"It is an absurd contradiction to speak of peace, to negotiate peace, and at the same time promote or permit the global arms trade. Is this war or that war really a war to solve problems? Or is it a commercial war for selling weapons in illegal trade and so that the merchants of death can get rich?” — Pope Francis
CODEPINK and our partners, are taking on the war machine by working to divest our society from weapons manufacturers. Divesting from the war machine means that we will not invest our money in companies that make a profit off of military interventions and expansions. In other words, we’re going to stop those who are making a killing in killing!
Through the Divest from War campaign we will:
- Empower individuals, institutions, and communities to change their investments and support peace and sustainability; instead of war, death, and destruction
- Highlight how the war machine is in our streets and in our communities, and is impacting all of us.
- Expose how the war machine is taking precious resources away from the programs and industries that support us, from education to housing to the environment.
- Amplify the cost of war at home, and abroad.
Prioritizing military spending over human need, has resulted in a system that prioritizes expanding war and the resulting death and destruction that accompany it. Instead of investing in diplomacy and life, the U.S. is constantly preparing for war and draining resources away from those programs that invest in human life.
Divesting from war is a call to radically reevaluate our priorities. Standing up to those who are holding hostage our ability to invest in education, sustainable development, feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, and facing the intrinsic inequalities in our society. We can rebuild our nation without a war economy and dilute the power of those who are only invested in war.
We kicked off our campaign by hosting a summit Washington DC. Watch the Divest from the War Machine Summit video here!