Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

October 31, 2024

Arizona's Universities are Instruments of War

 

The United States provides more than 70 percent of the funds and weapons used for war crimes and genocide in Palestine. Arizona universities are a backbone of the war industry.

by Brenda Norrell, Censored News, Oct. 31, 2024

TUCSON, Arizona -- When Arizona's largest universities slammed down on Palestine supporters, it was obvious they were hiding something. What they were hiding was the fact that they are thriving on war dollars.

The most obvious is Raytheon Missiles located at the University of Arizona's Tech Park in Tucson. The less obvious are the millions in grants and contracts that both the University of Arizona and Arizona State University receive for technology, including cyber technology, artificial intelligence and robotics.

While slamming down on Palestinian support -- and shooting them with rubber bullets in Tucson and denying some graduation at ASU in the Phoenix Valley -- both universities were heading up a national coalition of U.S. universities to support Israel, after the genocide was underway.

Arizona State University in Tempe, in the Phoenix Valley, has gone to the extreme to silence voices in support of Palestine. Besides forbidding pro-Palestine rallies, its harsh crackdown on encampments has resulted in 62 Palestine supporters now facing charges.

At Arizona State University, millions are flowing in for cyber security, artificial intelligence, and robotics research.

In April, three faculty members in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University received multiyear Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research grants from the U.S. Department of Defense for their work in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and robotics. https://fullcircle.asu.edu/faculty/asu-receives-three-depscor-awards-for-research-critical-to-national-security/

The University of Arizona's Tech Park tenant's list shows the war profiteers, including Raytheon Missiles. 

Among the many war and surveillance producers located at the University of Arizona's Tech Park is Applied Energetics, Inc. (formerly Ionatron.) It is an American arms manufacturer and develops directed-energy weapons, mainly electrolasers.

Photo courtesy Arizona Palestine Solidarity Alliance and Unicorn Riot media Censored News
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2023/11/now-stop-genocide-raytheon-missiles.html

The American Friends Service Committee, Quakers, provides a list of the U.S. weapons companies profiteering from the war.

The report includes Israel's Elbit Systems. "Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer. Its weapons are routinely used in war crimes against Palestinians and its surveillance systems are used in Palestine and along the U.S.–Mexico border," states the report by American Friends Service Committee (AFSC.)

This spy tower on the Tohono O'odham Nation was constructed by S&K Technologies, also known as International Towers, owned by the Salish and Kootenai Tribe in Montana.

Elbit Systems' subcontractors are located at the University of Arizona Tech Park, including a tribally-owned business, International Towers, which constructed spy towers on the western part of the Tohono O'odham Nation.

One of the most censored facts is that the tribal enterprise of S&K International Towers, owned by the Salish and Kootenai Tribe in Montana, constructed the spy towers on the Tohono O'odham Nation's western area, known as the Casa Grande sector.

The tribal enterprise received a subcontract from Israel's Elbit Systems, which produces weapons of death, including surveillance in Palestine and weaponized drones. 

The surveillance system, called Integrated Fixed Towers, now provides the crime-infested U.S. Border Patrol with live video feed to stalk vulnerable O'odham on their homeland.

Further, the arrests of U.S. Border Patrol agents and a Congressional report reveal that Border Patrol agents are repeatedly arrested for running drugs across the border, and "spotting for the cartels" to bring their drug loads across the Arizona border.

The Tohono O'odham Nation government approved the construction of the spy towers, over the objection of Gu-Vo District in the western region. The Tohono O'odham government also allows the U.S. Border Patrol unrestricted access to its sovereign land.

Arizona Thrives on War and Border Surveillance Dollars

Caterpillar is among those listed in the American Friends Service Committee report. Caterpillar sales and service is located on the Tohono O'odham San Xavier Industrial Park on the border of Tucson, and in downtown Tucson.

"Its products are weaponized for the Israeli military and are used in home demolitions; in the construction of illegal settlement infrastructure, border walls, and military checkpoints; and in military assaults against Palestinians," states American Friends Service Committee report.

Boeing is also listed in the report. It was responsible for the billion dollar boondoggle of spy towers that didn't work on the Arizona border. It is now a top producer of weapons for war crimes in Palestine.

Boeing is "the world's third-largest military company. It manufactures multiple weapon systems that are routinely used in war crimes against Palestinian civilians and previously designed the smart/virtual wall on the U.S.-Mexico border," the AFSC report states.

University of Arizona's Human Rights Abuses

For the University of Arizona in Tucson, it was a continuation of a long history of human rights violations.

When Apaches struggled to protect their sacred Mount Graham from telescope construction in the 1990s, the university and the Pope ignored their beliefs and built the telescopes anyway. The university even went so far as to arrest Wendsler Nosie, Apache, for praying on sacred Mount Graham.

Meanwhile, the University of Arizona quietly thrives on millions of dollars in grants, and the lucrative non-profit industry, using funds that are supposed to go to Native Americans. The co-opting of Tohono O'odham culture and desert food sustainability is an example.

