An ongoing antiwar campaign in Grand Rapids to get a City Commission resolution opposing the occupation of Iraq is continuing through activities this weekend surrounding the third anniversary of the invasion of Iraq with campaign organizers collecting signatures at the March 18 march and rally and presenting at a teach-in that will follow the rally. Additionally, the campaign has released a new flyer encouraging local organizations to look at ways in which they could use some of the estimated $136 million that has been diverted from Grand Rapids to pay for the war in Iraq. While the total spent on the war has been $245 billion nationally and $6.9 billion nationally, the campaign is asking organizations and individuals to look at what they could do with 1% of that money ($1.36 million) and the ways in which that money could be used to improve the lives of people living in Grand Rapids. Materials created by organizations will be posted online and will be used as educational tools by organizations and at the City Commission’s April 11 meeting when the resolution is introduced.
The resolution is framed primarily in terms of the cost of the war and the budget difficulties facing the City of Grand Rapids. According to outreach material prepared by the campaign, the city currently has an $11 million budget deficit that has caused them to cut basic services. The money being diverted from Grand Rapids to pay for the war could easily pay off the debt and fund a restoration and expansion of city services. Among the examples cited by the campaign:
- Pay for 2,358 additional public school teachers for one year
- Insured 81,504 children for one year
- Built 1,255 housing units
The resolution also addresses the flawed rational for the war (no weapons of mass destruction and no connection to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks), public opposition to the war, and the deaths of Iraqi civilians and US soldiers. Moreover, the resolution mentions that similar resolutions have been passed in other cities with 76 resolutions calling for an end to the occupation passed around the United States. If the resolution passes, the following would be the position of the Grand Rapids City Commission:
The Grand Rapids City Commission, recognizing the grievous impact of the loss of lives in the Iraq war on families and communities on both sides of the conflict and the destructive social and economic effects of the costs of the war, urges the United States government to begin a rapid and orderly withdrawal of US military personnel from Iraq and to provide the people of Iraq with all necessary non-military aid to provide for their security and rebuilding of their country, and the City Commission directs the Clerk to provide copies of this resolution to President Bush, the Secretaries of State and Defense, and to the 3rd Congressional Representative Vern Ehlers.
It is also worth noting that in March of 2004 the Grand Rapids City Commission passed a resolution opposing the USA PATRIOT Act. Thus far, 405 resolutions have been passed as a part of that movement.
Organizers are asking that individuals and organizations circulate copies of the resolution to get signatures and that people make plans to attend the April 11 City Commission meeting (7:00pm, location to be determined). Organizers can be contacted at jsmith@grcmc.org.
