Declaration on the U.S. Invasion of Iraq

The General Executive Board of the Industrial Workers of the World adopted the following statment regarding the current situation in Iraq on March 18, 2003:

We, the Industrial Workers of the World, believe that an armed invasion of Iraq is unjustified, reckless, and self-interested, and we urge working people to obstruct this war by withholding their labor.

We observe that the Bush administration is renewing the attacks on Iraq which have continued unabated since 1991, bringing death to over one million Iraqis. This renewed attack is contrary to the opinions of U.S. citizens and the international community. The war endangers the entire human population of the Earth as well as the natural environment.

We observe that the US Government never represents the interests of the working people of the United States, but only the interests of a tiny minority who control nearly all of that country's wealth; that with the impending war, the Bush administration acts to gain profit for its client corporations, and seeks to divert public attention away from its own corruption.

We express both sympathy and solidarity with the working people of Iraq who, like the working people of the United States, are tormented by brutal and power-drunk regimes in their own countries.

We urge working men and women in Iraq, the United States, and in all countries, to organize and strike, or to re-direct their labor in any way that will impede the war effort. We urge military personnel to recognize that they, too, are working people, who are being ordered to kill and maim their fellow workers.

Only when working people from around the world come together, recognize our common bonds and common masters, and lay down our tools and arms, will the twin yokes of militarism and capitalism be thrown off our shoulders, and the workers of the world will live in peace with each other and in harmony with the earth.

ALL WARS ARE BOSSES' WARS