Injunction to Halt Military Weapons Shipment to Iraq

This is something that I wrote up on Saturday night while awaiting the arrival of Stryker Brigade Convoys at the Port of Tacoma. A Fort Lewis (WA) Stryker Brigade is being mobilized as part of the escalation's "surge" in troop levels. Photos from the event are linked in the previous post.
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Draft Injunction March 5, 2007

Citizen’s Injunction to Halt the Shipment
of Military Weapons to Iraq

Whereas:

The occupation of Iraq is contrary to the rule of law inasmuch as:

- It defies agreements that expressly prohibit the belligerent and aggressive invasion of a sovereign nation

and

- It defies both the letter, and the spirit, of internationally and domestically recognized legal statutes such as;

- The UN Charter
- The Nuremberg Tribunal Charter
- The Geneva Conventions
- The US War Crimes Act (1996)

and Whereas:

- Military victory in Iraq is unachievable,

and Whereas:

- The invasion of Iraq has led to - and the ongoing occupation exacerbates - an ongoing humanitarian crisis,

and Whereas:

- The escalation of conflict in Iraq via a surge in troop levels is widely considered to be militarily ineffectual,

The undersigned, citizen(s) of the USA (or Iraq, or world, or other nation) (and maybe the Great State of Washington, for example, and etc.),

Hereby prohibit(s) the shipment of military vehicles from the Port of Tacoma to Iraq.

Signed on this day of this month and date and year.

X

[updated March 18th, 2007:] Here's a copy of the injunction as it was delivered on Sunday March 11th, 2007 at the Port of Tacoma. This version of the injunction was updated by those who partook in a civil disobedience action on that day. 23 citizens were arrested while expressing their freedom of speech and in an attempt to halt the shipment of military cargoes to Iraq:

Citizens Injunction - March 11, 2007

Citizen’s Injunction to Halt the Shipment
of Military Material to Iraq

Whereas, the invasion and occupation of Iraq is contrary to the rule of law inasmuch as it defies agreements that expressly prohibit the belligerent and aggressive invasion of a sovereign nation, and

Whereas, the invasion and occupation of Iraq defies both the letter, and the spirit, of internationally and domestically recognized legal statutes such as the United Nations Charter, the Nuremberg Tribunal Charter, the Geneva Conventions and the United States War Crimes Act, and

Whereas, the invasion and occupation of Iraq has resulted in a humanitarian crisis of significant proportions, and

Whereas, the escalation of conflict in Iraq is counterproductive to the goal of establishing a stable sovereign nation, and

Whereas a majority of United States Citizens oppose both the occupation of Iraq and the escalation of the conflict through the deployment of additional United States military forces, and

Whereas, the cost of the invasion and occupation of Iraq now exceeds $500 billion dollars, money which could have been spent to meet domestic and international needs needs such as health care, education, and the provision of essential public infrastructure, and

Whereas the best way to support United States soldiers is to prevent them from being placed into the middle of a conflict in which they have a high risk of killing and being killed, and

Whereas I have exhausted every legal means available to me to petition my elected leaders for the cessation of conflict, and

Whereas, under legal precedent and historical practice, control over the American military rests firmly within the civilian population,

Now, therefore be it resolved that I, the undersigned, as a citizen of the United States of America, do hereby prohibit the shipment of military vehicles belonging to the 4th Brigade through the publicly funded Port of Tacoma.


Signed on this Eleventh day of March in the year 2007.