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Resolution #103b
Iraq and the EconomyThere is no more shameful failure on the part of politicians than to send our young people to die bravely trying to carry out a counterproductive and unachievable mission.
With that in mind, SEIU President Andy Stern sent a letter to President Bush in January, 2003, with the approval of the elected local union leaders who make up the SEIU International Executive Board.
The letter questioned President Bush's plans to invade Iraq because they were not consistent with four principles that should guide U.S. policy:
1. War involves enormous risks to our families and our communities and must be a last option, not the first.
2. The goal of our foreign policy must be to promote a safer and more just world - promoting peaceful, multilateral solutions for disputes.
3. U.S. foreign policy must give high priority to improving the lives of people around the world.
4. The rights and freedoms our government says itr is fighting for abroad must be protected at home.
More than five years later, the invasion of Iraq has proven to be the worst policy disaster of our time. Even by the Pentagon's own official figures, 30,000 Americans have been wounded and more than 4,000 killed. Iraqi deaths and casualties are hard to document but number in the hundreds of thousands.
This war that has lined the pockets of major corporate campaign contributors has drained the U.S. economy and local communities of resources urgently needed for health care, education, housing, and other needs. The annual cost of the war is estimated at twice what it would take to ensure access to affordable, quality healthcare for everyone in America.
Meanwhile, the war has made us less safe, not more. It has turned public opinion around the world against the United States, squandering the opportunity to unite people of goodwill after the September 11th attacks.
As far back as November 5, 2003, Senator McCain urged President Bush to send at least 15,000 more U.S. troops to Iraq, calling it "irresponsible" to suggest "it is up to Iraqis to win this war." He said at that time that "it will require a commitment to do what is necessary militarily, to deploy as many American forces for as long as it takes." (USA Today, 11/6/2003)
On November 19, 2006, just days after the American people voted for major changes in Congress, in large part to signal to officials in Washington that it was time to bring troops home, McCain renewed his call for Bush to send an "overwhelming" number of troops. (Associated Press, 11/19/06)
Two months later, President Bush implemented the escalation McCain had long called for. The Bush-McCain escalation has cost thousands more casualties and billions more dollars, but, predictably, has failed to achieve the objective of establishing peace and security in that country.
Senator McCain said at a videotaped town hall meeting with voters in New Hampshire early this year that he could foresee U.S. troops continuing to occupy Iraq for "a hundred" years, a sign that working families could be suffering from the effects of this failed policy for many more years to come if a dramatic change in direction is not made. (YouTube, 1/3/08)
Therefore be it resolved: SEIU should continue to support our troops by leading and supporting coalitions (such as USLAW) of union members, veterans, and others who share our goals of:
- Bringing the troops home.
- Ensuring that they have the healthcare and other services they need.
- Shifting the billions now being spent on the war to strengthen our economy and meet the urgent needs of communities here at home.
- Establishing a new foreign policy that promotes justice and basic rights for working people at home and abroad and that sees global alliances and problem solving, not unilateral military action, as the preferred option.
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