Apology Resolution

Foreign Policy magazine has just released there list of the worst failed states. This is not an event where there are cocktail parties and celebrations, instead this is more of a wake up call for us, the United States. For the second year in a row Iraq was placed as a more failed state than Somalia. To put this in perspective, Somalia’s central government isn’t even in the allowed in the capital making it effectively a state without a government. According to Foreign Policy Magazine and the Fund for Peace it is. Recently a humanitarian official said that the conditions in Somalia are the worse that he had ever seen.

Iraq is not the first country that the United States has invaded and seized and to put in perspective and give a little hope I’m going to mention the one that I’m living in. Hawaii was once an independent kingdom and it had been invaded and seized by the United States in 1893. This was done by private citizens, and the president at the time (Cleveland) made a statement that what was done was illegal, but took Hawaii anyway. I’m not going into the issue about an independent Hawaii because it is not going to happen. In 1993 President Clinton signed an apology (passed by congress) to the people of Hawaii.

Here is that apology for the Iraqi people (section 1)…

(1) on the occasion of the 3 year 43^rd day anniversary of the illegal overthrow of the Iraq on March 20, 2003, acknowledges the historical significance of this event which resulted in the suppression of the inherent sovereignty of the Iraqi people;

(2) recognizes and commends efforts of reconciliation initiated by the Iraqi people and the regular citizens of the United States;

(3) apologizes to Iraqi people on behalf of the people of the United States for the overthrow of Iraq on March 20, 2003 with the participation of agents and citizens of the United States, and the deprivation of the rights of the Iraqi people to self-determination;

(4) expresses its commitment to acknowledge the ramifications of the overthrow of the Iraqi people, in order to provide a proper foundation for reconciliation between the United States and the Iraqi people; and

(5) urges the President of the United States to also acknowledge the ramifications of the overthrow of Iraq and to support reconciliation efforts between the United States and the Iraqi people.