William D Hartung
SFWAF News:
Santa Fe World Affairs Forum (SFWAF) invites the community to a SFWAF lunch program discussion with Senior Researcher William D Hartung of The Quincy Institute on the “Trillion Dollar War Machine: Rethinking Security at Home & Abroad”.
The event is 12-2 p.m., Friday, Feb. 20, in the Board Room (Rm #223), at Santa Fe Community College.
Hartung focuses on the arms industry and the US military budget. He was previously director of the Arms and Security Program at the Center for International Policy and the co-director of the Center’s Sustainable Defense Task Force. Bill is the co-author, with Ben Freeman, of the recently released The Trillion Dollar War Machine: How Runaway Military Spending Drives America into Foreign Wars and Bankrupts Us at Home.
He is also the author of Prophets of War: Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military-Industrial Complex (Nation Books, 2011) and the co-editor, with Miriam Pemberton, of Lessons from Iraq: Avoiding the Next War (Paradigm Press, 2008). And Weapons for All (HarperCollins, 1995) is a critique of US arms sales policies from the Nixon through Clinton administrations.
Hartung previously directed programs at the New America Foundation and the World Policy Institute. He also worked as a speechwriter and policy analyst for New York State Attorney General Robert Abrams. Hartung’s articles on security issues have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Nation, and the World Policy Journal.
More than six decades ago, President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned of the dangers of unwarranted influence on the part of the military/industrial complex. That complex has grown in size and scope in the decades since, resulting in a drift towards force and the threat of force as a primary tool of U.S. foreign policy. In parallel to these developments, threats to basic rights at home have been curtailed in the name of a distorted sense of what makes America and the world safe. Join us for a discussion of how to craft a more balanced approach to security that can provide an effective defense for less — and of the obstacles to making such a shift.
To Register: The cost for this lunch program is $26 for SFWAF members and $36 for non-members. You may either pay by check made out to SFWAF and mailed to the Santa Fe World Affairs Forum, PO Box 31965, Santa Fe, NM 87594 or by credit card through PayPal. Please indicate on your check – or if using Paypal (“add special instructions to the seller) that your payment is for the Feb. 20, 2026 program: https://sfwaf.org/payment/
If you are not a member, please include your best contact information. If you are interested in membership, please email us: sfwaforum@outlook.com
Payment for this program is nonrefundable after Friday Feb. 13, 2026. We strongly prefer that payment be made by Paypal or check postmarked by Friday, Feb. 13, 2026 or before to facilitate check-in. Please note: We do not accept cash. If you are mailing a check please also email us at sfwaforum@outlook.com so we know you plan to attend.
‘Location: SFCC Board Room (#223) is in the West Wing (Administration Building). The college is located at 6401 Richards Avenue, Santa Fe, NM 87508. Enter through the building’s main entrance (on the left side of the building behind the flag poles). The Board Room is on the corridor to the left of the Campus Center.
Directions: From Rodeo Road turn south onto Richards Avenue. Turn into the campus main drive. Parking lots are in front of the building. From I-25 take the Cerrillos Road exit, turn east onto Governor Miles Road and then right onto Richards Avenue. Then follow directions above.