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World Conference of Workers
In Defense of Trade Union Independence & Democratic Rights
United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) Resolution Against Invasion of Iraq from UE's 67th National Convention
Oppose U.S. Invasion of Iraq
Despite the lack of any evidence linking the Iraqi regime to the
September 11 terrorist attacks, George Bush is pressing for an invasion of
Iraq. All U.S. allies except Great Britain, and even many in Bush's own
party, are opposed to this. Scott Ritter, former head of the UN Weapons
Inspection team in Iraq, has denounced Bush's outlandish claims about the
threat posed by Iraq to the rest of the world. Military experts warn than
an invasion will inevitably be followed by a costly, years-long
occupation, leaving large numbers of U.S. military personnel in a hostile
environment.
An invasion of Iraq is not in the interest of workers. As in the Vietnam
War, working people will be forced to pay for this war with our lives and
our pocketbooks. The government will continue to cut funds for already
economically distressed states and vital government programs. The
administration is jacking up next year's military budget by $48 billion,
bringing it to a staggering $383 billion. Programs that benefit working
people and the poor are being threatened by budget cuts, and yet the
airline industry receives a bailout of $15 billion and corporate America
receives $25 billion in tax cuts. While there is an urgent need for
genuine multilateral action to eliminate weapons of mass destruction world
wide, this has become less likely as we alienate our necessary allies over
the question of Iraq.
The Bush Administration is cynically using inflated claims of Iraq's
threat to vastly increase the military budget, to help his friends in the
oil business control oil production in the Middle East, and to boost his
own popularity and prop up the electoral fortunes of the pro-corporate
Republican Party. None of these will help to prevent terrorism, but all of
them will hurt workers in the U.S. and abroad.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THIS 67TH UE CONVENTION:
1. Opposes a U.S. invasion of Iraq, but supports instead a genuinely
multilateral diplomatic approach to the Iraq situation, sanctioned and
directed by the United Nations;
2. Encourages UE at all levels to educate our members on the history and
issues underlying the disputes in the Middle East.
Bruce J. Klipple General Secretary-Treasurer