H-0813.1 _______________________________________________
HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 4002
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State of Washington 52nd Legislature 1991 Regular Session
By Representatives R. Meyers, Ferguson, Ballard, Broback, Edmondson, Paris, Holland, May, D. Sommers, Mielke, Brumsickle, Nealey, Miller, P. Johnson, Casada, Wood, Padden, Bowman, Tate and McLean.
Read first time January 18, 1991. Referred to Committee on State Government.
TO THE HONORABLE GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED:
We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:
WHEREAS, On August 2, 1990, the military forces of Iraq invaded, and to the present have occupied, the sovereign state of Kuwait; and
WHEREAS, Iraq's unprovoked aggression has brought untold suffering, injury, and death to the citizens of Kuwait and others caught in Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's reign of terror; and
WHEREAS, The Iraqi leadership has ignored numerous appeals by the United Nations, members of the Arab League, and the United States to withdraw peacefully from Kuwait, which Saddam Hussein now regards as his "19th state"; and
WHEREAS, Iraq now controls twenty percent of the world oil reserves and, if allowed to corner the world energy market, could irreparably harm or destroy the global economy; and
WHEREAS, The United States' failure to adopt a coherent energy policy has left this nation's own economy vulnerable to such a threat; and
WHEREAS, The Iraqi leadership has shown no proclivity to bend to international sanctions, even at the expense of their own people; and
WHEREAS, Iraq will continue to threaten the stability of the Mideast with its million-man army and growing arsenal of weapons until such time as it is disarmed; and
WHEREAS, The United Nations has authorized "member states cooperating with the government of Kuwait" to use "all necessary means" -- including force -- to expel the Iraqi invaders from Kuwait after January 15, 1991; and
WHEREAS, The twenty-seven-nation international alliance now has nearly seven hundred thousand troops on alert in the Persian Gulf; and
WHEREAS, That alliance, which includes many Arab states, cannot be expected to last indefinitely; and
WHEREAS, The United States and the international alliance are the single strongest deterrent to Iraq's success in carrying out its policy of aggression; and
WHEREAS, Both Houses of the United States Congress, in accordance with the Constitution, have given President Bush the authority to use force if necessary to expel Iraq from Kuwait; and
WHEREAS, The United States military has proven an effective deterrent to Fascism in the 1940s and Stalinism in the years thereafter;
NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists state their support for President Bush's current policy of pursuing peace but providing for active opposition to the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait; and
BE IT RESOLVED, That we support the President's use of force if and when he deems it necessary to restore the freedom of Kuwait and counter the threat of Iraqi expansionism; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That whatever the outcome of the current Mideast crisis, the United States should adopt a comprehensive energy policy that will reduce this nation's dependence on foreign oil; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable George Bush, President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.