City Council Resolution Against the War

Ithaca, NY:
Contact Info
607-274-6570
Opposition to War in Iraq - Resolution
By Alderperson Blumenthal: Seconded by Alderperson Hershey

WHEREAS, President Bush is asking the United States Senate and Congress to authorize a preemptive war on Iraq, and

WHEREAS, based on current information no proven linkage has been made between the horrific terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 and the government of Iraq, and

WHEREAS, many knowledgeable individuals, including former U.N. chief weapons inspector Ritter, have disputed the President's contention that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction that could be a danger to the United States, and

WHEREAS, while the Saddam Hussein regime is a danger to his own people and neighboring nations in the Middle East, the President has not demonstrated that Iraq is an immediate threat to this country, and

WHEREAS, the U.S. needs the moral and strategic support of France, Russia, China, the Arab States, and others to eradicate terrorism, and

WHEREAS, this support would be undermined by our unilateral action, and

WHEREAS, diplomatic solutions have not been exhausted and the international community has not lent its support for war against Iraq, and

WHEREAS, a war with Iraq will jeopardize the lives of American soldiers and will kill many innocent Iraqi civilians, who have already suffered enormously under Saddam Hussein's rule and United Nations sanctions, and

WHEREAS, a war with Iraq would threaten to further destabilize the Middle East, possibly leading to a wider, regional war and increased support for Al Qaeda and other groups dedicated to terrorism, making the citizens of the United States and the world less safe, and

WHEREAS, a war will cost billions of dollars and could stall the U.S. economy, prolonging and deepening the current recession, now therefore be it

RESOLVED, That, absent new evidence or events that dramatically change the present situation, Common Council urges the city's representatives in Congress (Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senator Charles Schumer, and Congressman Maurice Hinchey) to vote against any resolution in Congress that would allow the President to declare war on Iraq.

Carried Unanimously