RESOLUTION BEFORE THE WEST LINN CITY COUNCIL

Calling on the United States government to wait for United Nations authorization before starting a war with Iraq

WHEREAS: There is an urgent need for genuine multilateral action to eliminate weapons of mass destruction worldwide, and

WHEREAS: Governments and citizens around the world oppose US unilateral action in regards to Iraq and support the full pursuit of diplomatic resolutions and weapons inspections before any further military action is taken, and

WHEREAS: Our own government recommends such diplomatic resolutions in the case of North Korea, whose nuclear threat to the West Coast of the US is not in question, and

WHEREAS: A war against Iraq, before all other options have been exhausted, will place the lives of Americans here and abroad, and especially our military personnel, in unnecessary jeopardy, and

WHEREAS: The best support we can offer our troops is to extend all efforts to pull the country back from the brink of a war whose necessity and timing are still unproven, and

WHEREAS: Past military conflict in the region resulted in widespread environmental and human destruction, including the still controversial "Gulf War Syndrome" and

WHEREAS: Americans are uneasy about a rush to an unbudgeted war whose full cost, length and likelihood of drawing other countries into the conflict are largely unknown, and

WHEREAS: A better use of federal resources would be to help local communities and states address fiscal deficits without raising taxes or cutting valuable programs that benefit working people, the aged, children, mentally ill, disabled, the poor, and the environment, and

WHEREAS: The people of West Linn and their local elected officials have the constitutional right, indeed duty, to petition the national government on this matter of grave concern,

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT:

The City Council of West Linn calls upon the President and Congress to work with and through the United Nations to obtain compliance by Iraq with United Nations Security Council resolutions, and

The City Council of West Linn opposes unilateral military action by the United States against Iraq until and unless such action is sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council as an agreed upon cooperative international effort.

A copy of this resolution will be forwarded to President George W. Bush, Oregon Senators Gordon Smith and Ron Wyden; Oregon Representatives Earl Blumenauer, Peter DeFazio, Darlene Hooley, Greg Walden, and David Wu; and U. N. Secretary General Kofi Annan

ADOPTED this 19th day of February, 2003