Whereas, The Bush Administration presented misinformation to the people of the United States and the world that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMD) And that they were capable of using them against the United States; and

Whereas, More than 200,000 people have died and 450,000 people have been injured (National Priorities Project), which signifies a gross violation of human rights; and

Whereas, Over 2,405 US military personnel have died in this war; and

Whereas, War has a devastating effect on both those who fight in it and families that are left behind; and

Whereas, The emotional toll cannot be readily assessed however, the economic toll has placed the cost of the Iraq war in excess of $300 billion dollars (National Priorities Project); and

Whereas, The policy of the Bush Administration is to pay for this war, in part by cutting programs and services that are needed by many people; and

Whereas, The Bush Administration has pushed for permanent tax cuts while leading this country from a economic surplus to the largest deficit in our history; and

Whereas, The burden for paying for this war has fallen on social programs and will be passed on to our children, and their children; and

RESOLVED: That the United States begin to prepare the Iraqi people for a planned U.S. withdrawal of troops to occur within a year; and

RESOLVED: That AFT Michigan will work toward changing Congress so that this military action will come to an immediate conclusion; and

RESOLVED: That all programs and services that have been cut or reduced in order to pay for the war be funded at the levels established before we were led into this war; and

RESOLVED: That this resolution be forwarded to the AFT Convention for adoption; and

RESOLVED: That a copy of this resolution is sent to all members of the State of Michigan Legislature and the US Congress.