The War in Iraq is a “war of aggression” by international, and therefore American, standards, the “supreme international crime,” because it was not approved by the UN Security Council, and there was no legitimate threat to the United States.
We were literally tricked into believing that Iraq and Saddam Hussein were somehow connected to 9/11, with justifications like WMDs and terrorist links, which have repeatedly and widely been proven false. (see Article I for Bush under “3. Impeach Bush and Cheney”)
The justification then moved to the “liberation of the Iraqi people,” though most see us as an occupying force, not liberators. A million Iraqis and over 3,000 of our brave men and women have been killed based on blatant, self-serving lies.
We are not acting as a liberating police force; we are acting like an aggressive outlaw state. We are not more secure, in life or in freedom, since we invaded Iraq: we are in much more danger than ever (see “the War INCREASES TERRORISM”).
We must stop the war because it’s illegal, counterproductive, and wrong. And especially, we must stop the war because we CAN.
The invasion of Iraq, which we’ve been told has made us safer from future terrorist attacks, has, in reality, made us much less safe than we were before 9/11.
Between 1980 and 2003, there were 315 suicide attacks worldwide. Since the US invasion, estimates range as high as 400. This means that for the 23 years prior to the invasion, the number of terrorist attacks averaged at 13 per year; since the invasion they have averaged at 100 per year. 4
Research fellows at the Center for Law and Security at the NYU School of Law have found that “the Iraq War has generated a stunning sevenfold increase in the yearly rate of fatal jihadist attacks, amounting to literally hundreds of additional terrorist attacks and thousands of civilian lives lost.” 5
According to the New York Times, a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) titled “Trends in Global Terrorism: Implications for the United States” from 2006 claims that the war in Iraq has had a direct role in increasing the diffusion of the radical jihad ideology. The National Intelligence Council (NIC) and the CIA have also put out reports saying that the invasion of Iraq would or has, respectively, increased the threat of terrorism. 6
Reports by an Israeli think tank and Saudi intelligence conclude that the vast majority of foreign fighters in Iraq are not former terrorists, but became such because of the war itself. A study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) found that 85% of Saudi militants who went to Iraq were not terrorist sympathizers, but were radicalized almost exclusively by the invasion. 7
It is important to empathize with the Iraqis, to put ourselves in their position. Imagine that another country, perhaps China, was attacked by terrorists from, say, Canada, and decided that Bush, and therefore the United States, was a threat to China. Imagine that China invaded and occupied the United States, killed thousands of civilians, rounded people up and held them indefinitely on suspicion of terrorism, tortured and humiliated people, and cut off basic needs such as water, food and medical supplies. How would we feel? What would we do?
The killing of innocent people should never be condoned, and neither should any form of terrorism, but we must also realize what causes terrorism. It is not simply the religion of Islam that creates terrorists, but the actions of the provocateur. We should not humiliate, maim, and murder 100s of 1,000s of people, for that tends to make people hate us. We must not create terrorists faster than we can kill them.
Osama bin Laden has said that the US wants to invade and occupy an oil-rich Arab country, and we gave him credibility with the Muslim world , which considered terrorism a dangerous fringe until the invasion, by doing just that. If we are to stop terrorism, our foreign policy should not advocate behavior that exacerbates anti-US sentiment and the threat of terrorism.
By invading Iraq in 2003, the Executive Branch violated international treaties, which are the “supreme law of the land” according to our constitution. These treaties include the UN Charter and what emerged from the Nuremberg trials, which tried Nazi war criminals for making aggressive war. 2
Under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, to which the United States is a party, a nation's use of force is authorized under only two circumstances: in individual or collective self-defense, as outlined in Article 51, OR pursuant to a Security Council resolution, as outlined in Article 42.
The United States was not allowed to invade Iraq via the Security Council circumstance, nor via the circumstance of self-defense. The case made by the Bush administration, that Iraq posed an “imminent threat,” was based on lies and manipulations of intelligence to suit their desire for war with Iraq, as many experts agree. (see Article II under “3. Impeach Bush and Cheney”)
In addition to the overall illegality of the war because it is a war of aggression, the laws of war, found in the Geneva Conventions and other precedents, require certain responsibilities of the occupying force during war. The occupying power is obliged to restore and ensure public order, safety, and basic service provision, and is restricted from using weapons that cause unnecessary suffering, torture, and attacking medical units or journalists. The US has or is violating these and other laws of war, making this an illegal war in many ways.
