We, the undersigned members of the MIT community, pledge to participate in a campus-wide walkout if and when war against Iraq commences.

We are opposed to an invasion of Iraq for many reasons:

• The CIA has demonstrated no credible links between the Iraqi regime and al-Qaeda. Saddam was not involved in September 11th. (1) An unprovoked attack on Iraq would ignite fury in many countries and would exacerbate, rather than reduce, the threat of terrorism against our country.


• The CIA has reported that Iraq is not a threat to the US or world security despite the administration's unproven claims. (2)


• A war will cause the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians. Over a decade of US-led sanctions imposed upon the Iraqi people have already precipitated a humanitarian crisis of horrific proportions. According to UNICEF, more than half a million Iraqi children have already died as a direct result of these sanctions. A war will worsen this humanitarian catastrophe. Our government has a consistent record of supporting dictators in the Middle East and has NEVER installed a democracy in the region. The US will not liberate the Iraqi people.


• The enormous cost of this war, ranging from $50 billion to $1.6 trillion according to estimates, could instead be invested into social necessities. Our economy is in recession and many people are hurting. We need to fund health and education, not death and destruction.


• A US invasion of Iraq is illegal under the Charter of the United Nations, to which the US is a signatory. Such an act of disregard for international law would only worsen the isolation of our country from the global community.