END THE ILLEGAL OCCUPATION OF IRAQ NOW!

March 2005

We who sign this open letter call for the immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces from Iraq. We believe that the only real and lasting way to support the troops is to take them out of harms way by bringing them home now!

With the occupation now moving into its third year, students, workers, and soldiers at UC Irvine and across the globe stand united in our continued condemnation of the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq by the United States government and its allies. We declare our unwavering support for the soldiers deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world, and call upon the U.S. government to BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW!

We condemn Chancellor Cicerone and the UCI Chancellors Office for their open endorsement of spokesmen of imperialist terror. By honoring Viet Dinh, John Yoo, and Jose Maria Aznar as Distinguished Fellows, the Chancellor has bestowed formal approval on the viewpoints of individuals who blatantly support torture and the violation of civil liberties and international law. At a time when opposition to the occupation of Iraq is mounting, the UCI community witnesses firsthand a deliberate effort to win students and workers to a pro-war, pro-torture mindset. We demand a public apology from Chancellor Cicerone for his disgraceful and contemptible decision, which has cast disrepute on UCI by associating the campus with such apologists of U.S. imperialism.

The ruling elite have used the pretense of a U.S.-led war on terror to exploit the fears of the American public after September 11th. Falsely portraying Iraq as a threat to the security of the U.S., both Republicans and Democrats lied about the real motives behind the U.S.s invasion and occupation of Iraq. Today, the real motives are clear:

Gain control of Middle Eastern oil reserves and pipelines to secure the oil profits of U.S. multinational corporations like Exxon-Mobil.
Control Mid-East oil in order to prevent the rise of imperialist competitors (e.g. China, Russia, E.U., Japan) that could challenge the U.S.s global supremacy in the new century.
Build military bases in the region in order to dominate Iraq and the Middle East as a whole.
Maintain the hegemony of the dollar as the worlds international reserve currency.

To accomplish these goals, the U.S. government has resorted to direct and brutal military imperialism. The results have been more than devastating:

Over 1,500 U.S. casualties.
Over 10,000 U.S. military personnel wounded.
Over 100,000 Iraqi deaths (The Lancet 10/29/2004).
Over $155 billion dollars spent on the war to date.
Use of interrogation methods and detention policies that are in clear violation of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian standards. The international community has defined many of these practices as acts of torture.
Skyrocketing defense budget, which enjoys bipartisan support this years military budget is $420.7 billion, not including the supplemental appropriations requested to finance the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Massive cuts in healthcare, education, workers pensions, and wages.

American soldiers our husbands and wives, sons and daughters are being sent to kill and die in Iraq for an unjust cause. Many soldiers are ordered by their superiors on a daily basis to carry out murder for the profits of such corporations as Halliburton, Bechtel, and Exxon-Mobil. Innocent Iraqi civilians die by the hundreds, and the monstrous crime of torture becomes established policy for the U.S. government. Day after day, U.S. soldiers are forced to face this highly traumatic and debilitating situation.

For this reason, we advocate the right of every soldier to voice his/her dissent, and staunchly support all soldiers who, like those from the 343rd Quartermaster Company, resist and rebel against the injustices of the U.S.s current imperialist wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

We who sign this letter call for the immediate withdrawal of all U.S. and Coalition military personnel from Iraq.
We demand an end to this war, which is being waged not to protect democracy and freedom but to secure the oil profits and the geopolitical and economic power of the U.S. ruling elite.

Join us in the struggle to end injustice.