Dr. Jan Moen's Testimony in Support of SCR 4022
I am writing in support of Senate Concurrent Resolution N. 4022. We are at a critical juncture in the conduct of the war in Iraq, and it is time for reason to prevail. I'd like to make several key points as to why North Dakota should send this message to Washington.
First, the war itself was an ill-conceived response to terrorism. Terrorism is not a military target, it is an ideology, and must be treated accordingly. Most thoughtful academic and diplomatic analyses point to the fact that the use of force has only served to widen the base of terrorism, to alienate our allies, and to squander the tremendous outpouring of support, from around the world, which America received after the attacks of 9/11.
Secondly, with continued investigation, it is clear that the American public and the Congress were manipulated into this war. The public has now clearly seen the facts, and poll after poll after poll indicates substantial loss of public confidence in this Administration's conduct of the war, as well as loss of support by leaders in both political parties.
Lives lost, troops maimed, post-traumatic stress disorder; need anyone say more?
Massive financial loss of tax resources, billions of it wasted and unaccounted for which could have been wisely put to good use. For North Dakotans, this amounts to over five hundred and fifty million tax dollars. There is a clear and dramatic correlation of the rise in military spending and cuts in domestic spending.
Here at the University of North Dakota (following the Centennial initiative of our past President Thomas Clifford), we are attempting to build an infrastructure for a culture of peace. Following an emerging model that changes the emphasis on ‘national security’ to one focused on ‘human security,” we're educating students for active roles in conflict management, peacekeeping and peacebuilding, an honor to our “Peace Garden State.”
Please give those students, and the citizens of our state, reason to believe that their elected officials can see a future in which reason and common sense prevail, and in which we can use our resources, both financial and human, to serve the greatest possible good.
Sincerely,
Janet Kelly Moen, Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology/Peace Studies
University of North Dakota