Congress continues to prioritize lining the pockets of defense contractors while millions of Americans struggle with the cost of housing, healthcare, childcare, groceries, and other basic needs. The Pentagon remains the only federal agency that has never passed an audit. Yet Congress keeps giving more and more taxpayer dollars every year to an agency that literally cannot account for where that money is going. . . . Until Congress puts people over the Pentagon, I will continue to oppose these bloated, unaccountable defense bills.
Congressman Mark Pocan
U.S. Representative 2nd District of Wisconsin
Military Families Speak Out says NO to Misusing Our Military
Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) is an organization of families with loved ones who joined the military after 9/11/2001. MFSO organized the voices of military families against the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, using our voices when our loved ones could not. MFSO is horrified by the continued misuse of the military in so many different and illegal ways - aiding ICE, illegally bombing boats that kill people in international waters, possibly using lethal force in our cities, and so much more. We know there are military family members who support their loved ones while opposing what they are being asked to do. We invite military families to learn more about MFSO and join us in collectively speaking out against misusing our military service members. Contact us.
President Trump Signs Legislation Authorizing Nearly $1 Trillion on Military Spending in 2026
Last Thursday Trump signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which provides a record $901 billion for military spending next year, $8 billion more than Trump requested. The bill includes repeals of the 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force, which Congress passed in advance of the Gulf War and the invasion of Iraq. It also withholds a portion of Defense Secretary Hegseth's travel budget pending his release of unedited footage of military strikes against alleged drug smugglers and copies of the orders behind the operations. Rep. Mark Pocan posted a video on the Costs of War explaining his vote against the NDAA; it includes current and former members of Congress, including Pocan, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Barbara Lee, Jim McGovern, and Pramila Jayapal, plus experts from the peace community -- Bill Hartung, Savannah Wooten, and Danielle Brian.
Far Outside the Law: The Trump Government's Caribbean Killings and Threats of Force Against Venezuela
The lawless military campaign against alleged drug runners goes on, and the Trump government's threats and actions aimed at Venezuela continue to escalate. These actions abroad, and the propaganda campaign that accompanies them, are intertwined with the targeting of immigrants at home. Western States Legal Foundation in early December published a commentary, Creating Zones of Lawlessness: Trump, Venezuela, and the Piecemeal Construction of an Authoritarian State, by Andrew Licherman (a UFPJ Coordinating Committee member), providing an in-depth look at the applicable international law, viewed in the context of the Trump government's broader authoritarian ambitions.
ICE Raids and Shredding of Social Safety Net Are Linked
On Nov. 26, Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez of Democracy Now! interviewed Bishop William J. Barber II as he and other faith leaders were speaking out against ICE raids in Charlotte, North Carolina. "Sometimes what happens is, pain that is caused by powerful politicians who forget that what they ought to be doing is picking up humanity rather than pulling down humanity, it actually has a reversal effect," he said. "It makes people come together, because it's so blatant and so ugly, so harsh and so mean. And that's what we see happening." Bishop Barber reiterated the importance of understanding that the different forms of policy violence (Medicaid cuts, SNAP cuts, reduced voting rights, ICE raids) are all connected. Watch the interview. Read The High Moral Stakes of Mass Detentions and Deportations, a new report from Repairers of the Breach.
Give the Gift of Peace and Justice
We are delighted to let our readers know that Syracuse Cultural Workers -- a founding UFPJ member -- has generously offered to donate 20% of profits from sales generated by UFPJ for our work! Visit the Syracuse Cultural Workers online catalogue to shop a huge assortment of items promoting active hope and resistance, peace, and almost every progressive issue you can think of! There's sure to be something suitable for everyone on your holiday gift list. Their calendars, posters, T-shirts, cards, buttons, stickers, and other items support those movements and the people who build them. UFPJ is honored to be part of that group. Simply click here to place your order or enter Discount Code: UFPJ when you check out, and UFPJ will receive 20% of the profits. THANK YOU!!!
U.S. Return to Nuclear Testing?
Nearly two months after President Trump's shocking Truth Social post on October 29, it remains unclear whether the United States will return to nuclear explosive testing. The last U.S. test nuclear detonation was in 1992. Resumption of nuclear explosive testing by the U.S. and then other nuclear-armed states would sideline or eviscerate the landmark Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. It would also have dire implications for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). A five-year NPT review conference will take place next spring. For more, see this op-ed for Inter Press Service by John Burroughs of Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy. Legislation has been introduced in the House and Senate to block any U.S. nuclear explosive testing, as set out in this Arms Control Association action alert.
Image: CTBTO
Webinar: What is Trump's Golden Dome? Are We Paying for Ineffective Missile Defense and a Spiraling Nuclear Arms Race?
Massachusetts Peace Action will co-host a webinar, What is Trump's Golden Dome? on Jan. 5, 2026, 7 -- 8:30 pm EST. Missile Defense is envisioned as a means of defending against enemy missiles carrying explosive payloads. Dating back to the Cold War space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, missile defense systems were deployed by both superpowers in the 1960s, but proved to be technically infeasible and prohibitively expensive, and were ultimately abandoned. Now, Donald Trump has launched the ambitious Golden Dome project, yet another missile defense program based on technologies and space-based interceptors proven to be unworkable. In this webinar, experts Ted Postol, Daryl Kimball, and Subrata Ghoshroy, will discuss the technical and policy aspects of Golden Dome with moderator Linda Pentz Gunter. Read more and REGISTER here.
