The following resolution on Iraq was passed unanimously by the IEB on August 10, 2005!


     Condemn war in Iraq and lobby to withdraw soldiers.

         Since the beginning of the war in Iraq nearly 2,000 American soldiers have been killed and over 13,000 have been wounded.  The dead include Steelworker members and family members of Steelworkers.  Estimates of the number of Iraqis killed exceed 100,000.  Wars are fought by working class young people and our brave sons and daughters in uniform are making a tremendous sacrifice and they and their families deserve our support.  They also need our government to see that they are properly equipped with the best available protective body gear and armored vehicles.

         The recent disclosure of the so-called Downing Street memorandum is just the latest confirmation that President George Bush?s rationale for initiating the war in Iraq was flawed at best, and based on deliberate lies at worst.   Moreover, the unreliable nature of this information demonstrates the moral and political danger of relying on the so-called preemptive war doctrine to justify invasion in the absence of attack.  Some in Congress who supported the war, such as conservative Nebraska Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, are now concerned that things are getting worse and that we do not have a viable plan for dealing with the problems we face but are just making it up as we go along. 

         Some in Congress who opposed the war have taken the position that since we are there now we have a responsibility not to depart abruptly for fear that it will put our supporters in Iraq at risk.  While there is appeal to this assertion of moral responsibility, it must not be used as an excuse to pursue other agendas or avoid making difficult decisions and thereby prolonging our stay there. 

         More important, the Bush administration has continued the policy of the Saddam Hussein regime of outlawing unionization among most of the major corporations in Iraq.  This is in contrast to the Truman administration following World War II which encouraged the establishment of a free trade union movement in Germany and Japan in order to provide institutions which could fight for economic justice for workers and their families.  In addition, with a 70% unemployment rate in Iraq, the Bush administration sought to bring in large numbers of workers from other countries to do work which Iraqis could perform.

         To the extent the Bush administration has a reconstruction plan for Iraq, it appears that it is doing everything possible to promote the welfare of corporations at the expense of Iraqi workers.  It is no wonder that so many Iraqis are being attracted to the violence of the terrorists.  The Bush Iraq policy undermines our advocacy of international labor rights in the fight for fair trade and raises barriers to the construction of global union agreements that are essential to representing our members employed by multi-national corporations.  If the Bush administration is not prepared to promote worker rights to organize and to take other measures to promote justice in Iraq, then we should leave immediately.

         We urge our political leaders to sew the seeds of economic justice in Iraq and bring about an honorable and rapid withdrawal from Iraq.