To learn more about the U.S. War Machine and alternatives to the war economy, refer to the following references:

Great research resources:

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute- Leading resource on global arms trade research. Each year SIPRI produces a “Top 100 Arms Producing Companies and Military Contractors” List that tracks the annual profits of global arms corporations (and of course, US corporations always top the list). They also have an extensive database that logs global arms transfers.

Costs of War Project from the Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs at Brown University. The Costs of War Project is a team of 35 scholars, legal experts, human rights practitioners, and physicians that use research and a public website to facilitate debate about the costs of the post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the related violence in Pakistan and Syria.

National Priorities Project- Leading research organization that examines how much of our taxes go to wars and militarism.

Airwars.org- This is a website that monitors and assesses civilian casualties from international airstrikes in Syria, Iraq, and Libya and enables us to understand and witness daily the human costs of the U.S. War Machine.

Don’t Bank on the Bomb: Don't Bank on the Bomb is a project from PAX supporting the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear weapons (ICAN) in efforts to stigmatize and outlaw nuclear weapons. Here, find a report with information on major weapons producers and their investors.

Relevant books, articles, and reports:

Risky Returns: Nuclear weapon producer and their financiers by ICAN and PAX: "The report details how 306 financial institutions made over $746 billion available to 24 companies heavily involved in the production of nuclear weapons, between January 2020 and July 2022."

From a Militarized to a Decarbonized Economy: A Case for Conversion by Miriam Pemberton for the Cost of War's Project (2023). This report describes how military contractors have geographically dispersed their subcontracting chains, and also debunks the myth that military jobs bring economic prosperity to the communities where they are based.

U.K. and U.S. Defense Worker Views on the Environmental Costs of War and Military Conversion by Karen Bell (2023) features interviews with military manufacturing workers in the U.S. and UK, and their thoughts on a transition away from the militarized economy.

Ten Domestic Injustices Worsened by War, by CODEPINK's Sam Carliner and Olivia DiNucci (2022)

The Merchants of Death Survive and Prosper: Outlines the dominant role played by U.S. corporations in the international arms trade.

The Job Opportunity Cost of War: A report published by Brown University's Watson Institute that finds federal spending on domestic programs in health care, education, clean energy and infrastructure creates more jobs, dollar for dollar, than military spending.

William Hartung, leading military analyst and director of the Arms and Security Project at the Center for International Policy, has written an extensive body of material over the years on U.S. wars and militarism and the role of weapons companies in fueling war. He also spoke at our Divestment Summit in October 2017, and you can view his speech here. View some of William Hartung’s recent articles here.

War Comes Home: The 2014 report by the American Civil Liberties Union on the militarization of America’s police forces under such programs as the Pentagon’s 1033 program.  

Lockheed Martin: A global giant in supporting of Israeli war crimes: An article written by two CODEPINK team members about Lockheed Martin’s role in supplying much of the weapons and equipment used to sustain the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

The Shadow World: A book by Andrew Feinstein, and a strong part of the formation of this campaign. The book provides an in-depth analysis of corruption, greed, and collusion inherent in global arms trade. The book also gives a comprehensive history of the global arms trade. Author Andrew Feinstein’s spoke in support of the Divest from the War Machine Summit, and you can view his speech here.

Re-centering Anti-war and Anti-imperialism as Working-class Issues on May Day: article by Divest Coalition member Black Alliance for Peace.

Project Indefensible: This is a book that unpacks and opposes the leading “myths” that sustain the global arms trade. This entire book is available free online.

A Country Addicted to War: An article by historian Andrew Bacevich on America’s endless wars and the lack of a mainstream movement to oppose it.

A Global Security System, an Alternative to War from World Beyond War is a report that provides a strong outline of the call for a demilitarized US from World Beyond War. This is a resource that can help shape the “What do we want instead?” narrative.

Major Danny Sjursen is a U.S. Army strategist and former history instructor at West Point. He served tours with reconnaissance units in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He has written a memoir and critical analysis of the Iraq War, Ghostriders of Baghdad: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Myth of the Surge.

Shadow World: This is a documentary based on the book of the same name written by Andrew Feinstein. The film explores corruption, collusion, and greed in the global arms trade.