Candidates for President of the United States

The Green Party Peace Action Committee requests all Green Party candidates for President of the United States to swear or affirm that they will uphold the following principles if elected to office.

I, ________________________, as a Green Party candidate seeking to be elected to the office of President of the United States, do hereby swear or affirm that:

  1. I recognize all acts of military aggression are illegal under established international law, including the Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928 (46 Stat. 2343), Article 6 of the Nuremberg Charter, recognized as international law by the International Law Commission of the United Nations in 1950, and Article II, sections 3, 4 and 7, and Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations. Article VI, paragraph 2 of our Constitution makes treaties to which the United States is a signatory a part of the “Supreme law of the land.” Therefore, violations of these international laws are also unconstitutional under U.S. law.
  2. I recognize that all acts of military aggression are fundamentally immoral and never justifiable, and that the use of military force can only be justified, if at all, as an act of self-defense, to repel an actual attack on the United States or its people. I categorically reject the doctrines or justifications for war based on claims that pre-emptive action is necessary, that it serves the “national interest,” that military aggression can be a “humanitarian intervention” that it arises from a “responsibility to protect,” etc.
  3. I recognize that, in light of the fact that the U.S. political system is presently under the domination of a ruling capitalist class, U.S. military aggression necessarily arises from economic motives, aimed at enriching that class by controlling the resources, markets, labor and wealth of other nations. An additional economic motive is to enrich the military weapons industry and its beneficiaries, also known as the military-industrial-congressional complex and/or the national security state. For this reason, I understand that claims of “national interest,” “humanitarian intervention,” a “responsibility to protect,” etc., are nothing more than pretexts, intended to provide cover for the real motives for war.
  4. Accordingly, if elected as President, I promise that I shall not use the power of my office to commit acts of military aggression against other nations or peoples, whether or not authorized by Congress. I will also actively and persistently use the power of my office to expose the real motives for war and do my best to help mobilize popular resistance to such acts.
  5. I recognize that Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution gives Congress the exclusive authority to declare war. I recognize that, except in the case of an actual attack on the United States, every authorization of the use of military force  by the president is unconstitutional unless preceded by a declaration of war by Congress, and would further be illegal under the international laws cited in paragraph 1 of this pledge.
  6. I oppose any and all efforts of the U.S. ruling class and government to dominate or intervene in the internal affairs of other nations by means other than military aggression – for example, intervention by the Central Intelligence Agency or other spy agencies, the National Endowment for Democracy or other NGOs, payments to opposition groups, mercenaries, death squads or terrorists groups, or the use of economic sanctions. I will use the power of my office to put an end to any such efforts started by prior administrations and I will not authorize any further efforts. Such efforts are immoral, violate principles of national self-determination, and are utterly hypocritical in light of recent unproven claims of Russian “interference” in U.S. elections. Such efforts serve the same venal ruling-class objectives described in paragraph 3. Such forms of intervention are also illegal under international law, including Article 32 of the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States, adopted by the General Assembly in 1974, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Resolution 2625 (XXV), and Chapter IV, articles 19 and 20 of the Charter of the Organization of American States. My opposition to such forms of U.S. government or government-surrogate intervention does not imply opposition to independent working-class-led efforts to oppose oppression in or by other nations, such as the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement, aimed at resisting Israeli colonization of Palestinian lands.  
  7. I recognize that U.S. military and military aggression contributes greatly to the climate crisis and other environmental devastation. I recognize that our government has been literally spending trillions of taxpayer dollars on wars that only make us less safe – dollars that could have been used to combat the climate crisis, create good-paying jobs at home, refurbish our infrastructure, build sustainable energy and transportation, educate our children, pay for college tuition, and provide health care for all. Accordingly, if elected, I promise to propose to Congress a budget that will reduce military spending by a minimum of 50 percent from present levels, with the funds thus saved to be allocated to combating the climate crisis through a Green New Deal, and otherwise expended on meeting real human needs.

Signed: ___________________________ Date: _________________________

 

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