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Iraq resolution produces lively debate
Delegates slam Bush policies, reject withdrawal
After a long and passionate debate, AFT convention delegates approved a comprehensive resolution on Iraq. The resolution discusses the Bush administration’s now discredited case for going to war and expresses outrage at the president’s failure to plan adequately for the war’s aftermath and the rebuilding of Iraq.
Much of the debate focused on when U.S. military forces in Iraq should be withdrawn.
AFT vice president Barbara Bowen, president of the Professional Staff Congress at the City University of New York, proposed an amendment to bring home the troops right away, arguing against an “occupation with no end date.” The resolution did not go far enough to distance the union from the president’s policy in Iraq, she said, a policy that has created little more than a “free-for-all” for corporate interests in that country.
Delegates rejected that amendment but adopted one from United Federation of Teachers president and AFT vice president Randi Weingarten, which said the AFT supports bringing home the troops as soon as it’s responsible to do so.
The resolution also recommends, among other things, mending relationships with the international community, supporting efforts to help the Iraqi people build a democratic nation, and continuing to work with Education International on the development of assistance programs for Iraqi educators, healthcare workers, government employees and others as they strive to build democratic unions.
