SENATE MEMORIAL 44

48th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2008

INTRODUCED BY

Gerald P. Ortiz y Pino

A MEMORIAL

EXPRESSING THE INTENT OF THE NEW MEXICO SENATE THAT CONGRESS RESCIND THE IRAQ RESOLUTION AND THAT CONGRESS PASS A RESOLUTION CALLING FOR THE IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWAL OF AMERICAN TROOPS FROM THE WAR IN IRAQ.

     WHEREAS, over four thousand New Mexico army and air national guard troops have served in Iraq; and

     WHEREAS, approximately five hundred New Mexico army and air national guard troops are currently serving in Iraq; and

     WHEREAS, nearly four thousand United States troops have lost their lives in the war in Iraq and nearly thirty thousand have suffered injuries; and

     WHEREAS, thirty-five soldiers from New Mexico have been killed in Iraq, including two in January 2008; and

     WHEREAS, President Bush deployed New Mexico's army and air national guard troops on the pretense that weapons of mass destruction existed in Iraq; and

     WHEREAS, it has been conclusively determined that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq; and

     WHEREAS, President Bush deployed New Mexico's army and air national guard troops on the pretense that Iraq was linked to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack; and

     WHEREAS, it has been conclusively determined that Iraq was not involved in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack; and

     WHEREAS, President Bush deployed New Mexico's army and air national guard troops on the pretense that Iraq was the most serious threat facing the national security of the United States; and

     WHEREAS, it has been conclusively determined that Iraq poses no risk to the national security of the United States; and

     WHEREAS, the center for public integrity reported in January 2008 that the Bush administration made at least nine hundred thirty-five false statements that led our nation into war in Iraq under false pretenses; and

     WHEREAS, according to an MSNBC online survey, ninety-four percent of Americans believe that President Bush misled the nation in order to go to war in Iraq; and

     WHEREAS, according to an October 2006 Newsweek poll:            A. sixty-four percent of Americans believe that the United States is losing ground in the war in Iraq; and

          B. sixty-six percent of Americans say the war has not made the United States safe from terrorism; and

     WHEREAS, according to a November-December 2007 USA Today/Gallup poll, fifty-seven percent of Americans believe that it was a mistake to go to war in Iraq in 2003; and

     WHEREAS, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, fifty-five percent of Americans do not view the war in Iraq as being related to the war against terrorism; and

     WHEREAS, United States' allies in Iraq have drastically reduced their forces since the March 2003 invasion; and

     WHEREAS, three of the United States' allies in Iraq, Italy, Bulgaria and Ukraine, withdrew all of their forces in 2005 and 2006, and a half dozen other allies are debating possible withdrawals; and

     WHEREAS, according to a January 2008 Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll, nearly three out of four American voters believe that United States forces should withdraw within the year; and

     WHEREAS, more than one thousand uniformed, active-duty military personnel, many of whom have served in Iraq, have appealed for redress to congress stating that "staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for U.S. troops to come home."; and

     WHEREAS, according to a January 2008 International Policy Attitudes poll, eighty-seven percent of Iraqis want their government to request a withdrawal of United States forces in Iraq; and

     WHEREAS, according to a December 2007 NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, fifty-six percent of Americans do not believe that the United States can achieve victory in Iraq; and

     WHEREAS, according to a January 2008 CNN/Opinion Research poll, sixty-three percent of Americans oppose the war in Iraq; and

     WHEREAS, America's soldiers are caught in the middle of a civil war from which there is no victory in sight; and

     WHEREAS, almost one-half of all American military casualties are caused by roadside bombs, such that American forces have simply become defenseless human targets for pointless slaughter;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that congress hereby be called upon to rescind the Iraq resolution and to pass a resolution calling for the immediate withdrawal of American troops from Iraq; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this resolution in no way condemn our military men and women who honorably performed their duties in Iraq according to their understanding; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the president of the United States senate, the majority leader of the United States house of representatives and the members of the New Mexico congressional delegation.

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