Resist the Air Force Association “Arms Bazaar”

A Nonviolent Vigil and Prayer Service for Peace and Justice during the annual AFA Air-Space-Cyber Conference and Technology Exposition, what we call an “Arms Bazaar. This witness is being held in solidarity with Campaign Nonviolence Action Days.

Where: Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, 201 Waterfront St., National Harbor, MD 20745. We will meet for the vigil at the corner of Waterfront St. and St. George Blvd., directly across from the Gaylord National Resort.

Sponsored by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker
For more info contact: Art Laffin – 202-360-6416, artlaffin@hotmail.com

From September 11-13, the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center is once again playing host to the Air Force Association (AFA) “Air-Space-Cyber Conference and Technology Exposition,” what we call an “Arms Bazaar.” The AFA is “the voice for aerospace power and the Air Force family.” According to the AFA web site: “AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference provides first-class professional military development, facilitates sharing of emerging requirements and technologies, and helps fuel connections that advance the cause of air and space power. The theme of this year’s conference is “Defeating Multipolar Threats: A Strategic Imperative for Airmen & Guardians.” There will be some 180 exhibitor booths at this year’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference.

Exhibitors taking part in this year’s Arms Bazaar play a prominent role in U.S. warmaking and global military intervention. Weapons contractors like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and BAE, are profiting from war and literally are making a killing! But that’s not all. The Pentagon, in concert with numerous arms dealers, are committed to U.S. nuclear/military/cyber superiority and militarizing and controlling space.

During its three-day Arms Bazaar, the AFA will hold forums addressing how the U.S. can refine its war making apparatus and cyber capability so it can dominate earth and space. See Agenda:

https://www.afa.org/2023-air-space-cyber-conference-agenda

Additionally, there will be two gala banquets.

We decry the AFA Arms Bazaar for what it is: a scandalous affront to God, a theft from the poor, and a threat to people and the environment throughout the world!

On January 20 of this year, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists “Doomsday Clock” was set to 90 seconds before midnight due to the existential dangers of nuclear war and climate change — threats compounded by cyber-enabled information warfare, upgrades to existing nuclear systems, the Ukraine war and worsening world tensions. The Ukraine war has further exacerbated the nuclear peril between the two foremost nuclear powers, the U.S. and Russia.

The victims cry out for justice, and the earth, under daily assault, groans in travail! Who will speak for the poor and the victims, as arms dealers reap huge profits from their lethal weapons and death technology? Who will protect our sacred earth and environment and work to avert global catastrophe? In light of the proposed $842 U.S. military budget for 2024, who will help to convert the U.S. war economy to meet urgent human needs? We need, more than ever, to nonviolently resist and work to eradicate what Dr. King called the interrelated triple evils of racism, poverty/economic exploitation, and militarism/war.

Together, in solidarity with sisters and brothers in the U.S. and worldwide, we appeal to all people of faith and goodwill to call on the U.S. to:

–renounce all systems of domination and oppression, rooted in white supremacy, which are reinforced by the murderous weapons displayed at the AFA Arms Bazaar;

–end military aid and weapons sales to all nations of the world, including to Israel used to support its illegal occupation of West Bank and Gaza, to Saudi Arabia used to support its 8-year illegal war in Yemen, and to Morocco used to support the illegal occupation of Western Sahara;

–close its over 800 military bases worldwide, end NATO and AFRICOM, and stop all forms of military intervention throughout the world;

–stop the deployment of U.S. and NATO missile defense systems ringing Russia and China which is increasing already heightened tensions;

–heed Pope Francis’ plea that the possession of nuclear weapons is immoral and abolish all nuclear weapons now;

–ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) which now makes nuclear weapons illegal under international law;

–redirect exorbitant military expenditures, including the estimated $1.7 trillion over the next several decades to modernize the U.S. nuclear arsenal, to meet urgent human needs and safeguard the environment;

–create and economic and political order committed to placing people before profit, serving the common good, dismantling racism, promoting equality and restorative justice, and upholding the human rights and dignity of every person.

Let us continue to do all we can to establish the Beloved Community, end the climate crisis and create a world free of nuclear and conventional weapons, killer drones and war. In the name of God, who commands us to love and not to kill and to beat all the swords of our time into plowshares, in the name of Jesus, who calls us to be peacemakers and people of total nonviolence, it’s time to end the AFA Arms Bazaar and establish a disarmed world!

Please join with members of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, Pax Christi and other peacemakers as we seek to say YES to Life and a resounding NO to the merchants of death and war profiteers.

Directions to Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center

Directions from Downtown D.C., Parking and Meeting Place
Take 395 South (off of New York Ave. or Constitution Ave. at 9th St. NW) Merge onto 295 South via exit on left (crossing into Maryland) – 7.4 miles. Take the exit toward National Harbor. Take ramp to National Harbor Blvd. Bear left on National Harbor Blvd. and go two blocks to St. George Blvd. Make a right on St. George Blvd. Go to one block before Waterfront St. and look for street meter parking. Also St. George Parking Garage is on right in case you can’t find street parking (just past the cross street called Mariner Passage). The garage is one block before Waterfront St., where the Gaylord National Resort is located. We will meet for the vigil at the corner of Waterfront St. and St. George Blvd. directly across from the Gaylord National Resort. If you are coming from Maryland or Virginia use Map Quest for the most precise route to the Gaylord.

For public transportation go to https://www.wmata.com/ and click on TRIP PLANNER.