[Peace-discuss] Fwd: [Ufpj-disc] Resolution of the Maine Democratic
State Committee Concerning the War in Iraq
Morton K. Brussel
brussel4 at insightbb.com
Fri Feb 24 18:18:50 CST 2006
Aside from some playing up to the worship-our-brave-boys crowd,
Democrats in Maine have come up with a quite forceful resolution on
Iraq. If only they could do as much in Illinois. --mkb
Begin forwarded message:
> From: Roger Leisner <rleisnerrfm at yahoo.com>
> Date: February 24, 2006 3:03:35 PM CST
> To: UFPJ List <ufpj-disc at lists.mayfirst.org>
> Subject: [Ufpj-disc] Resolution of the Maine Democratic State
> Committee Concerning the War in Iraq
>
> Resolution of the Maine Democratic State Committee
> Concerning the War in Iraq
>
> Whereas, the Maine Democratic State Committee
> strongly supports the brave men and women serving in
> the United States Armed Forces in Iraq and recognizes
> the sacrifices that each of them is making; the
> Democratic State Committee stands ready to help these
> servicemen and women in any way it can;
>
> Whereas, in October 2002, the United States
> Congress adopted a Joint Resolution to Authorize the
> Use of United States Armed Forces against Iraq,
> relying on crucial Bush administration statements that
> were untrue, when in fact: The United States was not
> threatened with attack by Iraq; Iraq had no known
> weapons of mass destruction; Iraq had no known role in
> the 9/11 attacks;
>
> Whereas, in going to war, the President did not
> meet the conditions imposed by Congress in that Joint
> Resolution, failing to show Congress: Diplomatic or
> peaceful means alone would not protect the national
> security of the United States or lead to enforcement
> of Security Council resolutions on Iraq; Going to war
> was a necessary action against Iraq on the premise --
> never proven -- that Iraq authorized, committed, or
> aided in the 9/11 attacks; or that Iraq had weapons of
> mass destruction;
>
> Whereas, the Bush Administration, using faulty
> intelligence estimates, misled the country into an
> unnecessary and unwise invasion of Iraq, a country
> that had neither attacked nor posed an immediate
> threat to the United States, consequently jeopardizing
> our national security;
>
> Whereas, in the invasion and ongoing coalition
> presence of Iraq more than 2200 US soldiers have been
> killed, thousands of US soldiers wounded, and untold
> tens of thousands of Iraqi citizens killed, wounded or
> made homeless in the continuing conflict in Iraq,
> destroying the hopes and aspirations of thousands of
> families here and in Iraq;
>
> Whereas, the invasion and ongoing coalition
> presence have created a severe burden on our economy,
> stretched the capacity of our armed forces, including
> Reserve and National Guard troops who are serving
> unexpectedly long and difficult tours in Iraq;
>
> Whereas, the invasion and ongoing coalition
> presence continues to cause deep concern at home and
> abroad about the policies and intentions of the United
> States to the point where the United States is widely
> regarded with suspicion, hostility and distrust;
>
> Whereas, a British Ministry of Defense August
> 2005 poll showed that 82% of Iraqis are “strongly
> opposed” to the presence of coalition troops and 45%
> believe attacks against American and British troops
> are justified;
>
> Whereas, Iraqi Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish
> political leaders at the Cairo Reconciliation
> Conference, held under the auspices of the Arab League
> on November 19-21, 2005, issued a communiqué that
> “demands a withdrawal of foreign troops on a specified
> timetable,” acknowledged a general right to resist
> foreign occupation and called for the release of all
> prisoners who have not been charged and an
> investigation into torture allegations;
>
> Whereas, more than 251 billion dollars,
> according to the Congressional Research Service, have
> been spent or allocated for the Iraq invasion and
> occupation, with hundreds of billions more expected to
> be spent, diverting billions of dollars from pressing
> priorities at home;
>
> Whereas, our military is being drained of its
> capability to respond to crises in other parts of the
> world;
>
> Whereas, our presence in Iraq fuels the
> insurgency, which prolongs the destruction of Iraqi
> communities and infrastructure, and unwittingly
> assists in the recruitment and provides for the
> training of those who would harm us, making us less
> secure;
>
> Whereas, the actions of the United States in
> Iraq lead many to believe that the United States
> wishes to establish permanent military bases in Iraq,
> in violation of Iraqi sovereignty;
>
> Whereas, the war has resulted in serious and
