Open Letter to George Bush

Below is the text of the letter, dated 20th March 2008, that will be signed by thousands of Australians. Signed original copies of the letter will be delivered to US authorities on the anniversary of the invasion. If you would like to add your signature, download and print the letter, sign it (and get some others to sign it too!) and return it to PO Box 647, Marrickville, 2204.

Dear Mr. Bush,

It is now five years since a coalition of nations, led by the United States of America, launched an attack upon Iraq.

Before the invasion took place opponents of military action said that the reasons being put forward were insufficient to justify it. Subsequent revelations & events have shown that those ´reasons´ were totally spurious. It is clear to us that the invasion was an appalling error.

The Iraqi people have now endured five years of occupation by foreign troops and disastrous damage to the physical, political and social infrastructure of their nation. Estimates suggest that there have been as many as 1.2 million violent deaths since 2003. There are now about 4 million refugees, 1.5 million of whom are children, in Iraq and other countries (including ours). As many as half of all doctors have fled some areas. Whatever the details, the human cost has been immense.

Responsibility for this state of affairs lies with the policies pursued by your Government. The policy of military intervention, so far from bringing peace, has made the entire world a more perilous place for every one of its inhabitants. Instability and hostility have increased markedly as a consequence.

Your policies have also played directly into the hands of those who would portray the US as a war-mongering nation. To them, your actions ´prove´ that the US is a threat to, rather than a bringer of, peace.

History shows that the US has the capacity to make bold, compassionate & imaginative moves. We call on the US Government to demonstrate these qualities again by