[2259] in peace2
MIT ANTI-WAR WALKOUT
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (stephanie wei Wang)
Fri Feb 21 10:27:47 2003
Message-Id: <200302211524.KAA04705@department-of-alchemy.mit.edu>
To: imagine@MIT.EDU
Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 10:24:53 -0500
From: stephanie wei Wang <sweiwang@MIT.EDU>
S I G N T H E W A L K O U T P L E D G E
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we call on all students, faculty, and staff opposed to war in Iraq to pledge
their participation in the walkout and rally.
To sign the pledge, visit <http://web.mit.edu/justice/www/nowar> or send your
name, MIT affliation, and phone number (optional) to <mitnowar@yahoo.com>
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T H E P L E D G E
WE WILL NOT BE COGS IN THE WAR MACHINE
We, the undersigned members of the MIT community, pledge to participate in a campus-wide walkout if and when an invasion of Iraq commences.
We are opposed to an invasion of Iraq by the United States for many reasons.
**An U.S. invasion of Iraq is illegal under the Charter of the United Nations, to which the U.S. is a signatory. An act of such disregard for international agreements would only worsen the isolation of our country from the global community.
**The CIA has demonstrated no credible links between the Hussein regime and al-Qaeda. However, an unprovoked attack on Iraq would exacerbate, rather than reduce, the threat of terrorism against the US.
**A war will cause the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis. Over a decade of sanctions levied against the Iraqi people have already precipitated a humanitarian crisis of horrific proportions. As of 1999, according to UNICEF, more than half a million Iraqi children have died as a result of these sanctions as well as the lingering effects of the first Gulf War. A war will worsen this humanitarian crisis. The US, who supports dictators and has never installed a democracy in the Middle East, will not liberate the Iraqi people.
**The billions of dollars spent on war, ranging from 50 billion to 1.6 trillion according to estimates, can instead be used to fund education, health, and other social services as well as international humanitarian programs.
**The CIA reports that Iraq is not a threat to the US or world security despite the administration's unfounded claims.
For these reasons and more, we pledge to join countless others across the country in walking out of our classes at NOON on the first weekday after war begins. We will assemble at 77 MASS AVE for a rally to demonstrate our opposition. Afterwards, we will make posters, flyers, and more for the greater Boston rally at Government Center at 4:30 PM.
this message was bcc'ed to: peace-announce, utr-announce, greens-announce,
mitai-announce, pugwash
