WHEREAS, the people of Hawaii supported the United States led fight against Al Qaeda, which led to the severe disruption of its network in Afghanistan and the liberation of its people from the oppressive Taliban; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Legislature strongly supported Operation Desert Storm that ousted Iraq from Kuwait in House Resolution No. 2, dated January 18, 1991; and

WHEREAS, it is probable that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction and Saddam Hussein has terrorist links; and

WHEREAS, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) states that Iraq is more likely to use chemical or biological weapons and is more likely to pass weapons of mass destruction to terrorists if the United States invades Iraq; and

WHEREAS, the CIA further states that the probability of Iraq initiating an attack on the United States using weapons of mass destruction without the threat of an attack is "low in the foreseeable future"; and

WHEREAS, the United States war on terrorism is dependent on a vast coalition of nation states that provide information and make arrests worldwide; and

WHEREAS, the coalition against terrorism depends on the goodwill and cooperation of many international states that are in direct opposition to war with Iraq; and

WHEREAS, the United States foreign policy towards Iraq has

strained relations with many nations; including many of America's most important allies such as France and Germany; and

WHEREAS, academic scholars, international diplomats, and many government leaders testify that a war in Iraq will create many new terrorists; and

WHEREAS, military action might upset a tremendously unstable Middle East that may spread into many other countries including Israel, Kuwait, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Iran; and

WHEREAS, the United States is a member of the United Nations Security Council, and only the United Nations Security Council has authority to initiate war, with the single exception of national self-defense against armed attack; and

WHEREAS, the Bush administration has not convinced Americans or Europeans that a non-United Nations Security Council supported military attack on Iraq is necessary; and

WHEREAS, a post-Saddam Iraq will be unstable and will require a large United States or international presence; and

WHEREAS, the Bush administration has threatened to use preemptive military action to remove Saddam Hussein if he does not comply with United Nations efforts to ensure he has no weapons of mass destruction; and

WHEREAS, this strategy reverses decades of stable and accepted military and political policies; and

WHEREAS, research has shown a correlation between a preemptive war policy and the escalation of tensions between nation states, including the escalation of arms races; and

WHEREAS, during the 1991 Gulf War and many times since then Saddam Hussein has proven to be a deterrable dictator; and

WHEREAS, the United States has many hostile enemies with hostile leaders who have or are in the pursuit of weapons of mass destruction; and

WHEREAS, Iraq is now under the greatest surveillance and pressure of any nation in the world; and

WHEREAS, the United States government estimates a war could cost up to $200 billion, increasing a defense budget that is already almost seven times that of the education budget; and

WHEREAS, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Department of Education, numerous crucial federal government agencies, and many state governments, including the State of Hawaii, are under extreme economic hardship; and

WHEREAS, untold numbers of civilians and United States military personnel will be killed in combat or as a result of combat; and

WHEREAS, the stated goal of Osama Bin Laden and the Al Qaeda terrorist network is a United States invasion of the Arab world that will unite them in opposition against the United States; and

WHEREAS, the Arab world is largely united in opposition to a United States invasion of Iraq; and

WHEREAS, the security of the people of Hawaii and the national security of the people of the United States are put into great jeopardy in the event the United States initiates a preemptive, non-United Nations backed war with Iraq; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, that the United States President is urged not to preemptively start a non United Nations Security Council supported war with Iraq; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the President is encouraged to pursue a peaceful diplomatic resolution built upon international support; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution shall be submitted to the President of the United States, members of Hawaii's congressional delegation, the Senate Majority Leader of the United States Congress, the Speaker of

the United States House of Representatives, and the Secretary General of the United Nations.

Report Title:

Anti-war Resolution