30 August 2013: For Immediate Release

Contact: John Andrews, Co-chair, Tel. 781-862-6498, [email protected], www.green-rainbow.org

The Green-Rainbow Party calls upon the people of Massachusetts to oppose the proposed imminent use of U.S. military forces to intervene in Syria. We abhor the deaths of civilians on all sides of the conflict, whether by the heinous use of chemical weapons or by conventional means, and support intensified international efforts to end the bloodshed.  But the military strikes being considered by the Obama Administration are illegal, unethical, unwise, and potentially catastrophic.

Far from providing a solution to the bloodshed,  U.S. air or missile strikes are likely to increase the level of violence, and could well lead to a wider war involving the United States, Israel, Iran, and Russia among others. (Already Russia is sending warships to the region and Iran is threatening retaliation.) Unilateral strikes would also undermine the coordinated international actions of the United Nations, the Arab League, and the many people within Syria who want the fighting to end.

 We have seen that the path of expanding war is disastrous for our economy, and that it often claims the lives of our sons and daughters, and innocent civilians,  to no purpose.  Military intervention has been shown to turn public opinion vehemently against the U.S., as in the case of drone bombings in Pakistan and Yemen. The only clear winners in these interventions are weapons contractors,  Pentagon bureaucracies, oil and gas corporations, and hawkish politicians who pose as strong leaders by supporting violence against other nations.

The War Powers Act and the U.S. Constitution specifically prohibit the initiation of war by a President without the approval of Congress.  This provides a protection against unwise and needless wars, and no president should be permitted to sweep it aside.  We call upon Congress to assert its authority in this matter.  In addition, attacking another country without UN approval would be a violation of international law, and constitute “the supreme international crime.” 

Jill Stein, co-chair of the Green-Rainbow Party who served as the 2012 Green Party presidential nominee, urged reliance on alternatives to military escalation:  "The U.S. should work with others to secure a cease-fire, and to create diplomatic pressure to stop the flow of weaponry into the region.  U.S. military intervention will make it impossible for us to bring the two sides together for a political solution. We will sacrifice the real pathway to peace for an act that can only pour gasoline on the fire."

The Green-Rainbow Party calls upon the people of Massachusetts to speak up now against the illegal and dangerous policies that are advancing in Washington, and to insist that the President and Congress respect our constitution and laws.

We are proud to be part of a political party that has consistently opposed the disastrous militarization of our nation's foreign policy.  We pledge to act in concert with the great majority of Americans who do not want to see their nation involved in another needless and potentially catastrophic military adventure.