The horrors of war continue to haunt the world. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell announced a few days ago in his address to the United Nations Security Council that the attack by North American forces and its allies on Iraq is imminent. Everything points to the fact that they intend to launch this war with or without the backing of the United Nations and worldwide public opinion. The claims presented to justify this attack on Iraq were not substantiated. For the United States, the government of Saddam Hussein is hiding weapons of mass destruction -- in spite of the fact that those who already have investigated the Iraqi laboratories, industries and palaces have found nothing. The war, quite clearly, is not to restore democracy and peace in the region. North American politicians, labor unionists and peace activists have denounced the link between important members of the U.S. administration and the oil industry barons. Controlling the oil of Iraq is the objective of the U.S. government. Recourse to war has been transformed into a structural and permanent component of global domination; military force is used to control people and strategic resources. It's an insanity particular to those who consider themselves the "police of the world" and who wield political, economic and military hegemony as a means to impose their will and to attain their objectives. The effects of the war will be far more devastating for the international economy than the most acute crisis imaginable. It is against this scenario that world-wide and national public opinion must rise up. The international disputes and the political differences among States must be resolved through peaceful and negotiated channels. This must be the guiding spirit of any citizen who considers himself or herself a supporter of democracy. There is no link, nor is there any political identity, between the CUT and the Iraqi government. But we cannot shy away from solidarizing ourselves with the working people of Iraq who will suffer the effects of this war, which has been concocted by the U.S. government and its allies. In this vein, the CUT calls upon all its affiliated unions and members, whatever their religious or political beliefs, to become involved in the antiwar committees and coalitions and to participate, actively, in the February 15th International Day of Action Against the War. *National Executive Committee of the Central Única dos Trabalhadores - CUT São Paulo, 12th of February, 2003