Bringing the Troops and War Dollars Home – A Forum in Northampton
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Iraq & Vietnam War Stories
06/01/2010
A couple of weeks ago there was a teach-in here in Northampton about the War in Afghanistan, its causes and effects. One of the workshops that followed involved an effort that began in Maine to urge city councils around the country to pass resolutions urging the U.S. Congress to "BRING THE TROOPS AND WAR DOLLARS HOME." Members of the Alliance for Peace and Justice in town subsequently encouraged Mayor of Northampton, Clare Higgins, and several councilors, to endorse such a resolution for our city. The City Council meeting that took up the issue heard from a number of townspeople who spoke for and against the passage of such a measure. The differences in perception were profound and included whether the war itself was justified, whether such a resolution would help or hurt the troops serving in Afghanistan, whether Northampton and local communities in general had any business getting involved in national politics. As a result of the polarized views that were expressed the council tabled the resolution and scheduled a June 23rd meeting to air both support for the measure as well as concerns. Here is an announcement encouraging folks to attend, followed by an announcement of a meeting this Wed., June 3rd to mark the expenditure of a trillion dollars on the two wars our nation has been fighting:
PRESS ANNOUNCEMENT
From: The Alliance for Peace and Justice
Date: May 31, 2010
For more information, contact: Marty Nathan 413-531-9915
"Spending for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan exceeds $1 trillion"
Northampton, MA. This weekend, according to Northampton's National Priorities Project, the total U.S. spending for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will exceed $1 trillion, the most expensive military effort in United States history.
This month, the thousandth US soldier was killed in Afghanistan. The number of US soldiers killed in the war in Iraq approaches 4,400 according to the Washington Post. http://projects.washingtonpost.com/fallen/ . There is no official count of Iraqis or Afghanis killed in the two wars, but estimates are more than 100,000 Iraqis and 20,000 Afghanis.
As US forces prepare for a major battle in Kandahar, Afghanistan, the Alliance for Peace and Justice is urging close scrutiny of the total cost of the war in terms of the dead, the wounded, and the federal tax dollars spent for the military effort. In the midst of devastating cutbacks for towns and states across the country, those dollars could have been spent on needed educational, medical, housing, transportation, cultural and environmental expenditures.
In Northampton alone, tax-payers have handed over $112 million to fund these wars in the last nine years. At present the city's residents are paying $40,000 a day in war dollars.
Troops are being withdrawn in Iraq. But with little to show in Afghanistan for this devastating loss of life and resources – a resurgent Taliban, a corrupt Afghani government, and growing resentment on the part of Afghanis towards the American occupying force – we have asked our City Council to pass a resolution to speak forcefully to our Congressional representatives to bring the troops and the war dollars home. On Wednesday, June 23 at 7 pm the City will sponsor a public forum to discuss the "War Dollars" Resolution.
