By Christopher Overfelt
Note: Here are points Christopher Overfelt shared 9/16 with the PeaceWorks KC Board. To assist in spreading info about these genocidal weapons, e-mail MidwestWeaponsReport@proton.me.
- The Midwest Weapons Report is a new periodic newsletter aimed at educating our Midwest community about the activities of the Military Industrial Complex within the Midwestern United States. An important weapons manufacturing corridor exists within the Midwest that runs from Texas up through Oklahoma to Iowa and Minnesota. The sites within these states produce the 155mm mortar shell and the MK-80 bomb series that have directly been the cause of over 20,000 deaths of women and children in Gaza. General Dynamics produces the casings for both of these munitions in Garland and Redrock, Texas, where they are then shipped to McAlester, OK and Burlington Iowa for explosive packing and assembly.
- On July 29, 2024, the Commission on the National Defense Strategy published its recommendations for Congress. You can read the entire commission for yourself at https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/misc/MSA3057-4/RAND_MSA3057-4.pdf. The commission recommended that:
Congress should pass a supplemental appropriation immediately to begin a multiyear investment in the national security innovation and industrial base. Funding should support U.S. allies at war; expand industrial capacity, including infrastructure for shipbuilding and the ability to surge munitions production; increase and accelerate military construction to expand and harden facilities in Asia; secure access to critical minerals; and invest in a digital and industrial workforce.
- The commission further outlines plans for war with Russia, China, Iran, and the global south. Indeed, we are already at war with Russia through Ukraine and we are at war with Iran through Israel. We are already seeing an expansion of weapons making facilities here in the Midwest in preparation for broader global war. The Midwest plays a vital role in supplying those who commit genocidal warfare with the 155mm mortar shell and the MK-80 bomb series, and the Midwest Weapons Report seeks to educate our community about these genocidal activities.
Christopher Overfelt of the Kansas City Chapter of Veterans for Peace serves on the PeaceWorks KC Board. (c) 2024, Christopher Overfelt, Ann Suellentrop, Creative Commons Attribution, Share-Alike 4.0 International License.
