At its June 5, 2006 meeting, the Kalamazoo city commission passed a resolution calling for “the return of US Troops from Iraq and the redirection of war funds for domestic needs.” The resolution, introduced by the antiwar group Kalamazoo Non-Violent Opponents to War (KNOW), was passed by a vote of four to zero after two commissioners and Kalamazoo’s Mayor Hannah McKinney decided to abstain from the vote citing concerns over whether or not the entire city of Kalamazoo truly supported the resolution. The Kalamazoo City Commission previously passed a resolution opposing a unilateral invasion of Iraq and urging the Bush administration to work with the United Nations in dealing with Iraq.
The resolution begins by expressing the City of Kalamazoo’s support for the members of the United States’ Armed Forces for their “their bravery, dedication, courage and sacrifice to the people of the United States in fighting terrorism, defending our freedom, and serving our country” and moves into a variety of statements establishing the rationale for the resolution and the desire by “some citizens of Kalamazoo” to have the City Commission take a stand against the ongoing presence of United States troops in Iraq. In the resolution, the Commission cities as its greatest concern the effects the war is having on local military personnel in Iraq who are at “risk of injury or death,” in addition to concerns over the deaths of Iraqi civilians, injuries to military personnel, the drain the war is having on disaster preparedness in the form of National Guard troops in Iraq being unavailable for domestic duty, and that “there appears to be no evident articulated strategy or general timetable for an exit of US troops from Iraq.” The resolution also addresses the money spent on the war rather than for domestic needs, a number that has reached nearly $43,866,000 for the city of Kalamazoo. Deciding to take a position in favor of the United States’ withdrawal from Iraq is not an unprecedented move for the Kalamazoo City Commission, as the Commission has previously addressed the local impacts of the USA PATRIOT Act, taken a stand on the invasion of Iraq, advocated for greater homeland security funds, and other such resolutions that made demands of the federal government or otherwise commented on federal policy.
Following from the assumptions made earlier in the text of the resolution, the resolution establishes several different positions for the Kalamazoo City Commission and makes a variety of demands on area legislators and the federal government. With the passage the resolution, the Commission recognizes that “the stability of Iraq is crucial to the security of the citizens of Kalamazoo and to all Americans” and consequently urges the federal government to provide the people of Iraq with “appropriate non-military material aid and support for an international peace-keeping force” in order to ensure security in Iraq and allow for the rebuilding of the country. Additionally, the city of Kalamazoo, by passing the resolution, “renews its call” for state and local officials to prioritize the municipal needs of core urban communities over spending for the war. As would be expected, the crux of the resolution is a provision that urges state and federal officials to “do all they can to establish a prudent, feasible, and orderly strategy which facilitates the exit of US Armed Forces from Iraq” and thereby end the ongoing occupation of Iraq. Per the resolution’s language, a copy of the resolution will be sent to a variety of elected officials including President George W. Bush, 6th Congressional District Representative Fred Upton and U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin, and Michigan 60th District Representative Alexander Lipsey and 20th District Senator Tom George, as well as Governor Jennifer Granholm, making it an important tool in ongoing efforts to lobby for an end to the war in Iraq.
The resolution is part of a larger effort to bring increased focus to the antiwar movement, with several cities around the country passing antiwar resolutions over the past two years. In Michigan, Ann Arbor passed a resolution in May urging the United States to begin an “orderly and rapid withdrawal of United States military personnel from Iraq” and that money be diverted from the war to pay for the needs of the Iraqi victims’ of the United States’ invasion and for the needs of vulnerable populations within the United States. In Grand Rapids, a similar resolution was proposed to the City Commission as the “Grand Rapids Cost of War Campaign” in April of this year, but no progress has been made on getting the resolution passed since the initial meeting. While Commissioner Jim White has was asked at the by Mayor George Heartwell to work with the group proposing the resolution, organizers report that there has been no response from Commissioner White. In addition to the resolution campaign, the group has urged people to continue to lobby local congressman Vern Ehlers to support the withdrawal of US troops, as Representative Ehlers remains supportive of the war in Iraq.
Related posts:
- City Commission Passes Resolution against Iraq War
- Kalamazoo County Democratic Party Passes Resolution Calling for Iraq Withdrawal
- City Commission Decides against Considering Iraq Resolution
- Grand Rapids City Commission Resolution Against the Iraq War
- Campaign to get City Commission Resolution against the Occupation of Iraq Continues
