It is increasingly clear that the Bush Administration is dead set on invading Iraq and overthrowing Saddam Hussein despite U.S. and international law, domestic or foreign opposition. This new escalation of thewar on terroris is the most dangerous step yet by the Bush administration, which has put the world closer to global conflict than at any time in a generation.
First, Bush attempted to justify military action in Iraq due to that countrs violation of UN resolutions in order to eliminate that natios capacity to produce and use weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). The US is the greatest developer and user of WMDs. Israel, the Us greatest ally in the Middle East, violates UN resolutions more than any other country, has never declared its own WMDs or allowed international weapons inspectors.
There is little evidence of Iras current capacity for nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, and even less evidence of Saddas support for terrorism abroad. Recentevidenc revealed by the Bush administration and by Britais Tony Blair is suspiciously vague and contradicts other intelligence reports.
After Iraq agreed to allow the UN weapons inspectors to return, Bush revealed the real agendaregime change In other words, the U.S. government is preparing for a long-term military campaigned aimed at installing a puppet state in the regionRegime Chang is in fact a violation of the UN charter and all international law, and would in now way improve the lives of the Iraqi people. Saddam Hussein himself was once a U.S.-backed despot, used to undermine the Iranian Revolution.
A US/UK war in Iraq is really about control of oil, oil processing and transport. Iraq remains a large source of US oil and is the lynchpin to Persian Gulf oil transport. The first Gulf War in 1991, though it had UN backing, was largely a US military action and was aimed at reestablishing the US-friendly and despotic oligarchy in Kuwait. That war also helped the US extend its control over oil throughout the region.
Truth is there have been nearly daily bombings of Iraq by U.S and British warplanes since the first Gulf War. Radar stations, airfields and other targets are repeatedly bombed by the US indefensiv missions. The ongoing sanctions against the Iraqi people have killed over 1 million Iraqi children and have had a devastating effect on the environment, sanitation and hospital services. A new war in Iraq will first and foremost be an attack on the women, men and children of Iraq.
We have no love of Saddam Hussein and his regime, but we believe, as do the democratic and progressive forces of Iraq, that war in Iraq will only make the task of the democratic opposition more difficult. War in Iraq also threatens the already desperate situation of the Palestinian people. The Sharon government in Israel may use an Iraq war as an excuse to increase military incursions into Palestine or to relocate the Palestinian people on mass.
The Bush administration predicts that a war in Iraq will cost $200 billion (Christian Science Monitor) and will require 200,000 soldiers. The war will therefore also have a devastating affect on the people and youth of the United States. Working class youth will face military service and possibly a new draft as well as the budget cuts and tuition hikes in public schools and universities. Martin Luther King, Jrs observation thatthe bombs we drop on Vietnam explode here at hom remains true for the potential war in Iraq.
Bush has also made it clear he has little regard for US law, asking Congress forspecial power to declare war and engage in military action throughout the region. Now Bush is calling all Congresspersons and Senators who question his international policycowards The war will also undoubtedly lead to more violations of civil rights here in the US and be a setback for labor, civil rights and student struggles.
A war in Iraq will only deepen the war the Bush administration is waging here in the US. The attack on civil liberties, on domestic dissent and on immigrants and people of color will be made much worse by a US invasion of Iraq. And the economic impact on youth will be sharp. The budget cuts to education and the loss of jobs we have seen since September 11 will increase, and more and more working class youth will be forced into military careers, ROTC programs and potentially a renewed draft.
Therefore, the Young Communist League, USA calls upon the young people of America to oppose the drive to war in Iraq. It is not too late to oppose the war before it starts. Young people should organize demonstrations, rallies and local actions, as well as letter-writing to local and student newspapers, Congressional visits, teach-ins and other actions.
We call on the Bush administration to cease all unilateral actions against Iraq and all other sovereign states; to end the illegal no-fly zones over Northern and Southern Iraq and end the inhuman embargo of Iraqi medical, food and humanitarian supplies; to end all
We call on the UN and the world community to end the repression of the Iraqi people, the political opposition and Kurdish minority by the Hussein regime through international law.
No blood for oil! No war in Iraq!
National Council, YCLUSA
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