Peace Must Win! CCDS Statement on the Impending War on Iraq [A statement by the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism 545 8th Ave, NY, NY 10018, [EMAIL PROTECTED] published on portside, Tuesday, Mar 18, 2003.]
Despite an unprecedented, overwhelming world outcry against war; Despite a decisive majority against war of the Security Council and the entire United Nations; George W. Bush has virtually declared a unilateral, illegal, and potentially calamitous war upon Iraq. The objectives of such a war are now widely recognized around the world: to conquer Iraq and its oil; to establish a permanent US military presence in the heart of the Middle East and to ultimately bring the entire region under Washington's dominance; to fulfill the frightening ambition of Bush's right wing hawks to consolidate a new world order of unrivaled and unchallenged US imperial power - thus threatening ever wider conflicts and global instability. Never in recent history has such a malign and dangerous ambition been fortified by so much falsehood. The Bush White House has exposed its determination that inspections to eliminate alleged weapons of mass destruction not succeed. For a peaceful resolution of that issue would have removed any rationale for a needless and incalculably destructive war long craved by this Administration. The people of the US now face the prospect of a brutal war involving much bloodshed in which thousands of laser-guided bombs and new terror weapons will bring suffering and death to countless Iraqi civilians. It will bring long-term illness and fatalities to all military forces including the men and women of the US military. This war will bring increasing hardship at home as its astronomical costs will spur deeper cuts in human services, will swell deficits, and will aggravate the already serious recession which is costing thousands of jobs every month. This war will further undermine already alarmingly eroded constitutional rights and will encourage ugly new waves of racist attacks upon Arabs and other communities of color. Even at this late hour, we cannot let up, but must actually increase our efforts to stop this catastrophic war by continuing to build ever broader and more inclusive opposition. We ask everyone to heed the call of AFL-CIO President John Sweeney to demand that Senator Richard Lugar (R- Ind), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee release the Kennedy/ DeFazio HJ Resolution 20 to "Repeal the Authorization for use of Military Force Against Iraq" from his committee in order to be immediately voted upon in the Senate. We also urge that all members of the House and Senate be contacted to support the Kennedy/DeFazio Resolution. For Senate addresses: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm For the House of Representatives: http://www.house.gov/writerep We ask that urgent appeals be sent to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to call upon the UN General Assembly to prevent war in Iraq by using UN resolution 377, "Uniting for Peace," a little known resolution that can be used when the Security Council is split on the issue of how to maintain international peace and security. (For more information, contact the Center for Constitutional Rights at its website: http://www.ccr-ny.org) Let us continue to protest, to march, to lobby, to engage in nonviolent civil disobedience, and to call upon our friends and neighbors to assail the ears of a scandalously complacent Congress to rescind its authorization for the White House to wage war. Let us utilize every creative idea, every ounce of energy, every grain of compassion for the needless suffering of all caught in the ugly web of war. Let us be present, resourceful and determined at that fateful moment. Peace must win. ======================= for more information: Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism 545 8th Avenue; 14th Floor NE New York, NY 10018 phone: (212) 663-3526 fax: (212) 663-3650 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] web: http://www.cc-ds.org _______________________________________________ Leninist-International mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international
