December 05, 2001 --

Whereas our country is now engaged in an unprecedented effort to
defend itself and its allies from a formidable and ruthless enemy which
attacked and deeply wounded us without warning or provocation;

Whereas Democrats Abroad represents Americans who are on the
frontlines of US interests and exposed to terrorist threats in more
than thirty countries around the globe;

Whereas we share the grief of families and friends of the
victims of this conflict and pay special tribute to the firefighters,
police officers and others who bravely died in the line of duty, and
solidly support our and allied armed forces committed to bringing the
perpetrators of this crime against our unarmed citizens to justice;

Whereas we believe that this catastrophe might well have been
avoided had our country continued its constructive role in foreign
affairs begun in the Second World War and thereafter;

Whereas the US campaign against terrorist organizations and
harboring states necessarily affects untold numbers of lives at home
and abroad and will tax our programs and resources for many years to
come;

Whereas the United States of America now faces in consequence
unwanted yet profound challenges to its self-understanding, economic
well-being, moral compass, national vision and international stature;
and

Whereas we are convinced that the defeat of our enemies in
this conflict must rekindle U.S. commitment to use its great wealth,
democratic traditions, its learning and science to build a more
equitable and secure world for all, starting with a determination to
pursue an immediate settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict;

Therefore Be It Resolved That

…the perpetrators of the heinous acts of September 11, conclusively
identified, be brought to justice as soon as may be possible;

…the United States simultaneously engage in defining the
architecture of peace and reconstruction in Afghanistan after the
Taliban, and directly engage to help end violence in the Middle East;

…the Executive and Congress programmatically rebuild U.S.
diplomatic, humanitarian and economic agencies as well as intelligence,
military and law enforcement structures to work with others for a new
era of peace and prosperity, seizing opportunities and shouldering the
responsibilities of our existing global involvements;

…the Executive secure the peace through international agreements in
the trade and economic spheres; in arms control of biological, chemical
and nuclear threats without weaponizing space; and in combatting money
laundering, arms, drug and human trafficking;

…the Administration share unequivocally all pertinent information on
terrorism and the conduct of the campaign with relevant Congressional
committees and leaders as our republican form of government in fact
requires;

…the Congress and the Executive thus resume their constitutionally
separated roles in declaring and waging war, and in allocating
resources, in responsible discourse and informed political debate about
ends, ways and means, and

…our Executive and Congress promote a climate for cherishing our
civil liberties and fostering the free exercise of speech, press and
media, religion and privacy throughout our campaign to end the
terroristic threat, for those liberties and rights embody the values
and the substance of the democracy for which we fight.

*Drafted and debated in Dublin, revised cooperatively in Hong
Kong and Washington, D.C. by Michael Ceurvorst and Tom Fina, adopted by
the DPCA December, 2001.