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Green Party Statement in Opposition to U.S. Plans to Invade Iraq. |
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THE GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES WASHINGTON, DC -- The Green Party of the United States approved a strongly worded statement last week against President Bush's intended military invasion of Iraq. The statement was drafted by the party's International Committee and passed by unanimous vote of the Coordinating Committee, which includes delegates from 39 states and the District of Columbia. The text of the statement is appended below. "While Democratic leaders in Congress, including Senators Tom Daschle and Joe Biden, have lined upbehind Bush's plan to violate U.S. constitutional and international law, Greens have weighed the invasion's legality, possible outcomes, and, most of all, cost in human lives," said Dr. Jonathan Farley, Green Party candidate for Congress from Tennessee. "We urge Americans to call their Senators and Representatives and demand that they vote nay on any legislation giving Bush the green light to invade." The statement unites Green activists and this year's candidates behind a common position on the threat of military action, and also agrees with a September 10, 2002 statement from the Green/EFA Group in the European Parliamant. Greens internationally are calling for multilateral diplomatic strategies, beginning with a resumption of U.N. inspections of Iraqi weapon systems, rather than unilateral use of force. Condemning the invasion plans, the European Green statement "support[s] those voices raised in the U.S. against such an intervention." "The elections in Germany, handing victory to the coalition formed by Social Democrat Gerhard Schroeder with the Greens, showed widespread German support for the Green position against the invasion," said Jay Robinson, Green candidate for Governor of Iowa. "Chancellor Schroeder was reelected, and the Greens increased their number of seats in the German parliament from 47 to 55. Opposition to invasion is not confined to Germany; numerous heads of state and national majorities around the world agree with us -- with the notable exception of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who increasingly shows himself to be Bush's lapdog." "If President Bush and Congress truly care about the security of the U.S., they will work with the United Nations to address any threat posed by Iraq through peaceful, diplomatic means," said Tod Sloan, co-chair of the party's International Committee. "Unilateral military action by the U.S. will increase the suffering of the Iraqi people, provoke more terrorist attacks against Americans, and destabilize the entire region from Israel and Palestine to Pakistan and India." Greens note that the U.S. is already at war with Iraq -- a low intensity war, with bombing raids every month. Between the destruction of infrastructure and the sanctions, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians have died during the past decade, including half a million children, according to U.N. figures. Medea Benjamin, former Green Party candidate for the U.S. Senate from California, made front pages last week when she disrupted Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's presentation to Congress with a sign calling for 'Inspectors not War.' "All across the U.S., Greens are uniting with a growing grassroots peace movement of ordinary citizens challenging Bush's rush to war," added Tod Sloan. "We're the side of the debate that's missing from the op-ed pages and talking heads on television, arguing that a war on Iraq would mostly serve the interests of big oil and the defense industries -- lobbies represented by George W. Bush and his cabinet of former CEOs. If there were an open and public debate, few Americans would support Bush's plan." MORE INFORMATION * * * * * Statement in Opposition to U.S. Plans to Invade Iraq The Green Party of the United States is adamantly opposed to President George W. Bush's plans to continue and expand military operations against Iraq. The Bush administration claims the invasion of Iraq would improve the security of citizens of the United States, but it would do just the opposite. A U.S. war on Iraq would undo decades of progress in international conflict resolution and make the world a more dangerous place for everyone. The United States should not undertake military operations against Iraq for the following reasons:
We therefore urge our fellow citizens of the United States to raise their voices against the U.S. invasion of Iraq. We must encourage the President and Congress to build a true foundation for peace and security in these ways:
In sum, the Green Party's key value of non-violence
implies that war is neither an effective nor justifiable means for
resolving disputes between nations. The United States is in a position
of unprecedented economic and military power in the global scene. We
should use that power to work towards security and peace through
justice, rather than through intimidation and military destruction. www.gp-us.org/committees/intl search: irq, mdest, pce, fpol, trr |