> potentially long-lasting consequences for the United
> States and for the chances for a just and durable
> peace in Iraq and the Middle East;
>
> Whereas, the costs of the call-up of Maine
> National Guard members for deployment in Iraq has been
> significant, as reckoned in lost lives, combat
> injuries, psychic trauma, disruption of family life,
> financial hardship for individuals, families, and
> businesses, interruption of careers, and damage to the
> fabric of civic life in many Maine communities;
>
> Whereas, there is reason to believe that the
> federalization and deployment of Maine National Guard
> members has compromised the ability of the remaining
> Guard force to carry out its state activities
> effectively;
>
> Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Maine
> Democratic State Committee:
>
> Supports our troops by recognizing the valiant
> sacrifices they have made in the name of defense, and
> prays for their safe and speedy return;
>
> Understands that political decisions urged by the Bush
> Administration have led us to the current situation in
> Iraq, and that the soldiers in combat and support
> missions are not the focus of our opposition here at
> home against this long-term U.S. presence in Iraq;
>
> Requests the members of Maine’s Congressional
> Delegation to urge Congress to restore the balance
> between the federal government and the states,
> limiting the nearly complete federal control over
> State National Guard units to cases in which:
> there is an insurrection or a plausible threat of
> insurrection; or there is a declaration of war under
> the United States Constitution; or there is a natural
> disaster effecting multiple states requiring a federal
> response;
>
> Shows solidarity with State Democratic Parties of
> California, New Mexico, Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
> Arizona and Wisconsin, where similar resolutions have
> been passed imploring an end to this occupation;
>
> Shows solidarity with our brothers and sisters of the
> AFL-CIO which passed a similar resolution supporting
> an end to this occupation;
>
> Calls for the investigation of the misrepresentation
> of intelligence to Congress and the American public by
> the Bush administration to justify the invasion of
> Iraq;
>
> Renounces the abuse or torture of prisoners or
> detainees by the United States or its surrogates,
> demands that our government adhere to the Geneva
> Conventions and all relevant domestic and
> international laws, including the writ of habeas
> corpus, and requests our elected Congressional
> Democrats to initiate and/or support legislation to
> insure this;
>
> Directs our Democratic leaders to initiate and/or
> support legislation for responsible, prompt withdrawal
> from Iraq, which should consider the following
> proposals to ending the war in Iraq:
>
> Declare no permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq,
> rejecting plans for a long-term presence;
>
> As a confidence-building measure, set goals for
> withdrawing troops in months, not years, while
> substantially intensifying the training of Iraqi
> military and security forces by the U.S. and other
> countries participating in the coalition.
>
> Request U.N.-monitored military disengagement and
> peaceful reconstruction, ending the former Coalition
> Provisional Authority’s privatization schemes of
> public Iraqi assets and the dominance of U.S.
> corporations in the reconstruction, and instead
> internationalizing the reconstruction efforts
> including expeditiously employing Iraqis and Iraqi
> firms in this work, as well as providing immediate and
> complete supplies to Iraqi hospitals, schools, and
> other social institutions;
>
> Assist the international community in appointing a
> peace envoy of global stature and cooperate with the
> peace envoy in working with the Iraqi Government and
> in engaging the Iraqi opposition and insurgency to
> pursue a political settlement, and request that the
> U.N., along with appropriate international entities
> from the Arab and broader world communities, convene a
> peace conference to assist in procuring a negotiated
> peace.
>
> Be it further resolved that the Secretary of the Maine
> Democratic State Committee send a copy of this
> Resolution to the Governor, the Maine Congressional
> Delegation, the Democratic Leadership of the Maine
> Legislature, the Democratic Leadership of the U.S.
> Congress, the Chair of the Democratic National
> Committee and the Maine news media of record.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Roger Leisner
> Radio Free Maine
> P.O. Box 2705
> Augusta, Maine 04338
> http://www.radiofreemaine.com
>
>
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