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The Pentagon budget continues to skyrocket as millions of Americans face food insecurity and a lack of affordable health care and housing, a safe environment, and access to education, while climate change threatens our very existence. (Photo: Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)

An Open Letter to Biden: Feminists Call for an End to the War on Terror

As transnational feminists united against militarism and war, we call for a new U.S. foreign policy that recognizes interdependence and prioritizes connection and cooperation, reparations for historic and systemic harms, valuing people and the planet over profit, and protecting everyone, especially those made most vulnerable.

Twenty years ago today, the U.S. invaded Afghanistan under the guise of "saving Afghan women" from the Taliban. The U.S. ignored warnings from pro-peace feminists that military action would further endanger Afghan women and set back women's rights, leading to more deaths, violence and destruction. After two decades of a failed militarized foreign policy, the U.S. must uphold its responsibility to offer care and repair to the Afghan people, including women in whose names it went to war.

We call on the U.S. to end wars, cut the Pentagon budget, and invest in our collective security by prioritizing funding for housing, food security, climate change adaptation and resilience, equitable healthcare, and access to education.

Meanwhile, Congress is on track to increase defense spending to a whopping $768 billion, an increase of $54 billion from the prior fiscal year, while blocking the Build Back Better Act, which would invest $350 billion towards expanding the social safety net and combating climate change. The Pentagon budget continues to skyrocket as millions of Americans face food insecurity and a lack of affordable health care and housing, a safe environment, and access to education, while climate change threatens our very existence. Those most impacted are predominantly women and Black, Brown, Indigenous, and immigrant communities.

For these reasons, the Feminist Peace Initiative--led by Grassroots Global Justice Alliance (GGJ), MADRE, and Women Cross DMZ--has written the following Open Letter to President Biden with three critical demands: end wars; give reparations to those most impacted by US militarism; and democratize U.S. foreign policy.

We call on social movements working to stop endless US wars and militarism abroad and fighting for greater investments in human security at home to make linkages between foreign and domestic policies. We cannot advance human rights, including women's rights, both abroad and at home without drastically reducing our bloated military budget and ending our military-first approach.

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