Letter to President George W. Bush

Forum for Peace at Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN 37235
October 8 2002

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Bush:

Going to war is always the most serious action a nation can contemplate. The prospect of a war with Iraq is for many people especially alarming, because the need for such a war at this time has yet to be convincingly demonstrated. We have thought long and hard about the central concerns raised by this proposed action, and believe that such a war cannot be justified without good answers to the following seven questions.

1. What evidence is there that Iraq poses an immediate threat to the US?
After September 11, there is an understandable anxiety about further terrorist attacks. And it may well be that Saddam Hussein possesses, as do other states, chemical or biological weapons. What evidence is there that Iraq poses the kind of dire and immediate threat to the US that would justify unilateral US action now, as opposed to a measured and legal response over the coming months and years through the agencies of the United Nations?

2. Would invading Iraq further the interests of peace in the Middle East?
The danger posed by the Iraqi regime looks to be inseparable from broader Middle East questions that equally deserve our attention: the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, Iran’s growing nuclear capability, and the hunting down of Al-Qaeda terrorists. Could not a war on Iraq actually exacerbate each of these other problems, and delay their resolution? And would it not be likely to generate more regional instability?

3. Would not an unprovoked invasion of Iraq be illegal under international law?
The post Cold War situation leaves the US in a position of unparalleled military power. But is not the doctrine of pre-emptive strike contrary to international law, and does it not license any other country to act in the same way if it can get away with it?

4. Have we brought our imagination to bear on the responsibilities this war would incur?
The first Gulf War killed over 100,000 Iraqi conscripts. The sanctions have led to the deaths of many hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children. The next war would kill many more innocent Iraqis as well as US servicemen and servicewomen. And dealing with the aftermath of war – political instability in Iraq, turmoil in the Middle East, the practicalities of regime change – is a far greater challenge. Have we really brought our imagination to bear on what this war would involve? Are we really willing or able to provide the long-term military, diplomatic, medical, and financial resources needed to deal with the postwar situation?

5. Does not unilateral military action threaten world peace?
The UN, international treaties and courts, are vital ingredients in managing an increasingly global society. Inasmuch as virtually no other nation in the world other than the UK is willing to support an attack on Iraq at this point, does not the near unilateralism of the current US administration, reversing five decades of foreign policy, pose a serious threat to our standing in the world and to global stability by undermining existing peace-keeping institutions?

6. Do we fully appreciate and accept the impact of such a war on our own way of life?
Since 9/11 the US has instituted an unprecedented number of security measures, and suspended or curtailed civil rights in many areas. Leaving aside the suffering such a war will cause to others, have we fully appreciated the impact on core US values, civil rights, and the economy that mobilization against terrorism and preparations for war have already brought? Will not these effects be yet further exacerbated by war itself?

7. Can we be sure that this war is not being driven by oil and domestic politics?
Many critics at home and abroad have suggested that the drive to war, and to regime change in Iraq is being guided by considerations other than those being officially advanced, such as oil interests, the coming domestic elections, the depressed economy and the need to distract from White House links to corporate scandals. What assurance can we have that this war is not being driven by undisclosed financial and domestic political interests?