Coming to Kansas: Nuclear Reactor One Mile Deep
"Kansas Will Get the World's First Mile-Deep Nuclear Reactor and the Groundbreaking is Next Week" This is the headline of the Lawrence Times (Lawrence KS) on December 4, 2025. Deep Fission plans to begin planting a nuclear energy reactor a mile deep near Parsons, KS. Deep Fission is part of a presidential pilot program that aims to demonstrate 3 new reactors by July 4, 2026. There is a big push for nuclear energy, but it is not safe says Kristin Scheer of PeaceWorks Kansas City. Additionally, PeaceWorks KC is working to stop the government's plan to build 80 plutonium pits per year, for the next 25 years, at a cost of $60 billion. The U.S. already has a massive stockpile of plutonium pits. PeaceWorks KC will be providing expert testimony at the upcoming public hearings to prevent production. Learn more here.
Peace Efforts Stagnate as Russia Refuses to Compromise and the US-Europe Split Deepens: United for Peace and Justice Ukraine War Resources
The days roll by, peace plans are endlessly mooted and modified, and Russia's war of aggression continues to wreak immense destruction and take the lives of thousands every month. The government of Ukraine continues to navigate between pressure from Trump's negotiators to concede to Russia's demands, which continue to include conceding territory yet unconquered and stringent limits on both Western security guarantees and Ukraine's own peacetime forces. Meanwhile in its new National Security Strategy, the Trump administration accused European governments of "unrealistic expectations" regarding settlement of the war. President Putin sought to deepen the split, calling European leaders "piglets" for siding with Ukraine and painting Russia as a danger, while taking a conciliatory stance towards the U.S. Find these and more Ukraine resources here.
A one-sided, incomplete peace deal: United for Peace and Justice Israel-Palestine War Resources
It has been over a month since the United Nations Security Council endorsed a two stage Trump administration-drafted plan for ending the Gaza war. The terms accepted by both Israel and Hamas only covered the first phase, encompassing a ceasefire, exchange of captives, and withdrawal of Israeli forces from parts of Gaza. The second phase, negotiated over the heads of Gaza's people, aims to impose an open-ended governance plan supervised by an "international transitional body" headed by Trump, and supported by an "International Stabilization Force" created by the U.S. and "Arab and International Partners." The second phase is in doubt, with Palestinian groups refusing to accept foreign guardianship, and the U.S. having difficulty assembling an international force without more substantial Palestinian involvement. Find more resources here.
Image: Rousseau Diderot, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
WEBINAR RECORDING: Achieving the [Im]possible: Peace and Disarmament in the Middle East
On Nov. 25, The Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security hosted Emad Kiyaei and Sharon Dolev, who explored the power of civil society in shaping the future of the Middle East, and the roles and responsibilities of those engaging with the region at this critical moment. The discussion introduced the Middle East Treaty Organization (METO) approach -- a practical, regional, and collaborative framework advancing peace and disarmament, grounded in trust-building, human security, and how each of us can contribute to turning the [im]possible into a reality. Sharon Dolev is an Israeli peace and justice activist with a focus on eradicating nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction from the Middle East. Emad Kiyaei, from Iran, works at the intersection of political risk and disarmament. He is a director of METO. Watch the recording. Passcode: .@C0!Kib
WEBINAR RECORDING: Trump's Foreign Policy Doctrine -- What His New National Security Strategy Means for the U.S. and the World
On Dec. 16, Joseph Gerson and Kury Petersen-Smith, leading analysts of U.S. militarism and global power, discussed how Trump's new strategy is reshaping U.S. roles in the Middle East, the Pacific, and beyond. They evaluated the Trump administration's new National Security Strategy, which is a break from the post-1945 bipartisan foreign policy consensus and a formal codification of Trumpism's imperialist, white nationalist agenda, and then highlighted the movements around the globe that are resisting the violence of American imperialism. The webinar was sponsored by Mass Peace Action, the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament, and Common Security, and the IPS New Internationalism Project. View a recording HERE.
WEBINAR RECORDING: Middle East Treaty Organization dialogue on Middle East peace prospects
On Nov. 24, the Peace Action Education Fund and the CeaseFire Now Grassroots Network held an online dialogue on Middle East peace and disarmament with Lina Arafat, former Ambassador from Jordan, and longtime Israeli peace activist Sharon Dolev, who are both part of the Middle East Treaty Organization (METO). They discussed prospects for a Weapons of Mass Destruction-Free Zone in the Middle East, and our role as civic activists in achieving a comprehensive regional agreement to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict. To watch the recording, click here.
WEBINAR RECORDING: Stopping Trump's War Machine: Boosting Movement Strategies
On Dec. 11, the Network to Dismantle the Military Industrial Complex hosted this webinar featuring Julian Aguon, Indigenous human rights lawyer from Guam, recipient of the 2025 Right Livelihood Award, Brittany DeBarros, Organizing Director, About Face Veterans Against the War, and William Hartung, Senior Research Fellow, Quincy Institute, who discussed how to better organize broad coalitions to stop the war machine and resist the global rise of right-wing authoritarianism. The speakers shared strategies to counter the Trump/MAGA agenda, connecting ICE, troops on U.S. streets, Venezuela, Gaza, the Pentagon budget, and more. Watch the recording here (in English). It's also available en español. William Hartung's new book is The Trillion Dollar War Machine: How Run Away Military Spending Drives America Into Foreign Wars and Bankrupts Us at Home.
Bombshell: How The U.S. Government Manipulated the Narrative About the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Eighty years after the devastating atomic bombings that ushered in the nuclear age, a new documentary, Bombshell, explores how the U.S. government manipulated the narrative about the atomic bombings of the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Through propaganda, censorship and the co-opting of the press, the government presented a benevolent picture of atomic power, minimizing the horrific human toll of the bombings. Bombshell sheds light on the efforts of a group of intrepid reporters to let the world know the truth. It premieres Tuesday, January 6, 2026, on American Experience on PBS 9:00-10:30 p.m. ET (check local listings). View a TRAILER.
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