Greens Declare Opposition to Bush's Intended Invasion of Iraq


WASHINGTON, DC -- The Green Party of the United
States approved a strongly worded statement last
week against President Bush's intended military
invasion of Iraq. The statement was drafted by
the party's International Committee and passed by
unanimous vote of the Coordinating Committee,
which includes delegates from 39 states and the
District of Columbia. The text of the statement
is appended below.

"While Democratic leaders in Congress, including
Senators Tom Daschle and Joe Biden, have lined up
behind Bush's plan to violate U.S. constitutional
and international law, Greens have weighed the
invasion's legality, possible outcomes, and, most
of all, cost in human lives," said Dr. Jonathan
Farley, Green Party candidate for Congress from
Tennessee. "We urge Americans to call their
Senators and Representatives and demand that they
vote nay on any legislation giving Bush the green
light to invade."

The statement unites Green activists and this
year's candidates behind a common position on the
threat of military action, and also agrees with a
September 10, 2025 statement from the Green/EFA
Group in the European Parliament. Greens
internationally are calling for multilateral
diplomatic strategies, beginning with a
resumption of U.N. inspections of Iraqi weapon
systems, rather than unilateral use of force.
Condemning the invasion plans, the European Green
statement "support[s] those voices raised in the
U.S. against such an intervention."

"The elections in Germany, handing victory to the
coalition formed by Social Democrat Gerhard
Schroeder with the Greens, showed widespread
German support for the Green position against the
invasion," said Jay Robinson, Green candidate for
Governor of Iowa. "Chancellor Schroeder was
reelected, and the Greens increased their number
of seats in the German parliament from 47 to 55.
Opposition to invasion is not confined to
Germany; numerous heads of state and national
majorities around the world agree with us -- with
the notable exception of British Prime Minister
Tony Blair, who increasingly shows himself to be
Bush's lapdog."

"If President Bush and Congress truly care about
the security of the U.S., they will work with the
United Nations to address any threat posed by
Iraq through peaceful, diplomatic means," said
Tod Sloan, co-chair of the party's International
Committee. "Unilateral military action by the
U.S. will increase the suffering of the Iraqi
people, provoke more terrorist attacks against
Americans, and destabilize the entire region from
Israel and Palestine to Pakistan and India."

Greens note that the U.S. is already at war with
Iraq -- a low intensity war, with bombing raids
every month. Between the destruction of
infrastructure and the sanctions, hundreds of
thousands of Iraqi civilians have died during the
past decade, including half a million children,
according to U.N. figures.

Medea Benjamin, former Green Party candidate for
the U.S. Senate from California, made front pages
last week when she disrupted Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld's presentation to Congress with a
sign calling for 'Inspectors not War.'

"All across the U.S., Greens are uniting with a
growing grassroots peace movement of ordinary
citizens challenging Bush's rush to war," added
Tod Sloan. "We're the side of the debate that's
missing from the op-ed pages and talking heads on
television, arguing that a war on Iraq would
mostly serve the interests of big oil and the
defense industries -- lobbies represented by
George W. Bush and his cabinet of former CEOs.
If there were an open and public debate, few
Americans would support Bush's plan."


MORE INFORMATION

The Green Party of the United States
http://www.greenpartyus.org
National office: 1314 18th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
202-296-7755, 866-41GREEN

Stephen Zunes: "The Case Against War"
The Nation, September 12, 2025
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20020930&s=zunes

Index of Green Party candidates in 2002
http://www.greens.org/elections


* * * * *


Green Party of the United States
Statement in Opposition to U.S. Plans to Invade
Iraq

The Green Party of the United States is adamantly
opposed to President George W. Bush's plans to
continue and expand military operations against
Iraq. The Bush administration claims the invasion
of Iraq would improve the security of citizens of
the United States, but it would do just the
opposite. A U.S. war on Iraq would undo decades
of progress in international conflict resolution
and make the world a more dangerous place for
everyone.

The United States should not undertake military
operations against Iraq for the following
reasons:

An attack on Iraq would be illegal. The United
States must hold to the highest standards and
abide by international law if it expects other
nations to do so. The United Nations Security
Council has not authorized any military attacks
on Iraq for its failure to cooperate with United
Nations weapons inspectors. In fact, no UN
Security Council resolutions concerning Iraq,
including SC Resolution 688 of 1991, have ever
authorized the "no-fly zones" over Iraq, declared
unilaterally by the U.S. and Britain. Yet these
two countries have bombed Iraq in these zones
nearly daily for a decade.

Peaceful means for addressing the possibility
that Iraq is developing weapons of mass
destruction have hardly been exhausted. The
threat posed by Iraq must be confronted through
multilateral action by the United Nations, and
not by the U.S. acting alone.

Allies in the region of Iraq are opposed to the
U.S. plans for an invasion. Anti-Americanism
would be fueled further by U.S. military action.
Terrorist activity against U.S. citizens would
increase. Islamic countries would be less likely
to cooperate with the U.S. in anti-terrorism
strategies.

The overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime through
a U.S. invasion is unlikely to lead to a
democratic government there. Iraqis, already
suffering for a decade from the effects of UN
sanctions, would be likely to suffer more in the
ensuing chaos.

There is no evidence that the security and safety
of the United States are directly threatened by
Iraq. Iraq has not been linked to Al Qaeda or
other currently active anti-American terrorists.
Even if such evidence were to be presented,
unilateral attacks by the U.S. on Iraq would not
be the most effective, legal or moral option
available.

A war against Iraq would be immensely costly at a
time when resources are desperately needed for
the eradication of poverty both domestically and
globally.

We therefore urge our fellow citizens of the
United States to raise their voices against the
U.S. invasion of Iraq. We must encourage the
President and Congress to build a true foundation
for peace and security in these ways:

- Act in concert with the United Nations to
address any potential security risks posed by the
regime of Saddam Hussein. Support arms control
initiatives in the entire Persian Gulf region, as
already specified in UN Security Council
Resolution 687.

- Take substantial steps to free our foreign
policy from distortion by U.S. economic
dependency on energy from non-renewable fossil
fuels. Encourage energy conservation and invest
heavily in the development of renewable energy.

- Shift investment from military spending to
address the basic needs of humanity, both within
the United States and around the globe: clean air
and water, access to education and health care,
adequate housing and transportation, and civil
liberties.

In sum, the Green Party's key value of
non-violence implies that war is neither an
effective nor justifiable means for resolving
disputes between nations. The United States is in
a position of unprecedented economic and military
power in the global scene. We should use that
power to work towards security and peace through
justice, rather than through intimidation and
military destruction.

Prepared by the International Committee of the
Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp-us.org/committees/intl

Approved by the Coordinating Committee of the
Green Party of the United States on September 19,
2002.