms pressure in the 1920s and 30s opened the way for Hitler. The flooding of the Middle East with arms (for oil) has made much of it into an area of failed, war-ridden states. Both Iraq Wars were caused by arms. ISIS was founded on looted western arms. If nothing is done, arms sales and macho politics will cause more wars, deaths and devastation. Refugees (50-70M now) and dire poverty will be even more serious and insoluble. Big power confrontations would destroy much of the world.

4. MILITARISM IS THE BIGGEST FAILED EXPERIMENT ON THE PLANET. It has caused 200 million deaths this last century and wasted perhaps 10-20% of all economic activity on the planet. Most people, given space to reflect, know wars and arming do not work especially if they have direct experience of war. All sides lose wars. All States waste through militarism. The power to destroy is no power at all to thinking people. All countries, except the US, have a policy of internal disarmament because it is safer. In an inter-dependent world, militarism is tragically stupid. Weapons have shot their bolt.

5. MOST OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION IS FOR PEACE AND DISARMAMENT, were they not frightened by the militarists and told peace is not practical. Vast industries of fear, east and west, keep this fragile militarism in place, when the old nationalist and patriotic idea of enemy is merely a myth for the military. In November 2018 they will reflect on the War to End all Wars and the possibility of peace. Football across no man’s land is now much more sensible than going back to the trenches.

6. FULL WORLD MULTILATERAL DISARMAMENT – ARMING DOWN – IS EASIER AND MORE PRACTICAL THAN ARMING UP. If all nations disarm together, threats, dangers, costs and damage fall for all, and no-one needs “defence”. A clear proposal for decreasing military spending accepted by all states makes eminent sense for all, except the militarists. It needs backing by open and required inspection, a (decreasing) UN police force and a subsidized end to arms production. War and destruction are impractical, and most of the defence arguments are myths, hiding the fact that aggression does not work. The idea that wars are won is idealised. Deliberate world-wide disarmament is not difficult if the major powers back it together and work with the United Nations.

7. THE MILITARY MUST NOT BE IN CHARGE. Disarmament was proposed seriously in 1899, 1907, 1918, 1932 and the 1960s, but never actually tried, because the military-industrial complex sabotaged it and dominated political leadership. Especially in the 1932 Geneva Disarmament Conference the military establishment and arms company agents stopped President Hoover’s radical disarmament plan. Turkeys do not vote for Christmas. The military-industrial complex will try every which way to stop disarmament. Disarmament will be a fight against them, but not to kill and maim. Similarly, the militarists cannot be in charge of implementing it; They will create problems to break it down, though they owe it to their soldiers not to. Reliable political control of the military is a necessity.

8. THE ROUTE TO WORLD MULTILATERAL DISARMAMENT, SIDE-STEPPING MILITARY CONTROL, IS POPULAR WORLD-WIDE DEMOCRATIC PETITIONS. Look at the picture above. In 1932 they collected tens of millions of signatures for world disarmament and the Geneva Conference met. The arms companies defeated the World Disarmament Proposal by President Hoover and the Conference stalled. Hitler came to power. This time the little people must wise up and win. “We the undersigned insists this should happen.” We go round military control of the system. These petitions can grow in every nation, east and west, and we, the little people, can say, “This is where we stand – disarmament for everybody.” There will be problems with military dictators, superpowers, fearmongers and terrorists, but these problems are far smaller than weapons and war, and can be handled under the rule of law. So world multilateral disarmament and peace must be made, and we can make it, as Jesus suggested. Faith can move mountains, even the one of world militarism.

NOVEMBER 2019 IS A CRUCIAL TIME. The First World War was to be the War To End All Wars, and Disarmament for All was built into the Treaty of Versailles. It was frozen out by the military-industrial establishments and not tried, opening the way for Hitler. Now is the time to learn the deep lesson of this Pointless War and disarm the nations. We, little people, have to do it and you, in your own way, with your friends and contacts, are invited to take it on by word and action. You are invited to sign this proposal to the UK Government, pass it on and undertake your own initiatives. It needs to be 10,000 or 100,000 by the beginning of November to start the process with some élan. We can, one by one, help disarm the world.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/226728