To the Nobel Peace Prize Committee

We, the undersigned, urge you NOT to award the Nobel Peace Prize to George W. Bush.

Bush's nomination is based on his actions following the September 11 attack on the U.S. However, recent disclosures indicate that the September 11 attack did not occur "out of the blue", but rather resulted from escalating diplomatic and military pressure by the Bush administration on the Afghan government. These revelations also indicate that the Bush administration's primary interest in Afghanistan was not to stop Al Qaeda, but rather to enable US oil companies to build a pipeline through Afghanistan from the Caspian Sea oil fields to Pakistan.

Morever, on the broader issues of war and peace, Bush has put the most powerful nation in the world on the side of war rather than peace.

Efforts to promote peace depend upon international treaties. George W. Bush has unilaterally blocked, abrogated, or violated virtually every treaty related to war and peace, including
- the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
- the Chemical Weapons Convention
- the Germ Warfare Treaty
- the Geneva Conventions on Prisoners of War
- the Outer Space Treaty (1967)
- the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (1972)
- Start II Treaty (1993)
- Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (1996)
- Small Arms Trafficking Convention (2001)

The world already spends far too much on war, and far too little on peace. Bush's current budget makes matters worse. He adds $38 billion to America's military budget, bringing the total to $365 billion. This is greater than the military budgets of most of the world combined. And the reason for this massive increase is unstated but obvious. Bush is preparing to wage war against other nations, most likely those he called the "Axis of Evil" - Iran, Iraq, and North Korea.

Efforts to promote peace throughout the world depend on multilateral institutions like the United Nations. Congressional Republicans have prevented the US from paying its UN dues for a decade, and George W. Bush has failed to fulfill US obligations to the UN.

Over the long term, the greatest threats to peace are the growing divide between the world's rich and poor, and the destruction of natural resources upon which all life depends. George W. Bush opposes all efforts to address these problems, including the Kyoto Protocol to reduce global warming.

Finally, we must remind the world that George W. Bush did not win the 2000 election, but rather stole it with the help of his brother Jeb, Governor of Florida, and a partisan Republican majority on the U.S. Supreme Court which refused to count 175,000 uncounted ballots. Had those ballots been counted in accordance with Florida's own laws, Al Gore would be President of the United States. Thus, not only is George W. Bush an opponent of peace, but he is also a criminal.