Military and International Issues

Although IVI-IPO often focuses on issues impacting state and local policy, there is no question that we have opinions on larger national issues; this is especially true as the finds that are often used for military operations and foreign activities could be better spent resolving many of the issues facing our citizens here at home.

The IVI-IPO, by definition, is independent, and does not follow any one party’s doctrine on these topics. Rather, we try to see realistic solutions that will ultimately benefit the people of Illinois and of the United States. Regardless of political affiliation, this should be the goal of every one of us - to find real solutions to the problems we face today, and push for policies that will benefit the most people in the end.

For example, IVI-IPO supports normalizing relations with Cuba. It could be argued that back when we initially severed ties, it was part of our global efforts against Communism. But since then, the Cold War ended (30 years ago), we normalized relations with Russia, with China, and even with Vietnam. The notion that we have normalized relations with these countries, and even have China as one of our largest trading partners, but continue to ostracize an island ninety miles from our coast simply does not make sense.

Most of these policies should not be controversial, such as supporting treaties to ban landmines, or the moratorium on testing nuclear weapons (surely we know they work by this point, but it still irradiates our planet).

The positions IVI-IPO takes here are not merely “liberal” or “conservative”; they are the result of hundreds of hours of research, discussion, debate, and the desire to live in a freer, more stable world.

IVI-IPO supports

• Normalization of relations with Cuba

• U.S. participation in the International Criminal Court

• The international treaty to ban land mines

• Release of all U.S. documents pertaining to past U.S. involvement in Chile, Guatemala, and Honduras

• A stringent code of conduct for weapons transfers, barring shipments to countries that abuse human rights

• Government divestment of holdings in companies that conduct business with the murderous Sudanese regime

• Expedited agreement on much deeper cuts of nuclear weapon stockpiles and production

• A comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty

• Continuing the moratorium on nuclear tests

• Closing of “terrorist” detention centers and bringing detainees into the judicial system

• Reducing the military budget by 10% each year for five years and favors using the savings for education, social services and other domestic needs

IVI-IPO opposes

• The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and military intervention in Iran

• Military aid to any country not meeting high standards for human rights

• Funding of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation and the National Endowment for Democracy

• Increased militarization of the “war on drugs.”

• Authorizing any money for “Star Wars” missile defense systems

• All “first strike” weapons

• Covert military actions

• Fast-track authority to negotiate trade agreements

• NAFTA, CAFTA, TPA, and any trade agreements that fail to protect workers and the environment

• The Multilateral Agreement on Investment and its implementation in any form, in whole or in part, under the World Trade Organization, or separately