The war in Iraq, in addition to being illegal in many ways, has killed a million innocent people; 20% of Iraq’s pre-war population of has been killed, wounded, exiled or displaced. It would still be horrible, yet more understandable, if Iraq posed a grave threat to the United States, or if we were truly helping the country, but neither is the case, and so this is unacceptable. 9
Our soldiers trusted our commander-in-chief to send them to war only when absolutely necessary, but this war was not necessary; it is, in fact, counterproductive. We owe it to our brave men and women to stop this war, so that they’re not the victims of expected retributions from angry people. Soldiers cannot oppose Bush without us, so we are the ones who must ensure that they’re no longer used as cannon fodder for an administration that has sent them to die based on lies.
This war, the opposite of the moral intentions of freedom, peace and security claimed by the Bush administration, is a war of imperialism, where the current leadership of our country seeks to expand it’s power. This is a war for oil and strategic positioning, and no one should die for the profit of others alone.
If we allow this war to continue, though we have the power to stop it, then we allow our country to behave as an empire with our consent. The people of the world won’t stand for it, and as civilized, just-minded human beings, we shouldn’t either. We can say NO to this entire paradigm by acting in our numbers.
Requests of our Congresspersons on Stopping the War:
Our brave men and women are sitting ducks in Iraq for the terrorists that flock there in their anger at the occupation. They don’t know who is and who is not a terrorist, so, understandably, they kill innocent people. The vast majority of Iraqis want the troops to leave, and who could blame them? The troops would probably like to leave as well. 10
By no fault of their own, our soldiers’ continued presence in Iraq has created one of the largest humanitarian crises we’ve seen, worse than the Rwandan genocide.
The troops cannot help by staying there. They cannot prevent the violence which may occur when we leave, for thus far, our presence has only increased violence (there were virtually no terrorist attacks in Iraq before the invasion).WE must protect our soldiers from unnecessary harm if their commander-in-chief will not do so. 11
specifics:
INSIST that your congresspersons support the troops by bringing ALL troops, non-combative and combative alike, as well as those who are or will be stationed at the 14 permanent bases we've built in Iraq, HOME!
Republican President Eisenhower warned us to beware that the Military Industrial Complex does not grip our government or there will be war for war’s sake, not for necessity or protection. Many believe we are currently in a state of this complex, but that does NOT mean that we, as the American people, cannot STOP it.
We must PRESSURE congress to stop funding this war, for that is the largest part of why it continues – it is profitable, for the contractors who help fight the war, rebuild after the destruction, or gather the oil that foreigners that’s now more open to the public.
The war has cost us over 450,000,000,000 (450 billon) so far, not to mention our over 9,000,000,000,000 (9 trillion) dollar debt AND deficit. These funds should be used for REAL anti-terrorist activities that actually help to lessen terrorism. Rebuilding and securing Iraq (via an outside agency) would be a better investment that destroying the country, making it ripe for a terrorist takeover in the chaos. 12
Congress has the power to stop this war by stopping the money flow into it. If Congress has the power, then we have the power – we just need to make sure our congresspersons know how serious we are about this issue.
specifics:
INSIST that your congressperson vote for NO MORE MONEY for the war in Iraq once all troops are brought home. They should use that money in their plan to finance the rebuilding of Iraq and the lessening of hostile feelings.
We cannot stay in Iraq. The majority of the people see us as occupiers and would like us to leave. We, as Americans, have no more credibility with the Iraqi people as whole, and so cannot hope to stay to win their hearts and minds. It is counterproductive for the Iraqis, and it is dangerous to our soldiers for us to stay and try to remedy this situation ourselves. 13
Therefore, it is our responsibility to use the money we’re spending to destroy Iraq to finance the reconstruction and security of the country via an neutral, outside agency, like the UN or Red Cross, or a collection of countries, who could check one another from abusing their positions. This will be the most difficult request of all, but using diplomacy and going around this arrogant president, it is possible.
The point is, the U.S. cannot be the ones who stay to rebuild – we have already lost the Iraqis’ trust by telling them we came bearing freedom only to then occupy and destroy the country. We must stop fighting the war so that the Iraqis will know that those who come after are there to truly aid them and help rebuild their broken country.
specifics:
INSIST that your congressperson take steps to create a plan with outside groups and agencies NOT part of the coalition or contractors who are making money off of the destruction of Iraq to rebuild and secure the country using the U.S. funds we’d otherwise spend on the war.