Peace cities
As the Bush administration moves quickly on the path towards war with Iraq, more and more American cities are taking a stand by passing anti-war resolutions, writes
Anayat Durrani in Los Angeles
The anti-war movement is picking up steam nationwide as Americans voice their disapproval of a possible war with Iraq. Already 124 US cities and counties have passed resolutions against the war including San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington. The resolutions are considered a symbolic effort to protest against President Bush's call for possible military action against Iraq. Leading the anti-war movement is Cities for Peace, a national coalition of locally elected officials and citizens working to avoid a potential US confrontation with Iraq.
"These are symbolic measures to go on record as opposing the diversion of much needed tax dollars and the diversion from the war on terror," Karen Dolan, director of the Institute for Policy Studies, told Al-Ahram Weekly. "They are intended to add significantly to the voices of dissension among mainstream Americans to a preemptive war on Iraq," added Dolan whose institute is a private organisation which coordinates the movement through the Web site citiesforpeace.org.
Individuals behind the movement say they have a right and responsibility to speak out against policies that directly affect Americans. Citizens have taken the issue of war to their local governments because they feel they are not being heard at the federal level. Their position is that the war will not only be costly for US taxpayers but will lead to the deaths of thousands of Iraqis and US troops and the increased possibility of more terrorist attacks.
"We believe, as our own Central Intelligence Agency reported in a declassified document in October 2002, that war will make America less secure. We believe it will only breed more anti- American sentiments and play into the hands of terrorists," says Dolan.
Those against war with Iraq fear the war will be a costly one that will have domestic repercussions. At a time of rising gas prices at the pump and a slumping economy, the price tag for a war with Iraq could be in the billions. "The cost is unknown, but conservative estimates put the cost of war alone at $100 billion to taxpayers," says Dolan. "And the cost of innocent lives of Iraqis as well as of our own military is unacceptable, especially for a preemptive and unnecessary war."
Los Angeles is among many cities that passed a resolution against the war. The city has hosted a number of anti-war protests, with Hollywood actors among some of the most vocal critics of Bush. On 21 February, city council members voted 9-4 in favour of one anti-war resolution, joining hundreds of other cities in their stance opposing conflict. "We have great needs in our cities, and we should not be spending our federal tax dollars bombing and killing other people in other countries," Councilman Ed Reyes told a crowd of 300 peace activists inside the council chambers, the Los Angeles Times reported. "We're not a bunch of crazy councilmen. All we're saying is, 'We are echoing the sentiments of those who are hurting.'" The council voted to support the first Gulf war against Saddam Hussein's regime 12 years ago.
With the likelihood that the Bush administration will proceed with plans for overthrowing the Iraqi government -- some report as early as mid-March -- the voices of dissent continue to grow louder. Anti-war activists say the Bush administration has failed to present convincing evidence that Iraq poses a military threat to the United States. They say a war against Iraq violates international law and has the potential to destabilise the entire Middle East region. They believe war should be a last resort and that the United States should work with Iraq through the United Nations.
"Let the inspections work," says Dolan. "During the 1990's, UNSCOM reported destroying or dismantling from 90 to 95 per cent of Iraq's military capabilities. Hussein is now effectively incarcerated and poses no threat while surrounded, monitored and inspected. Let the current course continue. War will only serve to make the world and the US less, rather than more, secure."
Campaigns to pass anti-war resolutions are under way in several more cities nationwide. And a national anti-war march is planned by the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) coalition and other organisations to take place on 15 March in Washington at the White House, with parallel actions in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
