SMART

A Sensible, Multi-lateral, American Response to Terrorism

Strengthen International Institutions and Support the Rule of Law to Prevent Acts of Terrorism and Future Wars
a. Increase support for multilateral diplomacy and international institutions like the United Nations; work collectively to eliminate terrorist networks and resolve international conflicts.
b. Increase funding for humanitarian programs, which address the root causes of instability and terrorism, like hunger, illiteracy and unemployment.
c. Reject unilateral preemptive war as a means of resolving international conflict; actively support institutions that can bring terrorists to justice, like the International Criminal Court.

2. Reduce the Threat and Stopping the Spread of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction
a. Demonstrate global leadership by renouncing the first use of nuclear weapons, the development of new nuclear weapons (“mini-nukes”), and the testing of nuclear weapons.
b. Honor our international commitment to work for the elimination of nuclear weapons, while increasing funding to secure “loose” Russian nuclear weapons and materials so they don’t fall into the hands of terrorists.
c. Strengthen US commitment to international treaties like the Biological Weapons Convention and the Chemical Weapons Convention.

3. Change Budget Priorities to Reflect SMART Security Needs
a. Eliminate military spending on obsolete and unnecessary weapons systems and use those resources to strengthen local “emergency responders” (such as fire, police, and public health departments), as well as for meeting urgent domestic needs like health care, education, jobs, etc.
b. Provide adequate peacekeeping and re-development funding in troubled nations like Afghanistan and Iraq to secure long-term peace and stability.
c. Provide new investments in renewable and safe energy alternatives, which will reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil and the growing threat of global warming.

Endorse the “SMART Security Platform for the 21st Century”A New Vision of National Security:

Escalating violence in Iraq and increasing terrorist attacks around the world underscore the failures of current U.S. security policy.
The administration’s reliance on unilateral military force as the primary instrument to address terrorism only serves to escalate violence. It is already clear that innocent civilians are bearing the brunt of the unending “war on terror.”

A smarter approach: A smarter approach to building national and global security–one based on international law, nonproliferation, human rights, and sustainable development is needed now.