The Merchants of Death War Crimes Tribunal group which I joined in Washington D.C. on Thursday delivered questions to military profiteering corporations. Will they answer the questions?
It is doubtful, because our subpoenas asked for information which, by past record, they want to hide, and we were not received with open arms. Lockheed Martin unwelcomed us in their lobby. Boeing attempted an appearance of welcome with some shiny words, but never came close to acknowledging the horrors of their global weapons sales and profits. Raytheon, in their giant building, offered neither signage nor personnel to acknowledge their presence there, and called police to move us out. General Atomics refused the subpoena, which our delegation of two who went inside then taped to the door.
The subpoenas were framed to give voice to the People of the World, calling on weapons manufacturers to reveal their complicity in aiding and abetting the United States government in committing War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity, Bribery, and Theft.
The subpoenas ask for information in 23 specific areas. Three example items follow:
1. Documents indicating all profits generated from sales of specific military weapons and supplies, year by year, produced by Defendant since September 11, 2001;
2. Documents demonstrating the number of lobbyists retained by defendant, year by year, since September 11, 2001, and the cost, for the purpose of influencing members of Congress with respect to their decisions on weapons and military supplies sales and regulation and foreign and military policies;
13. Documents since September 11, 2001, explaining how the corporation leadership can, in good conscience, participate in the construction of nuclear weapons, given the certain knowledge that the use of these weapons will lead not only to gross human death and suppering but the near certainty that their use will lead to the extinction of the human race;
The United States government is derelict in its duty to citizens of its land and the world for secretive complicity with these weapons manufacturing corporations. So we took this action to implement just a little more democracy in the American empire. Moro information on the War Crimes Tribunal (schedule, research plans, etc) can be found at https://merchantsofdeath.org
John K. Stoner
11/12/22