The Green Party of the United States Peace Action Committee (GPAX) has issued a statement opposing the nomination and appointment of Michele Flournoy as the next Secretary of Defense.

Green Party of the United States
www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
December 3, 2020

Contact:
Michael O’Neil, Communications Manager, [email protected], 202-804-2758
Wesson Gaige, Green Party Peace Action Committee, [email protected]
Haig Hovaness, Green Party Peace Action Committee, [email protected]
Holly Hart, Co-chair, Media Committee, [email protected], 202-804-2758
Craig Seeman, Co-chair, Media Committee, [email protected], 202-804-2758

Ms. Flournoy’s history and public statements disqualify her for this important position for the following reasons:

1. Exploiting public service as a means of personal enrichment. In recent years she has reaped a substantial income as a lobbyist by trading access to her former colleagues in government for large consulting fees paid by defense contractors. Her consulting firm, WestExec Advisors, brazenly boasts of providing preferential access to top government decision makers, openly peddling influence over defense expenditures. Flournoy is a textbook case of “revolving door” careerism in the military-industrial complex. Is this an example that should be set for future high-ranking Federal officials?
   
   
2. Advocating bellicose and destabilizing military policies. Ms. Flournoy supported the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya and recommended more aggressive military action in Syria. She recently wrote that the United States should engage in a massive military buildup to prepare for a large-scale conventional war against China, a nuclear power. Is this someone who is going to help end America’s forever wars?
   
   
3. Undermining the effective stewardship of defense programs. A crucial responsibility of the Secretary of Defense is overall management of costly defense programs. Ms. Flournoy has engaged in the clever advocacy of relaxed government supervision of defense technology programs. Under the guise of fostering high-tech innovation, she would reduce the already weak oversight powers of weapons evaluation and testing authorities, to the advantage of military contractors. Is this the right way to curb runaway project costs and under-performing systems?

In addition to the issues listed here we should point out that supporters of Ms. Flournoy stress the significance of appointing the first female Secretary of Defense. The answer to this argument is that there are other well-qualified women who do not share Ms. Flournoy’s disqualifying ethical, professional and moral shortcomings. Having a female fox guarding the henhouse will not improve the outcome for the hens. 

For More Information

Biden’s rumored choice for secretary of defense may make history, but she won’t do Biden any favors, Davis, Daniel L. Business Insider, November 24, 2020

The secretive consulting firm that’s become Biden’s Cabinet in waiting, Bender, Brian and Theodoric Meyer. Politico, November 23, 2020

Should Michèle Flournoy Be Secretary of Defense?, Wheeler, Winslow and Pierre Sprey. POGO, November 20, 2020

The Green Party’s World Peace Platform

Green Party Platform:

• Foreign Policy — Peace and Disarmament
• Demilitarization and Exploration of Space
• Advanced Technology and Defense Conversion

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