[Peace-discuss] Fitgerald mtg/support SR 32

[Lisa Chason]

I've just gotten home from the Senator Fitgerald town meeting at Centennial High School in Champaign. There were around 400 people there. At first I was rather concerned that I hardly recogized anybody. There were no signs to be seen and I counted only 7 people that I knew from anti-war work. Then Mort Brussel was the first to speak and he got rounding applause. 
Most of the session's questions had to do with farm aid, physicians' medical malpractice insurance, concern for the uninsured/under-insured, concern for continued support of the space program. But several times people in the audience referred to their fears about pending war including 2 high school students and one vet. Anytime the war was mentioned people applauded loudly to show their oppostion. 
Margaret Kosal and Sarah Kanouse presented an enlarged print of the Champaign-Urbana women bearing witness for peace photo, made into a postcard. 
I was the only one in the audience with a sign, which I held up high through much of the meeting. Thanks to a reference in one of the emails yesterday on the listserve, it said 'Support SR 32'. I got interviewed by all the media asking what it referred to. I also got to speak, asking the Senator if he would support it, and he responded that many in congress are concerned that now far too much power is going over to the executive branch, which could lead to tyranny. He said he will look in to the resolution. I've pasted it in below. I'll follow up with letters to Fitzgerald and Durbin tomorrow and would recommend others contact them about this as well. 

Lisa


SRES 32 IS 


108th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. RES. 32
Expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to the actions the President should take before any use of military force against Iraq without the broad support of the international community. 


IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

January 29, 2003
Mr. KENNEDY (for himself and Mr. BYRD) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 



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RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to the actions the President should take before any use of military force against Iraq without the broad support of the international community. 

Whereas more than three months have passed, and circumstances have significantly changed, since Congress acted in October 2002 to authorize the use of military force against Iraq; 

Whereas the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved Security Council Resolution 1441 (2002) requiring Iraq to cooperate with strict weapons inspections and give United Nations weapons inspectors `immediate, unimpeded, unconditional, and unrestricted access' to all suspected sites involving such weapons; 

Whereas United Nations weapons inspectors arrived in Iraq on November 18, 2002, submitted their 60-day report to the Security Council about Iraq's cooperation with weapons inspections on January 27, 2003, and will report again on their activities on February 14, 2003; 

Whereas the President has not yet made a compelling case to Congress, the American people, or the international community that the use of armed force is the only alternative to disarm Iraq; and 

Whereas Congress and the American people are increasingly concerned that the President is prepared to use armed force against Iraq without broad support by the international community, and without making a compelling case that Iraq presents such an imminent threat to the national security of the United States that unilateral action is justified: Now, therefore, be it 


  Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that, before the President uses military force against Iraq without the broad support of the international community, the President should--

    (1) provide full support to the United Nations weapons inspectors to facilitate their ongoing disarmament work; and

    (2) obtain approval by Congress of new legislation authorizing the President to use all necessary means, including the use of military force, to disarm Iraq.


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