RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
WHEREAS, the President and members of his administration have alleged
that Iran poses an imminent threat to the United States, American
troops in the Middle East and U.S. allies; and
WHEREAS, the allegations are similar to the lead-up to the Iraq war and
U.S. occupation of that nation, based on unsubstantiated accusations
about Iran’s nuclear program and its supply of weapons to Iraqi forces
as centerpieces of a case to the American people for aggression against
Iran; and
WHEREAS, Iran has not directly attacked the United States and no
substantial evidence has been presented to document that Iran poses a
real threat to the security and safety of the United States; and
WHEREAS, the City Council supports the struggle for freedom and
democracy in Iran and nothing herein should be misconstrued as support
for the volatile leadership and government of the Islamic Republic of
Iran whose continued threats of regional warfare further destabilize
the Middle East and progress toward peace there, but should be
understood that a unilateral, preemptive military attack on Iran could
well prove most counterproductive to the cause of promoting freedom and
democracy there; and
WHEREAS, a 2007 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), representing the
consensus view of all 16 American Intelligence Agencies, concluded that
Iran froze its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and an earlier NIE
concluded that Iran’s involvement in Iraq “is not like to be a major
driver of violence” there; and
WHEREAS, an attack on Iran is likely to cause untold thousands of
American and Iranian casualties, lead to major economic dislocations
and threaten even greater destabilization of the Middle East; and
WHEREAS, a preemptive American military strike on Iran would violate
international aw and our commitments under the United Nations Charter
and further isolate the United States from the rest of the world; and
WHEREAS, an attack on Iran is likely to inflame hatred for the United
States in the Middle East and elsewhere, inspire terrorism and lessen
the security of the American people; and
WHEREAS, the Iraq war and occupation has cost American taxpayers more
than $500 billion, depriving our cities of much needed funds for
services and infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, except at out peril, we cannot ignore the history of the
United States government using misinformation to inspire aggression in
Vietnam and again in Iraq, as embodied in the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
and more recently in what we now know as false claims of weapons of
mass destruction; and
WHEREAS, any conflict with Iran is likely to incur far greater costs
and divert more precious national resource away from critical human
needs:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of
West Hollywood joins the United States Conference of Mayors in urging
Congress to prohibit the use of funds to carry out any military action
against Iran without explicit Congressional authorization.