WHEREAS "The Declaration of Peace" (DOP), a nationwide interfaith, nonviolent campaign launched in May 2006, has been endorsed by over thirty religious and secular organizations;

WHEREAS the DOP, through a broad international, interfaith consultation process, is developing a concrete, comprehensive plan for a rapid end to the war in Iraq, calling on the United States government to establish a definite timetable and deadline for the complete withdrawal of all U. S. troops, including:

• Closing all U. S. bases in Iraq;
• Supporting an Iraqi-led peace process;
• Ending U. S. control of the political and economic life of Iraq, including Iraqi oil;
• Making reparations and supporting reconstruction of this war-torn country;
• Increasing support for veterans; and
• Prohibiting so-called "preemptive" war against other nations;

WHEREAS the DOP campaign includes:

• Systematic lobbying of Congress to bring the troops home, cut off funding for the war, and increase resources for veterans; and
• Nationally coordinated demonstrations (including Gandhian non-violent actions) if a concrete withdrawal plan is not in place by September 21, 2006, with a commitment to escalate protests until the United States withdraws from Iraq;

WHEREAS the U. S. war and occupation in Iraq has caused more than 2,500 U. S. deaths, more than 18,254 U. S. wounded, and more than 38,355 Iraqi deaths and has consumed billions of dollars desperately needed for peaceful purposes while intensifying hostilities in the Middle East;

WHEREAS a growing majority of Americans oppose the war, with hundreds of thousands actively engaged in democratic opposition to it;

WHEREAS a Zogby poll found that 70 percent of U. S. military in Iraq supported withdrawal within a year and 25 percent wanted an immediate withdrawal;

WHEREAS those who serve in the armed forces deserve the honor and respect embodied in generous active-duty, veteran, and family benefits, not the inadequate ones currently provided;

WHEREAS this war has created a context in which atrocities have been committed by small numbers of U. S. military personnel at Abu Ghraib, Haditha, and elsewhere, thereby degrading and further endangering the many honorable U. S. troops who deplore such actions;

WHEREAS the UUA has consistently joined peacemaking campaigns, which have promoted reconciliation over war, redistribution of wealth over the proliferation of weaponry, and non-violent resistance over acquiescence to militaristic government policies; and

WHEREAS the 2004 UUA General Assembly in Long Beach, California, called, in an Action of Immediate Witness, for U. S. withdrawal from Iraq by the end of 2004, and—two years later—withdrawal has not even begun.

THEREFORE be it resolved that the UUA General Assembly of 2006:

• Endorses "The Declaration of Peace" Campaign;
• Urges all Unitarian Universalist leaders at the international, national, district, and congregational levels to support individual and congregational participation in interfaith campaigns to end U.S. military involvement in Iraq; and
• Urges all Unitarian Universalists to promote increased support for U. S. military personnel and their families.