Submitted to the U.S. Conference of Mayors by the Honorable Mayor Bob Kiss of Burlington, VT, for consideration at the Miami Meeting on June 20-24, 2008
A RESOLUTION OPPOSING MILITARY INTERVENTION IN IRAN
WHEREAS, the WHEREAS: The President and members of his administration have alleged that Iran poses an imminent threat to the United States, U.S. troops in the Middle East and U.S. allies, and
WHEREAS, these allegations are similar to the lead-up to the Iraq War and U.S. occupation, with the selective use of information and unsubstantiated accusations about Iran's nuclear program and its supply of weapons to Iraqi forces as centerpieces of a case to the American people for aggression against Iran, and
WHEREAS, Iran has not threatened to attack the United States, and no compelling evidence has been presented to document that Iran poses a real and imminent threat to the security and safety of the United States that would justify an unprovoked unilateral pre-emptive military attack; and
WHEREAS, we support the people of Iran who are struggling for freedom and democracy, and nothing herein should be misconstrued as support for the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, but it should be understood that a unilateral, pre-emptive U.S. military attack on Iran could well prove counterproductive to the cause of promoting freedom and democracy there; and
WHEREAS, a 2007 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), representing the consensus view all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, concluded that Iran froze its nuclear weapons program in 2003, and an earlier NIE concluded that Iran's involvement in Iraq "is not likely to be a major driver of violence" there, and
WHEREAS, an attack on Iran is likely to cause untold thousands of American and Iranian casualties, lead to major economic dislocations, and threaten even greater destabilization in the Middle East, and
WHEREAS, a pre-emptive U.S. military attack on Iran would violate international law and our commitments under the U.N. Charter and further isolate the U.S. from the rest of the world; and
WHEREAS, an attack on Iran is likely to inflame hatred for the U.S. in the Middle East and elsewhere, inspire terrorism, and lessen the security of Americans, and
WHEREAS, the Iraq war and occupation has already cost the lives of over 4,000 American soldiers, the maiming and wounding of over 38,000 American soldiers, the death and maiming of over one million Iraqi civilians, and
WHEREAS, the Iraq War and occupation has cost U.S. taxpayers more than $500 billion, depriving our cities of much-need funds for services and infrastructure, and
WHEREAS, except at our peril, we cannot ignore the history of U.S. government mis-information used to inspire U.S. aggression in Vietnam and again in Iraq, as embodied in the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and more recently in the what we know now as false claims of weapons of mass destruction, and
WHEREAS, any conflict with Iran is likely to incur far greater costs and divert more precious national resources away from critical human needs, now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, that the U.S. Conference of Mayors hereby urges the Bush Administration to pursue diplomatic engagement with Iran on nuclear issues and ending the violence in Iraq, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the U.S. Conference of Mayors urges Congress to prohibit the use of funds to carry out any military action against Iran without explicit Congressional authorization, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that suitable copies of the resolution be forwarded to President George W. Bush and all members of Congress.
Mayor Bob Kiss
Burlington, Vermont
Resolution Submitted By:
The Honorable Bob Kiss
Mayor of Burlington, VT
The Honorable William D. Euille
Mayor of Alexandria, VA
The Honorable R.T. Rybak
Mayor of Minneapolis, MN
The Honorable Joy Cooper
Mayor of Hallandale Beach, FL
The Honorable Marty Blum
Mayor of Santa Barbara, CA
The Honorable Dan Coody
Mayor of Fayetteville, AK
The Honorable Kevin Foy
Mayor of Chapel Hill, NC
The Honorable Gayle McLaughlin
Mayor of Richmond, CA
The Honorable Kitty Piercy
Mayor of Eugene, OR
The Honorable Elaine Walker
Mayor of Bowling Green, KY
The Honorable Jeff Prang
Mayor of West Hollywood, CA
The Honorable Rhine McLin
Mayor of Dayton, OH
The Honorable Jennifer Hosterman
Mayor of Pleasanton, CA
The Honorable Laurel Lunt Prussing
Mayor of Urbana, IL
The Honorable Anthony B Santos
Mayor of San Leandro, CA
The Honorable J. Christian Bollwage
Mayor of Elizabeth, NJ
The Honorable Scott J. Brook
Mayor Coral Springs, FL
The Honorable Bruce R. Williams
Mayor of Takoma Park, MD
The Honorable Dave Norris
Mayor of Charlottesville, VA
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