ProgressOhio

The Resolution:

WHEREAS, the Columbus City Council supports the brave men and women deployed in Iraq, honors the memory of those who have lost their lives in the war and the families who have lost their loved one; and 

WHEREAS, The American troops have valiantly upheld their duty in Iraq under dire circumstances; and  

WHEREAS, America’s involvement in Iraq has resulted in the deaths of more than 4,050 U.S. soldiers, including over 165 soldiers from Ohio, and the wounding and disabling of more than 28,750 U.S. military personnel, including 1,223 from Ohio to date; and 

WHEREAS, Our endless involvement in Iraq will further extend National Guard tours in Iraq, that the costs to the states of the call-up of National Guard members for deployment have been significant, as reckoned in lost lives, combat injuries and psychic trauma, disruption of family life, financial hardship for individuals, families and businesses, interruption of careers and damage to the fabric of civic life in our communities; and 

WHEREAS, More than $522.5 billion has been appropriated by Congress to fund military operations and reconstruction in Iraq to date, money that could fund desperately needed education, health care, housing, nutrition and other social services in our communities in the United States or humanitarian assistance abroad; and 

WHEREAS, the City of Columbus and Franklin County combined have appropriated over $1 billion dollars toward costs associated with the war in Iraq.  And further that the cost to Ohioans has exceeded $18 billion dollars, cost $1,600 per resident; and  

WHEREAS, the funds spent by Columbus taxpayers on the war and occupation in Iraq could have provided Head Start for one year for 166,529 Columbus children; or medical insurance for one year for 643,219 Columbus children; or 9.976 additional affordable housing units in Columbus; or 24,220 public safety officers, according to the National Priorities Project; and  

WHEREAS, Previous budgets that have prioritized Iraq have led to cuts in critical block grants for states and have increased the federal debt, which compounded by interest payments, will likely lead to even larger cuts in funding for critical needs in the States: and  

WHEREAS, Polls show that the vast majority of Americans do not support an open-ended engagement in Iraq; and 

WHEREAS, Legal experts on all sides have determined that Congress has not only broad authority, but a long tradition of limiting escalation or forcing redeployment of troops through the Constitutionally-designate power of the purse. 

Be IT RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Columbus urges the United States government to commence a responsible and orderly withdrawal of United States military personnel from Iraq as expeditiously as possible, and to provide the people of Iraq with the necessary aid to secure their citizens to rebuild Iraq; 

Be It Further Resolved, That a suitable copy of this resolution shall be sent to George W. Bush, President of the United States, to the Congressional delegation of Ohio, and to the United States Congress.