Subject: CALL YOUR SENATORS: TALKING POINTS

Bush is asking Congress to authorize him to launch
a military assault against the country of Iraq
if he "believes" that diplomacy hasn't worked. I urge
you in the strongest terms to vote against this
latest outrageous  move by Bush to attack and weaken
US democracy while moving closer to spilling
American -- and lots more innocent Iraqi -- blood.

* As is now well documents, including by
former Head UN Inspector Scott Ritter, Iraq is 90-95% 
disarmed. The inspections worked, except when
they were manipulated to spy on Iraq's leadership
in order to carry out illegal assassination attempts.

* Bush admits he is after "Regime change" so he has zero credibility to
him saying "diplomacy hasn't worked" which of COURSE he will say if
given a chance. Under no circumstances should Congress leave
it up to Mr. Bush's "judgment".

* It is illegal under national law: Congress alone
can make war and should not abrogate this fundamental constitutional
right to the president to launch a military assault on another country
at his own "judgment"

* It is illegal under international law: only a UN resolution
can authorize a military assault against a sovereign nation.
Thus Congress should not authorize Bush to do anything
that is outside of what the UN authorizes, and even then
only UN-authorized forces, not Bush's whim, should determine.

* It would make the world a lawless place, and set a dangerous precedent.

* It is morally wrong to kill thousands of people -- and
more shockingly so when our country supported
for so many years,  the dictator 
now being used as an excuse to attack the Iraqi people.

* We do not honor the 3,000 dead of the World Trade Center by 
killing thousands more innocent civilians.

* An attack on Iraq would amount to shouting from the top of a
mountain to every 3rd world country: "You MUST develop nuclear
weapons, since that is the only way to prevent the US unilaterally
deciding without the UN to pulverize your entire country in some
future year when your are "next" on the attack list"

* It would MAKE AMERICANS FAR LESS SAFE. Creating thousands more
innocent civilian men, women, and children -- will create many
terrorists all over the world in a thousand corners and hiding places
we can NEVER fully discover, and will lead to more terrorists
attacks. We must work within international law and 
if we stop funding dictators like the pentagon and CIA funded Noriega,
the Taliban, and Iraq, we would be in a much a more peaceful world.

* The Patriotic anti-war dissident Americans didn't fund Noriega,
didn't fund the Taliban, and were opposed to US funding for Iraq
during the Iran-Iran war and later -- the militarists who did should
be ashamed, have no credibility, and should stay out of the discussion
so we can clean up their mess legally and peacefully without spilling
Iraqi or American blood.

Sincerely,