At the same time, the university harbors the human remains of O'odham and Apache ancestors in its museum, Arizona State Museum in Tucson, that it has not returned, in violation of federal law.

Arizona Defense Contracts in 2023

Raytheon, now called RTX, received $5 billion in U.S. Defense Department contracts in 2023. The top contracts are from the Army and the top county is Pima, which includes Tucson. 



Besides the top amount for $5.3 billion last year, this year, in August, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin received a $1.3 billion joint contract from the Army for an anti-armor weapon system 
in 2024.

https://www.rtx.com/news/news-center/2024/08/29/us-army-awards-the-javelin-joint-venture-contract

New Mexico: Defense contracts in 2023


U.S. Supplied White Phosphorus: A War Crime

The Washington Post documented that the white phosphorus used by Israel comes from the United States. The use of white phosphorus is a war crime. The only site still producing white phosphorus for war is in south central Arkansas, in a community that is predominately black and faces the risks.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2023/12/11/israel-us-white-phosphorus-lebanon/

U.S. Funds War Crimes and Genocide

The US has funded 73% of the military costs associated with the attack on Gaza. According to an analysis by Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, the US government has provided $22.76 billion in military aid to Israel since the conflict began on October 7, 2023 to September 30, 2024. This funding includes $17.9 billion for direct military assistance and $4.86 billion for Israel assistance operations in the region.


References:

University of Arizona in Tucson, Tech Park Tenant's List

https://techparks.arizona.edu/tech-park/right/tenants-list

S&K Technologies spy tower contract with Israel's Elbit Systems

https://www.sktcorp.com/international-towers-enters-final-deployment-stage-of-border-security-integrated-fixed-tower-program/

American Friends Service Committee: Companies profiting from war

https://investigate.afsc.org/tags/weapons-and-military-equipment

Arizona's universities lead formation of coalition to support Israel, Oct. 2023

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/100-colleges-and-universities-across-the-nation-form-coalition-standing-with-israel-against-hamas-301968953.html

The Intercept: Harvard and other investors take solidarity trip to Israel, Dec. 2023

https://theintercept.com/2023/12/19/investors-israel-tech-mission-harvard/

List of U.S. businesses in Tel Aviv to support Israel Tech Mission, Dec. 2023

Harvard University's investor -- along with alumni from Cornell University, University of Michigan, and the University of Pennsylvania -- were at Israel's tech summit to support Israel during the genocide, as well as the world's leading tech companies and the banking industry.

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24229207-israel-tech-mission-bios-2023

Heard Museum, and Arizona State University, harboring remains of O'odham

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2023/01/phoenix-heard-museum-harbored-ootham.html

Apache remains harbored in Arizona universities

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2023/01/museums-harboring-thousands-of-apache.html


U.S. Defense Contracts October 2024

Navy: Unmanned vehicle defense contract: Green Valley and Tucson

October, 2024 -- Hydronalix Inc., Green Valley, Arizona, is awarded a $42,016,504 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price, and cost-with-no-fee pricing for assets and technical support services of specialized technology supporting the Littoral Explosive Ordnance Neutralization program of record, a component of Force Design 2030, which aims to improve integrated warfighting capabilities using unmanned vehicles. Work will be performed in Green Valley, Arizona (50%); and Tucson, Arizona (50%). 

https://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract/Article/3943778/

October 2024 -- Raytheon Co., Tucson, Arizona, is awarded a $118,454,213 firm-fixed-price modification to previously award contract N00024-22-C-5400 for fiscal 2025 Navy procurements for Rolling Airframe Missile Block 2/2A/2B Guided Missile Round Pack, spare replacement components, and recertification. Work will be performed in Ottobrunn, Germany (42%); Tucson, Arizona (31%); 

https://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract/Article/3949357/


U.S. Defense contacts in New Mexico include Arctic Slope Regional Corporation

ASRC Federal is the government services subsidiary of Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, an Alaska Native Corporation owned by over 14,000 Iñupiat shareholders.

The Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC) Federal has been awarded several U.S. Defense contracts, including:

Missile Facility Maintenance Services Contract
A $99.6 million contract to provide maintenance and repair services for the missile defense complex in Fort Greely, Alaska. The contract is for five years and is expected to be completed by December 2028.

Rocket Systems Launch Program Mission Assurance (RSLP MA) contract
A $225.5 million contract for the U.S. Space Force's Space Systems Command (SSC). The contract includes systems engineering, risk management, and technical analysis. Work will be performed at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, with options to extend through 2030.

Cyber defense environment contract
A $217 million contract with the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) to create a cloud-based cyber defense environment. The project aims to improve data correlation and reduce the need for manual analysis.

Sheppard Air Force Base contract
A $146 million contract to provide base operations services for Sheppard Air Force Base.

Defense Health Agency contracts
Contracts for healthcare policy and network support.

ASRC Federal is a subsidiary of the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC).

Arctic Slope Regional Corporation in the oil business

"Today, through expansion and diversification, ASRC and its family of companies operate six diverse major business segments: government services, energy support services, industrial services, petroleum refining and marketing, construction, and resource development," its website states.

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