William Hartung

William Hartung in Asia Tribune | 'China Key Arms Supplier to Human Rights Abusers'

Communications — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:56:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Although China controls only 2 percent of the global arms market, Beijing’s impact "is measured less by the value of its sales than by the character of its clients," says William D. Hartung, director of the Arms and Security Initiative at the New America Foundation. A brief by the Washington-based non-profit public policy institute, released Wednesday, points out that China is currently "an arms supplier of last resort for dictators and human rights abusers", including Sudan, Zimbabwe and Myanmar (Burma).

"China’s domestic policies have come under much-deserved scrutiny in the run-up to the Olympics," noted Hartung, author of the study, who says Beijing’s clients include politically repressive regimes.

"We shouldn’t forget that the Chinese government’s most egregious act has been its role as an enabler of mass murder in Darfur," he said.

Without Chinese support, he argued, the ability of the Sudanese government and its allies to kill, maim, and intimidate the people of Darfur would be greatly diminished.

Asked whether Western nations are equally guilty in their arms sales policies, Hartung told IPS that major suppliers like the United States, Britain and France all supply dictatorships and human rights abusers.

But he pointed out that China’s markets include the few repressive regimes that these major exporters have chosen not to supply.

For example, in the case of the U.S., 17 of its 25 largest recipients of weapons in the developing world in 2007 were designated as major human rights abusers or undemocratic regimes by its own State Department.

"Under various laws and political commitments [not formal treaties], major suppliers are committed to limiting sales to regions of conflict and major human rights abusers," according to Hartung. LINK

China Fuels Repression in Darfur

Communications — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:11:00 -0400

New York, NY-China has been the most egregious violator of the global arms embargo on Darfur, supplying guns and ammunition to the Sudanese government that have been transferred into the region, according to a new issue brief released by the Arms and Security Initiative at the New America Foundation. Since 2004, the vast majority of Sudan's small arms and light weapons have come from China, and many of them have found their way into the hands of the notorious Janjaweed militias in Darfur.

William Hartung in Toronto Star | '$3 Trillion Is Just a Part of the Cost'

Communications — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 06:45:00 -0400

New America in the News:

$3 Trillion Is Just a Part of the Cost (Toronto Star)

. . . "There seems to be a political taboo about questioning levels of military spending," says William Hartung, director of the arms and security initiative of the Washington-based New America Foundation.

"The Democrats, who might raise questions, fear that they'll be labelled soft on defence. The Republicans aren't going to ask. And if the candidates don't tackle the military budget before the election race begins, it won't get any easier." . . .

"The U.S. is definitely locked into a war economy," says Hartung, author of How Much Are You Making on the War, Daddy? A Quick and Dirty Guide to War Profiteering in the Bush Administration.

"About two weeks of the war would cost the same as what's spent on fighting global warming. But war spending is a kind of protected portion of the economy. The world could change dramatically, but the budget would be about the same." . . .

"If the war ended tomorrow, there'd be no peace dividend," says Hartung.

William Hartung in Asia Times | 'Going bankrupt: The US's greatest threat'

Communications — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 23:39:00 -0500

New America in the News:
Going bankrupt: The US's greatest threat (Asia Times)

...In discussing the fiscal 2008 defense budget, as released to the press on February 7, 2007, I have been guided by two experienced and reliable analysts: William D Hartung of the New America Foundation's Arms and Security Initiative and Fred Kaplan, defense correspondent for Slate.org. They agree that the Department of Defense requested $481.4 billion for salaries, operations (except in Iraq and Afghanistan), and equipment.

They also agree on a figure of $141.7 billion for the "supplemental" budget to fight the global "war on terror" - that is, the two on-going wars that the general public may think are actually covered by the basic Pentagon budget. more

William Hartung in FPIF World Beat | 'Best of Bush 2007' Mention

Communications — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 11:08:00 -0500

New America in the News:
World Beat (Foreign Policy In Focus)
Finally, on a lighter note, William Hartung has done a humorous roundup of George W. Bush’s foreign policy successes for 2007. One of those successes: the U.S. president finally knows the name of Pakistan’s leader. Hartung writes in Best of Bush 2007: “When he was running for president the first time around, a reporter asked George W. Bush who the leader of Pakistan was, and he said ‘General. I can't name the General. General.’ He also said that ‘this guy is going to bring stability to the country.’ Now Bush knows that ‘this guy’ is named Musharraf - but he's still working on the nuances (like pronouncing ‘Pervez’).” ...

Best of Bush 2007

adminn — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:14:00 -0500

Sure, there were some downsides to the Bush administration foreign policy in 2007 such as [INSERT YOUR FAVORITE EXAMPLE HERE]. But what about the good news?

No New Wars: Iraq and Afghanistan haven't quite reached the "pace of success" (Bush's phrase) that the president would like to see. But give him some credit: he didn't start any new wars in 2007. No "Nucular" attacks: since Dubya can't pronounce the word "nuclear" and can't locate most countries on a map, it's hard for him to push the button: he doesn't know where to aim. No War With Iran: That damned… more

William Hartung in People's Weekly World on Pakistan and Iran

Communications — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 11:48:00 -0500

New America in the News:

The new crisis in Pakistan demonstrates the hypocrisy of Bush administration saber-rattling against Iran, foreign policy analysts say.

Pakistan’s president and top Bush “war on terror” ally Gen. Pervez Musharraf staged what many call a military coup Nov. 3, declaring a state of emergency, suspending the constitution, firing the entire Supreme Court and jailing hundreds of lawyers and other protesters including trade unionists.

The United States has given Musharraf’s government $10.59 billion in military, economic and development aid since Sept. 11, 2001, according to The Associated Press. About 75 percent is military funding. The Musharraf government has spent much of this on purchasing major weapons systems. Pakistan, unlike Iran, has nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have ratcheted up apocalyptic warnings about an Iranian threat that remind many of their pre-invasion talk about Iraq.

“The Pakistan crisis should offer an opportunity to expose the hypocrisy of U.S. policy towards Iran,” William Hartung, director of the New America Foundation’s Arms and Security Initiative, told the World. “On the one hand, the administration is coddling a repressive, nuclear-armed state, giving it billions in military and economic aid. On the other, it repeatedly states that it will keep the military option ‘on the table’ against Iran, for a shifting series of reasons ranging from its nuclear program to its role in Iraq. In both cases, claims about Iranian capabilities and intentions are being exaggerated. In Pakistan, by contrast, its repression is there for all to see, in the streets of its cities; and no one doubts that it already has a considerable nuclear arsenal.” ...

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