WA State Progressive Caucus Resolution 2013-3 Against War on Syria
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WHEREAS in 2011 the US and its allies marginalized the Syrian National Council, a group formed with the principles of nonviolence; non-sectarianism; and no foreign military intervention, set up a government-in-exile in Turkey, and recruited, armed and trained violent armed groups to pursue regime change in Syria; and
WHEREAS the US, the UK, France, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar then began flying in fighters, weapons and equipment to turn the Syrian Spring into a bloody civil war; and
WHEREAS the Saudi-sponsored sectors of the Syrian opposition are advocating ethnic cleansing of Alawites and Christians (“Christians to Beirut; Alawites to the grave”) and have already attacked these minorities; and
WHEREAS during a recent hearing, Secretary of State Kerry was asked which rebel groups had specifically asked for our intervention, and Kerry could not or would not answer; and
WHEREAS a recent academic study of intrastate conflicts shows that attacks like the one being proposed in Syria typically increase civilian casualties by 40 percent; and
WHEREAS it is not entirely clear who was responsible for the use of sarin in Syria with the White House assessment being “the strongest position that the US Intelligence Community can take short of confirmation”; and
WHEREAS the US has no credibility whatsoever making moral assertions about the use of WMD, given its aid to Iraq’s use of chemical weapons against Iran in the 80s and its refusal to join worldwide bans on the use of cluster bombs and depleted uranium (both of which have caused far more casualties than chemical weapons); and
WHEREAS in 2012 the Pentagon estimated that it would take 75,000 ground troops to secure Syria's chemical weapons, and now has no confidence in the efficacy of military strikes against Syria; and
WHEREAS public opinion polling demonstrates that war against Syria is even less popular than Congress; and
WHEREAS neither the Assad regime nor any current dictatorship supported by the US (including Saudi Arabia, home to most of the 9/11 hijackers) has the capacity to make chemical weapons or other WMDs, so that this capacity is instead supplied by the US and other western countries;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that ________ recommends that President Obama and Congress not approve any military action against Syria; and
THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that ________ recommends that President Obama and Congress instead embark upon positive solutions to Syria’s civil war, including but not limited to
• massive aid to help the neighboring countries handle the 2 million of Syria's refugees they have already taken in
• putting pressure on countries shipping weapons to either side of the civil war and using what leverage we have with those suppliers to start an arms embargo
• approaching that sector of the Iranian government strongly opposed to the use of chemical weapons due to their experience on the receiving end in the 80s, and encouraging them to put pressure on the Assad government; and
THEREFORE BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the ________ send electronic copies of this resolution to President Obama and to our Democratic congressional representatives.
Submitted by the WA State Progressive Caucus for immediate consideration by the Washington State Central Committee on September 21, 2013.
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