Wisconsin Green Party glad to see Presidential veto of Iraq spending bill
Wisconsin Green Party
www.wisconsingreenparty.org
May 2, 2007
Contacts:
Ruth Weill Co-Chair, Wisconsin Green Party, spokesperson@wisconsingreenparty.org 414-350-2107
Ron Hardy, Co-chair, Wisconsin Green Party, spokesperson@wisconsingreenparty.org 920-292-8129
WISCONSIN
-- Today the Wisconsin Green Party noted that the President's veto of the Iraq
spending bill was in line with the party's advocacy for cutting off funding
for the U.S. occupation of Iraq.
"Bush's Veto will do what the Democrats should have done in the first
place - block funding for the continued occupation of Iraq." said Ron Hardy,
Co-chair of the Wisconsin Green Party. "We call upon all our Congressional
Representatives to vote no on any further funding of the Iraq War."
The Wisconsin Green Party has opposed the U.S. invasion and occupation of
Iraq since before its inception, and has repeatedly called for the immediate
withdrawal of Wisconsin's National Guard from Iraq. The Green Party of the
United States, of which the Wisconsin Green Party is an affiliate, has
called for immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq, and no further
funding for the war, except for those funds necessary to withdraw all troops.
"The discussion about what to do in Iraq is usually limited to two choices -
the abandonment of Iraq, or the continued U.S. occupation," said Ruth
Weill, Co-chair of the Wisconsin Green Party. "Greens have long promoted a better
alternative - that Muslim and Arab forces from neighboring countries in the
Middle East provide security for Iraqis while they determine their own
future. U.S. involvement in Iraq has little to do with democracy in Iraq or
the well-being of Iraqis."
An Iraqi law passed in early 2007 which allows "production-sharing
agreements (PSAs)" granting Western companies 30-year contracts to extract
Iraqi oil, has been vetted by the U.S. government, U.S. oil companies, and
the International Monetary Fund.
"Indefinite occupation is clearly a part of the White House plan, since the
presence of U.S. troops will be necessary for years to come to make it
profitable for companies like Exxon, Mobil, Shell, and Chevron to exploit
Iraq's oil reserves," said Mike Miles, who challenged Democratic Congressman
Dave Obey, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, in last November's
election. "The PSAs permit the oil companies to bleed 75% of the profits
from Iraqi oil without requiring them to reinvest money in Iraq itself.
Before the U.S. invasion, Iraq's oil reserves were nationally owned. The
deal reinforces the sentiment of most Iraqis that control over Iraqi oil was
behind the invasion all along." (Monthly Review, December 2006, < http://www.monthlyreview.org/nfte1206.htm)
"The administration said Iraqi oil would pay for the war and rebuilding, but
instead the Iraqi people's oil and U.S. citizens' taxes have fueled huge
profits for corporations, with little oversight or accountability," said
Weill. "Greens believe the U.S. has an obligation to help rebuild the
destruction resulting from the U.S. invasion of Iraq, but that support
should be administered by Iraqis, not by corporations."
Green Party leaders warned that President Bush's plan to send 20,000 more
U.S. troops to Iraq will lead to an expanded civil war, more civilian and
troop casualties, and a prolonged occupation.
Greens have repeatedly called for impeachment of President Bush and Vice
President Cheney for high crimes and misdemeanors in relation to the war and
numerous violations of the U.S. Constitution, and are calling on Congress to
prevent President Bush from launching a military assault on Iran.
For more information, visit
http://wisconsingreenparty.org