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Note Representative Ron Paul (Democrat - Texas) Url: http://www.house.gov/paul/ [begin] President George W. Bush 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, D.C. 20500 December 6, 2001 Dear Mr. President: The volume of those voices demanding a massive ground invasion of Iraq has been on the increase of late. These voices demand that the U.S. government move American troops from Afghanistan to Iraq, to overthrow Saddam Hussein and install a new government there. It would be unwise and dangerous in the extreme, however, to heed these calls to widen American military action, and we urge you to stay the course in responding to those who attacked the United States on September 11. Mr. President, there is no evidence that Iraq had any part in the September 11 attacks against the United States. Our allies, including Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, have agreed that Iraq had no role in the attack. According to the joint Congressional resolution authorizing the use of force, passed on September 14, "The president is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons..." An attack on Iraq, or any other nation not involved in the 9/11 attacks, would therefore exceed the authority given by Congress in the joint resolution of September 14. We are also concerned that far from punishing terrorists who threaten the United States, an invasion of Iraq would undermine our security and open the door to an exponential increase in threats to our survival. An attack on Iraq could destroy the international coalition against terrorism, a carefully assembled construct that has allowed us to successfully traverse the geographic and political minefields of diverse nations with often conflicting interests, but united now in common cause. Most of our European allies - critical in maintaining this coalition - have explicitly stated their opposition to any attack on Iraq. German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer warned recently that Europe was "completely united" in opposition to any attack on Iraq. Likewise, U.S. relations with the Gulf states like Saudi Arabia could collapse should the United States initiate an attack on Iraq. Not only would our Saudi allies deny us the use of their territory to launch the attack, but a certain backlash from all Gulf and Arab states could well produce even an oil embargo against the U.S. Egypt, a key ally in our fight against terrorism, has also warned against any attack on Iraq. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said recently of the coalition that, "If we want to keep consensus...we should not resort, after Afghanistan, to military means." Osama bin Laden has consistently made his goals known to his followers and the rest of the world: he seeks to inflame the Muslim world into an all-out holy war against the United States. Invading Iraq, with the massive loss of life on both sides, would only forward bin Laden's twisted and hateful plan. It would be both tragic and ironic if U.S. policy actually helped terrorists advance their ultimate goal of a world war between Islam and the West. Mr. President, we urge you to stay the course. We urge you to continue to act within the authority granted you in the joint Congressional resolution of September 14, and limit the use of force to the apprehension of those who "planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001." Ron Paul [end] -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a discussion list run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq For removal from list, email soc-casi-discuss-request@lists.cam.ac.uk CASI's website - www.casi.org.uk - includes an archive of all postings.