From: "Hank Bromley" To: Subject: [bpp-ubfacstaff-planning] second draft of open letter on why we oppose a war Date: Sunday, February 09, 2003 1:03 AM This one is meant to incorporate the comments that were made after I posted the initial draft Roger and David worked on. (Item 5 on the agenda I just distributed pertains to this letter.) -- Hank ______________ We the undersigned faculty and staff of the University at Buffalo strongly oppose another United States-led war on Iraq for the following reasons: 1. No convincing evidence has yet been provided that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction or the capacity or intention to use them against its neighbors or the United States. If and when such evidence is forthcoming, the U.S. should cooperate with the United Nations to dismantle such weapons in a professional manner, not by using weapons of its own that will lead to the death of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians and further poison the land, water, and air of the region. 2. Any U.S. military action against Iraq, including enforcement of no-fly zones, without an explicit Congressional declaration of war and a U.N. Security Council resolution will be unconstitutional and contrary to the U.N. Charter and international law. It sets back, not advances, the cause of the rule of law in the world. 3. A unilateral U.S. war on Iraq without the support of NATO and other allies, however initially popular in the U.S., will soon become divisive. It will be sustainable only at the cost of the lives of many men and women in the U.S. armed forces and it will be ruinously expensive in a time of growing government deficits and a weak economy. 4. The fundamental problems leading to endemic tensions in the Middle East can and should be resolved through negotiations among the parties concerned, ending attacks on Israel in return for the withdrawal of Israeli settlements from the occupied territories, and halting assaults on U.S. personnel and populations in return for withdrawing U. S. forces from Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf. 5. The U. S. dependence on imported oil that has distorted its foreign policy and put its economy at risk must be ended through a concerted program of energy conservation, the development of alternative sources of energy, and the expansion of public transportation. The United States stands at a major turning point, facing on the one hand imperial overreach and increased isolation among the nations of the world, and, on the other hand, democratic procedures that can once again make the republic a model for a more just and peaceful world. Another war in Iraq will mean choosing the first path over the second. _______________________________________________ bpp-ubfacstaff-planning mailing list bpp-ubfacstaff-planning@buffalopeacepeople.org http://www.buffalopeacepeople.org/mailman/listinfo/bpp-ubfacstaff-planning