City of Portland's Resolution

RESOLUTION No. 3.14.071
Session 263 – 3/21/07 10:15 AM
Urges the federal government to seek positive diplomatic relations between Iran and the United States of America instead of escalating tensions

WHEREAS, President Bush has called for dual escalation of troops to increase their numbers inside Iraq and potentially to expand into Iran; and

WHEREAS, the Bush administration has expanded its concerns about Iran to include nuclear ambitions without showing any evidence that can be considered an imminent threat to the US security; and

WHEREAS, it has not been demonstrated that Iran has a nuclear weapon and has not verbally or actually threatened to attack the US; and

WHEREAS, the U.S., in threatening to use low yield nuclear weapons against Iran, is directly undermining the no-first-use doctrine that has prevented nuclear war since the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; and

WHEREAS, a preemptive nuclear attack, or even the threat of such an attack on Iran is an explicit violation of the NPT, the UN Charter, and the U.S. Constitution; and

WHEREAS, the National Academy of Sciences has determined that the use of such weapons would "create massive clouds of radioactive fallout that could spread far from the site of the attack,” and become deadly for hundreds of thousands Iranians and citizens of surrounding countries; and

WHEREAS, the long-term instability generated by such a strike would be against long-term United States interests in the region; and

WHEREAS, independent polls show that more than 70% of Iranians support better relations with the US; and

WHEREAS, there is a significant population of Iranians from all professions and expertise who call Portland home, and have brought a broad mix of cultural and artistic talents into the cultural mosaic of the City of Roses; and

WHEREAS, there are historic relations between Portland, “the City of Roses” and Shiraz, Iran, “the city of Roses and Nightingales” as reflected in works of Portland’s own story teller the late Terrance O’Donnell; and

WHEREAS, a group of Americans and Iranians have come together in order to foster the friendship between the two countries by advancing Human to Human relations;

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that the city Council of the city of Portland, on behalf of the people of Portland urges the United States government to change the course in escalating the tensions with Iran; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council of Portland challenges the possibility of a new war in Iran, and urges the Congress of the United States to maintain pressure on the administration against both an escalation of troops within Iraq and a geographic expansion into Iran while continuing to call for a complete and immediate end to the war in the region; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council of Portland urges support for the Iran Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 2007 (H. R. 770), prohibiting the use of funds for “any covert action for the purpose of causing regime change in Iran or to carry out any military action against Iran in the absence of an imminent threat, in accordance with international law;” and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council of Portland will work with the local Iranian community to build people to people ties between Americans and Iranian citizens, to foster better understanding between the two nations and to embrace a spirit of diplomacy; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council of Portland supports exploration of a sister City initiative between the city of Portland and the city of Shiraz, Iran, in order to strengthen the friendship relations between the two cities that started more than forty years ago by the late Portland writer Terrance O’Donnell; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this resolution shall be sent to George W. Bush, President of the United States, the members of the Oregon Congressional delegation, the leaders of the Oregon State legislature and Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski.