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as author of AR10, i encourage you to steal any part of this resolution to use for lobbying your student government. if you have any questions as to the sources or seek ideas for organizing, please contact jordan. 2002-2003 AR10:Calling on President Bush to Not Start a War With Iraq passed October 22, 2002 by a vote of 20-17. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHEREAS: On October 11, 2002, the United States Congress approved a resolution authorizing President Bush to use U.S. military force against Iraq; WHEREAS: Only 2 members of the United Nations Security Council agree that Iraq poses a threat to the United States; WHEREAS: France, Germany, China and Russia, among many others, have expressed disapproval of U.S. plans to start a war with Iraq; WHEREAS: Pope John Paul II has expressed disapproval of U.S. plans to start a war with Iraq; WHEREAS: According to a mid-September Gallup Poll, only 37% of surveyed Americans support going to war with Iraq if the United Nations fails to approve of the U.S. drive to war; WHEREAS: The United Nations has still not approved of the U.S. drive to war; WHEREAS: CIA Director George Tenet warned Congress, "Should Saddam conclude that a U.S.-led attack could no longer be deterred, he probably would become much less constrained in adopting terrorist actions;" WHEREAS: Former United Nations Chief Weapons Inspector, Scott Ritter, disputes President Bush's claim that Iraq poses a threat to the United States; WHEREAS: In response to Bush's October 7th speech calling for war against Iraq, Former Head of Counterintelligence for the CIA, Vincent Cannistraro, responded,"Basically, cooked information is working its way into high-level pronouncements. There's a lot of unhappiness about it in intelligence, especially among analysts at the CIA;" WHEREAS: Bob Baer, former CIA agent who tracked al-Qaeda, acknowledges that there were contacts between Osama bin Laden and the Iraqi government in Sudan in the early 1990s and in 1998, yet testified, but there is no evidence that a strategic partnership came out of it. I am unaware of any evidence of Saddam pursuing terrorism against the United States;" WHEREAS: According to UNICEF estimates, U.N. economic sanctions - pushed for by the Unites States - have already caused the death of over 500,000 children between 1991 and 1999; WHEREAS: September 26, 2002, the BBC reported that American warplanes destroyed a civilian radar system and the main terminal of Basra's international airport (two weeks before Congress approved of military action in Iraq); WHEREAS: Starting a war with Iraq would likely continue to escalate anti-American sentiment in the region and thus popularize Al-Qaeda and other anti-American terrorist groups; WHEREAS: Reuters reported on October 1, 2002 that some Congressional budget estimates predict that starting a war with Iraq could cost $200,000,000,000; WHEREAS: The Gulf War only cost roughly $79,000,000,000, and close to 80% was paid for by Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Japan; WHEREAS: On September 30, 2002 the Wall Street Journal reported that Lawrence Lindsay, White House economic advisor, estimated that the United States might have to spend 1-2% of its gross domestic product on a war with Iraq; WHEREAS: Representative John Spratt, a senior member of the House Budget Committee, said, " Since there is no surplus in the budget from which the cost could be paid, there will be tradeoffs, making initiatives like Medicare drug coverage harder to do, and there almost certainly will be deeper deficits and more debt;" WHEREAS: The Canadian Energy Research Institute reported that an attack on Iraq would likely cause oil prices to raise to $50 a barrel; WHEREAS: On September 26, 2002, the Christian Science Monitor reported that if oil prices were to rise to $50 a barrel, it would probably cause a global recession; WHEREAS: The United States is already in an economic recession; WHEREAS: International support for the campaign against Al-Qaeda would be undermined by widely opposed unilateral action against Iraq; WHEREAS: No proven link has been articulated between the horrific terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the Iraqi government; WHEREAS: Starting a war with Iraq would jeopardize the lives of American soldiers, Iraqi civilians and potentially American citizens if Iraq decides to fight back; WHEREAS: Iraqi officials have repeatedly reported that if they are attacked by the United States they will respond in full force; WHEREAS: Diplomatic solutions have not been fully pursued and the international community has clearly not shown support for the United States starting a war with Iraq WHEREAS: Plans for the 2003 fiscal year have allocated 22.22% of the Congressional budget for Defense while only 5.4% will be spent on education; WHEREAS: Starting a war with Iraq will perpetuate current Congressional budget priorities, emphasizing significantly more spending on military than education; WHEREAS: An exacerbated economic recession would impact student's ability to recieve higher education, including at the University of Texas; WHEREAS: Starting a war with Iraq would likely spur a backlash against the Arab-American community of the University, as was experienced following September 11th; WHEREAS: The possible reinstatement of mandatory conscription (i.e., the Draft) would greatly affect members of the University community; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: Student Government agrees with the International community and the United Nations in recognizing and condemning the actions of Saddam Hussein as crimes against humanity. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: the Student Government of the University of Texas at Austin urges President Bush to not unilaterally or preemptively start a war with Iraq. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: if Iraq were to pose an actual threat to the United States, as deemed by the United Nations, attacking them would not be most appropiate means to a resolution. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: the Student Government of the University of Texas at Austin encourages the Bush administration to pursue a diplomatic resolution built upon international support. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: the Student Government of the University of Texas at Austin presses for president Bush to present any evidence of a link between Iraq and Al-Queda, so that American citizens and the world may determine for themselves the threat posed by Iraq. Authored by:Jordan Buckley (Two Year at
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