2007-032: Immediate Withdrawal from Iraq

RESOLUTION NO. 2007-032

A RESOLUTION OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF OREGON
TO END IRAQ
OCCUPATION IMMEDIATELY WHILE IMPLEMENTING A COMPREHENSIVE EXIT STRATEGY

WHEREAS, the Democratic Party of Oregon’s Legislative
Action Items for Foreign Policy and National Security states: ‘Bring US troops
home from Iraq within six to twelve months; renounce US interest in permanent
US military bases in Iraq; schedule a prompt and orderly withdrawal of US
troops from combat positions; accelerate reconstruction spending and grant most
reconstruction contracts to local companies employing Iraqis; reduce the
Baghdad embassy to normal size and authority,” and

WHEREAS,
the reason for attacking Iraq because they possessed weapons of mass
destruction was found to be false after the invasion and was known to be false
by our current U.S. administration prior to the attack; and four years ago on
May 2, 2003, President Bush landed on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln and
declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq, standing under a banner
proclaiming ‘Mission Accomplished’, and

WHEREAS, on June
24, 2007 3,563 U.S. and 281
coalition servicemen and women have been killed in Iraq, while currently over
100 additional Americans are dying every month that the Iraqi occupation continues;
and the cost of the Iraq war/occupation has now reached $500 billion, ten times
the amount of the Bush administration’s original cost estimation of $50 billion¹,
and

WHEREAS, multiple insurgencies still continue daily
throughout Iraq with an estimated 655,000 or more Iraqi civilians, including
many innocent children, women and elderly, having been killed in Iraq since the
pre-emptive attack on Iraq by the U.S. on March 19, 2003, while for each month
that the U.S. occupation continues, several thousand more Iraqi civilians are
killed, and

WHEREAS, a large majority of Iraqi civilians (71%) said in
September 2006 that they want U.S. forces to be withdrawn from Iraq within a
year or less, while 78% of Iraqis said the presence of U.S. forces is fueling the
violence², and additionally on May 8, 2007 more than half (144) of
the members of Iraq’s parliament signed a legislative petition calling on the
U.S. to set a timetable for withdrawal³, and

WHEREAS, reconstruction of Iraq’s social support network has
continued to be a security problem when U.S. forces are still present, and the
Iraqi water and electricity supplies have still not been restored to pre-war
levels, and

WHEREAS, the number of Iraq refugees fleeing into Middle
Eastern countries, particularly Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon, has increased
dramatically to over 100,000 people each month, and Iraqi refugees now total
1.8 million people^4-5 in addition to countless hundreds of thousands
Iraqis displaced within their own borders;

NOW, THEREFORE, THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF OREGON RESOLVES AS
FOLLOWS:

Section 1: We
support our US troops by
implementing a comprehensive exit strategy from Iraq that provides honor and
dignity for Americans and Iraqis, specifically by:

• ending the occupation of Iraq
and bringing all our U.S.
troops home immediately,

• closing all military bases in Iraq,

• returning all US contractors while turning over
all contracting work to the Iraqi government,

• restarting the failed Iraq reconstruction with jobs and
training for Iraqis,

• convening a regional conference to help develop an
intermediate security and international stabilization force for Iraq as
replacements for US troops returning home,

• developing a process of national reconciliation among
Iraqis,

• making reparations to Iraqi people for injuries and
losses of lives and property,

• ceasing all attempts to privatize Iraq oil
interests and national assets,

• restoring Iraqi fiscal integrity without IMF or World
Bank restrictions,

• helping stabilize Iraqi food and energy costs, and

• helping fund humanitarian resettlement of Iraqi
refugees.

Section 2. We
call upon our Oregon Congressional delegation to support the above strategy by
cosponsoring the most comprehensive bill to date that encompasses these
actions, that is H.R. 1234 “To End the United States Occupation of Iraq
Immediately” or similarly specific legislation which accomplishes these goals.

ADOPTED by the Democratic Party of Oregon on _____ day of
______, 2007.

This resolution ties to the Foreign Policy and National
security plank of the Oregon Democratic Party platform

August 26,
2007 Platform and Resolutions Committee Recommendation: Approve as amended

¹ “Are Iraq war costs spinning out of
control? - The tab is $423 billion and rising,
prompting economists to reassess US military and homeland security costs.” By David R. Francis,
Columnist, Christian Science Monitor, May 7, 2007 http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0507/p14s01-cogn.html

² “Most Iraqis
Want U.S. Troops Out Within a Year - Say U.S. presence
provoking more conflict than it is preventing.”
World Public Opinion, Sept 27, 2006
(conducted Sept 1-4, 2006, by Program on
International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at University of Maryland;
fielded by KA Research Ltd) http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/home_page/250.php?nid=&id=&pnt=250&lb=hmpg1

³ “Majority of
Iraqi Lawmakers Now Reject Occupation,” By Raed Jarrar and Joshua Holland,
AlterNet, May 9, 2007 http://www.alternet.org/story/51624/

⁴ “Warning
Over Spiraling Iraq Refugee
Crisis,” By Matt Weaver & Refugees
International (Washington, DC),
Guardian, Dec 7, 2006. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1966333,00.html

⁵ “Iraqi Refugee Crisis:
International Response Urgently Needed,” By Kristele Younes and Sean Garcia,
Refugees International Bulletin, Dec. 5, 2006. www.refugeesinternational.org/files/9687_file_Iraqirefugee_UN_120406.pdf