The United States Government from this day forward resolves to:
1. Obey International law (recognize the authority of the World Court).
International law stipulates that a resolution must first be issued by the United Nations Security Council which authorizes the use of military force. Without a U.N. resolution, military force which is used by the U.S. government against a state is clearly illegal and is considered to be armed aggression. Acts of war are defined as: the attack by one state against another state. There has been no evidence that the United States of America has been directly attacked by another state in recent history. Therefore, the acts of terrorism which were perpetrated against the United States on September 11th, and any which may have occurred in the past and those which may occur in the future must be dealt with by means of international and domestic law enforcement. The United States should not send a signal to the world community that it is acceptable to ignore international law. If other nations were to behave in the same unilateral fashion as the U.S., we would all eventually become victims of widespread chaos and quite possibly world war.
2. Restore the Constitution.
The United States Government is bound by law to uphold the Constitution and Bill of Rights. A unilateral decision which disregards the 4th, 5th and 6th amendments and breaks the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of which the U.S. is a party to, is a serious breach of constitutional law. Eleven hundred residents of this country disappeared in the days following September 11th. The phenomenon of disappearance is considered a crime against humanity by the International Criminal Court (World Court). A vast majority of these people are being held by U.S. authorities without charges. Authorities refuse to divulge their names or whereabouts. The U.S. Government must restore checks and balances.
3. Revoke the draconian provisions of the Patriot Act.
The Government of the U.S. must put an end to: the indefinite detention and deportation of legal non-citizens without charge, wiretapping, Internet surveillance and spying on American citizens based on a unilateral decision of suspicion/probable cause which is based on a low standard and does not necessarily have to be related to terrorism investigations, and the unwarranted secret searches of homes and businesses without notice. This new definition of domestic terrorism must not be used to target those citizens which engage in political protest or become a cover up for the war against democratic dissent.
4. Assure that members of Congress read any/all legislation before casting their constituencies' vote on any bill under their consideration.
Some members of Congress admitted that they did not read the Anti-Terrorism Bill which was rammed through Congress along with other draconian measures such as the U.S.A. Patriot Bill, and the Ashcroft Police State Bill which are likely to infringe upon the civil rights and civil liberties of all U.S. citizens and move our country closer to becoming a police state.
5. Deliver the Government of the United States of America back into the hands of the people and out of the hands of corporations.
Foreign policy must not be decided by oil companies any more. The U.S. Government must put human needs before corporate desires and must vow to consider the best interests of the citizenry of the United States as a whole and no longer sacrifice the lives of many for the benefit of the transnational corporate giants.
6. Admit to the American people that one purpose of the United States-led war on Afghanistan is to achieve control of the vast and rich oil and gas resources in the Caspian Sea region and Central Asia.
Henry Kissinger once said, " Oil is much to important a commodity to be left in the hands of the Arabs!” If a war is to be fought in the name of the American people and by American women and men in the armed forces, than the people deserve to be fully informed of the reasons for which they are being asked to sacrifice their lives and liberties.
7. Put human rights above all else when fashioning foreign policy.
The U.S. government must realize that people can no longer be slaughtered into submission and that children must never be the victims of bad foreign policy. "Either human rights are valid for everyone, or else they are just privileges" Dr. Gino Strada.
8. Stop targeting civilians as a means of achieving political and economic goals.
Contrary to the Geneva Convention, the United States Government intentionally used sanctions against Iraq to degrade the country's water supply (and civilian infrastructure) after the Gulf War, the consequences of which have been increased outbreaks of disease and high rates of child mortality. In 1996, when queried on CBS's “60 Minutes" as to whether the death of a half million children was worth the price, former Secretary of State Madeline Albright's response was, "That's a tough question, but yes we think the price is worth it". Such an admission and support for the crime of genocide is not acceptable.
9. Never again use starvation as a weapon of war against a civilian population.
The United States must never again commit an action against an entire country of innocent and terrorized victims of war which would result in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people (perhaps a million or more) from starvation, exposure and preventable diseases. They must neither contribute to or ignore such a human tragedy. As a direct result of genocidal U.S. sanctions, over a 1/2 million Iraqi children have died as a result of starvation, malnutrition, and preventable diseases, within the last 12 years. How can denying food to human beings be seen as self defense?
10. Stop all future and present support for any regime which uses state sponsored terrorism to oppress the people / Resolve to stop propping up all oppressive regimes and repeatedly intervening with military force to maintain U.S. hegemony.
War secretary Donald Rumsfeld has negotiated an agreement to establish a U.S. military base in Uzbekistan with a dictator accused of massive human rights violations. This unconstitutional Status of Forces agreement should be terminated. The same is true for our presence in Saudi Arabia. Many other examples of U.S. sponsored /aide terror exist: Columbia, Nicaragua, Brazil, Cuba, Guatemala, Indonesia, East Timor, Angola, Turkey and elsewhere. The U.S must stop giving unconditional support to an Israeli State that has been using force to achieve political objectives.
11. Become a good International Citizen.
The United States can achieve this goal in part by: Joining the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, over 140 countries and nearly all of NATO have signed this treaty, it is time for the United States to do so as well. The U.S. should also sign/ratify the following treaties: The Convention on Rights of the Child, the Bio-terrorism Treaty, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the Small Arms Treaty. Another step in this direction would include the reversal of President George W. Bush's unilateral decision of non-compliance with the ABM Treaty, which would save billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars by not using these funds to build a Missile Defense Shield. Lastly, the United States Government should also significantly increase the amount of money which it donates to non-military international aid, so that it is in line with other nations.
12. Deliver peace and justice, not war to the world.
Today, the United States spends more on "national security" and military arms than all of the rest of the world combined. The United State's global military structure is of a magnitude never seen before in world history, which includes the training, equipping, and subsidizing of millions of troops and security forces in over eighty countries. The purpose is to capitalistic insurgencies. U.S. intervention abroad in defense of the Fortune 500 and its system of capital accumulation often results in levels of violence, repression and suffering on a scale that is hard for most to imagine. The death toll in the wake of these military interventions totals in the millions and impoverishes many of the countries and regions on the receiving end.
12 New Year's Resolutions for the Government of the United States of America
Houston Coalition For Justice Not War
www.houstonjusticenotwar.org
People Against Oppression and War
www.Paow.org
RedTobias@yahoo.com
Posted on the Independent Newswire on 5 January 2002
Ref: www.indymedia.org/front/php3?article_id=114677&group=webcast
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