Text: SR00011 Text: SR00013 Text: SR00000 - SR00099 Text: SR Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN
1 1 SENATE RESOLUTION NO. ____
1 2 BY HOLVECK, BOLKCOM, CONNOLLY, DVORSKY, HORN,
1 3 HATCH, and SENG
1 4 A Resolution regarding preemptive, unilateral military
1 5 action against Iraq.
1 6 WHEREAS, there is an urgent need for genuine,
1 7 multilateral action to eliminate weapons of mass
1 8 destruction worldwide; and
1 9 WHEREAS, a preemptive, unilateral strike by the
1 10 United States against a sovereign nation without a
1 11 direct threat to the national security of the United
1 12 States violates a basic principle of American foreign
1 13 policy enunciated in George Washington's farewell
1 14 address and historically adhered to by our nation; and
1 15 WHEREAS, most other governments in the
1 16 international community oppose preemptive, unilateral
1 17 action against Iraq and support the full pursuit of
1 18 diplomatic resolutions and weapons inspections before
1 19 any further military action is taken against Iraq; and
1 20 WHEREAS, a preemptive, unilateral military strike
1 21 by the United States against Iraq will undermine
1 22 efforts to bring to justice those who helped carry out
1 23 the attacks of September 11, 2001, and hinder efforts
1 24 to reduce acts of international terror; and
1 25 WHEREAS, a preemptive attack against Iraq will set
1 26 a dangerous precedent which other countries may
1 27 follow; and
1 28 WHEREAS, a United States military attack on Iraq
1 29 threatens the stability of the Middle East region; and
1 30 WHEREAS, conflict in the area may result in the
2 1 widespread destruction of the environment and the
2 2 civilian infrastructure of Iraq; and
2 3 WHEREAS, war in Iraq will likely be a humanitarian
2 4 disaster, jeopardizing the lives of American soldiers,
2 5 potentially exposing American soldiers to biological
2 6 and chemical forms of warfare almost too horrible to
2 7 imagine, and resulting in the killing of many innocent
2 8 Iraqi civilians who have already suffered enormously
2 9 under Saddam Hussein's rule and sanctions of the
2 10 United Nations; and
2 11 WHEREAS, military action will likely result in a
2 12 long-term United States military presence in Iraq with
2 13 no guarantee that the next regime in Iraq will achieve
2 14 a better record on democracy, human rights, and
2 15 disarmament issues, or in maintaining peaceful
2 16 relations with its neighbors; and
2 17 WHEREAS, it has been estimated that a war with Iraq
2 18 would likely cost between $100 billion and $1 trillion
2 19 and the American occupation of Iraq would cost another
2 20 $15 to $20 billion per year; and
2 21 WHEREAS, unlike the 1991 war with Iraq, a
2 22 preemptive, unilateral strike against Iraq will result
2 23 in the United States bearing most of the financial
2 24 cost of the war; and
2 25 WHEREAS, the costs of a war with Iraq will cause
2 26 further federal budget deficits, further weakening of
2 27 an already sluggish economy, and further undermining
2 28 of the long-term prospects for solvency of the Social
2 29 Security and Medicare systems, and will ensure
2 30 reductions in federal aid to the State of Iowa; and
3 1 WHEREAS, such reductions in state aid at the
3 2 federal level would hinder the likelihood of
3 3 increasing reimbursement rates for Medicare and
3 4 Medicaid and make financial assistance to seniors for
3 5 prescription drugs even less likely; and
3 6 WHEREAS, the State of Iowa is already suffering
3 7 from a financial crisis, which has severely impacted
3 8 many of the programs that assist working people and
3 9 families; NOW THEREFORE,
3 10 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, That the Iowa Senate
3 11 supports the efforts of American troops to protect and
3 12 defend the nation against those who seek to harm it,
3 13 but, out of concern for the safety of those who would
3 14 risk their lives, respectfully urges and requests the
3 15 President of the United States not to initiate a
3 16 preemptive, unilateral military strike against Iraq;
3 17 and
3 18 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Iowa Senate
3 19 respectfully urges that if the United States does take
3 20 military action against the sovereign nation of Iraq
3 21 that it only be done with the official approval of the
3 22 United Nations Security Council as required under
3 23 international law; and
3 24 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That suitable copies of
3 25 this resolution, duly authenticated by the Iowa
3 26 Secretary of the Senate, be transmitted to the
3 27 Honorable George W. Bush, President of the United
3 28 States, to each member of the Iowa congressional
3 29 delegation, and to the Governor of the State of Iowa.
3 30 LSB 1562XS 80
4 1 lh/pj/5.2
Text: SR00011 Text: SR00013 Text: SR00000 - SR00099 Text: SR Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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