Arms & Security Project

About Arms & Security Project

Promoting reforms in U.S. policies on nuclear weapons, military spending and the arms trade.

The Arms and Security Project engages in media outreach and public education aimed at promoting reforms in U.S. policies on nuclear weapons, military spending and the arms trade. It seeks to advance the notion that diplomacy and international cooperation are the most effective tools for protecting the United States. The use of military force is largely irrelevant in addressing the greatest dangers we face, from terrorism, to nuclear proliferation, to epidemics of disease, to climate change, to inequities of wealth and income. The allocation of budgetary resources needs to be changed to reflect this reality.

Program goals include:

- Promoting substantial cuts in military spending as an integral part of any plan to reduce the federal deficit.

- Playing a central role in efforts to accelerate reductions in nuclear arsenals and increase spending on programs designed to prevent nuclear weapons and bomb-making materials from getting into the hands of terrorists.

- Sparking a dialogue on the implications of the U.S. role as the world’s number one arms exporting nation, poised to sell $40 billion in weaponry in 2011 alone.

Minimum Returns: The Economic Impacts of Pentagon Spending

By William D. Hartung, Natalie Peterson

Feb-07-2013 | Report

In his latest report, William Hartung looks at the impact Pentagon spending has on the economy... Read More »

Myths vs. Realities of Pentagon Spending

By William D. Hartung, Stephen Miles

Jul-17-2012 | Fact Sheet

As defense contractors play to American's fears of poor security to increase military spending, Bill Hartung and Stephen Miles reveal the facts about Pentagon spending... Read More »

Bombs Versus Budgets: Inside the Nuclear Weapons Lobby

By William D. Hartung, Christine Anderson

Jun-06-2012 | Report

Bill Hartung explores the role of the nuclear arms lobby in seeking to block cuts in the hundreds of billions of dollars the U.S. government plans to spend on nuclear weapons in the next decade and beyond... Read More »

Another Voice: Schumer’s Push for Program in New York is Off-target

By William D. Hartung

May-23-2013 | Article

If the Pentagon goes ahead with an East Coast missile defense system, Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., wants it to be based in New York State... Read More »

Cut Nukes Now

By William D. Hartung

Apr-15-2013 | Article

The Obama administration should cut nuke numbers to enhance U.S. national security and simultaneously add billions to the budget... Read More »

Hagel's First Step on Defense

By William D. Hartung

Apr-03-2013 | Article

In his first major address, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel expresses practical goals for handling defense priorities in the wake of the sequester... Read More »

Recent Posts from our Blogs

Myths vs. Realities of Pentagon Spending

Nov-15-12 | Vassar College Rockefeller Hall Room 300

William Hartung will be speaking at Vassar College on Thursday, November 15. The topic of discussion will be "Myths vs. Realities of Pentagon Spending" ... Read More »

Curbing the Profits of War: Transparency and Accountability in Military Contracting

Mar-29-12 | Open Society Institute - Washington DC 1730 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, 7th Floor Washington D.C. 20006 United States

The discussion centers around the book Prophets of War: Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military-Industrial Complex by William Hartung, which has just been reissued in paperback. ... Read More »

Reception to Celebrate the Paperback Release of "Prophets of War"

Mar-08-12 | The Mott House 122 Maryland Ave., NE Washington, DC

Please join us for an evening in celebration of the paperback release of Arms & Security Project director Bill Hartung's "Prophets of War."... Read More »

Myths vs. Realities of Pentagon Spending

By William D. Hartung, Stephen Miles

Jul-17-2012 | Fact Sheet

As defense contractors play to American's fears of poor security to increase military spending, Bill Hartung and Stephen Miles reveal the facts about Pentagon spending... Read More »

Military Spending: A Poor Job Creator

By William D. Hartung

Jan-17-2012 | Policy Brief, Fact Sheet

Plans for cutting the federal deficit have raised an important question: what impact would military spending reductions have on jobs? This fact sheet is an update with new numbers from 2011 for U.S. employment effects of military and domestic spending. ... Read More »

CIP in the Press