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RESOLUTION________OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS URGING THE END OF THE OCCUPATION OF IRAQ AND THE RETURN OF AMERICAN TROOPS
WHEREAS, the Fort Collins, Colorado City Council supports the more than one million brave men and women deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001, honors the memory of those who have lost their lives in the war, and supports the families who have lost their loved ones; and
WHEREAS, the reasons given for the commencement of this war have proven false in all regards; and
WHEREAS, the funds spent by Fort Collins’ taxpayers on the war and occupation in Iraq equal more than $207.5 million to date; and which in 2007 alone amounted to $54.7 million; and in 2008 Fort Collin’s taxpayers will pay another $61.4 million. The total spent by Fort Collins taxpayers to date could have paid for
63,174 People with Health Care OR
273,554 Homes with Renewable Electricity OR
4,214 Public Safety Officers OR
3,680 Music and Arts Teachers OR
36,776 Scholarships for University Students OR
24 New Elementary Schools OR
1,099 Affordable Housing Units OR
78,666 Children with Health Care OR
30,151 Head Start Places for Children OR
3,686 Elementary School Teachers OR
3,830 Port Container Inspectors
according to the National Priorities Project; and
WHEREAS, City of Fort Collins City councils have a rich history of debating national issues and forging resolutions in the past, including issues of global warming, the Patriot Act, a nuclear weapons freeze, MX missile deployment, apartheid in South Africa, nuclear test ban treaties, persecution of the Bahai minority in Iran; and
WHEREAS, City of Ft. Collin’s staff has written in memorandum to council that the estimated cost to Fort Collins taxpayers is as much or more as stated above depending upon the source and has recommended council members research these findings on their own and that Community Development Block Grants have decreased over the past few years (the proposed national budget increases military spending for 2008 while dramatically decreasing CDGB monies by one billion dollars from the 2007 total); and
WHEREAS, the United States military occupation of Iraq has placed significant strains on the capacity of the United States Armed Forces, both active duty and reserve and the National Guard; and
WHEREAS, the National Guard exists primarily to assist in situations of domestic strife and natural disasters and that ability is increasingly jeopardized by the guard’s involvement in Iraq; and
WHEREAS, the occupation and war in Iraq, now in its fifth year has caused a) the deaths of 4,012 as of 4/1/2008 American soldiers and an estimated 700,000 Iraqis, and b) the physical and psychological wounding and disabling of more than 60,000 American soldiers and of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, and c) over two million Iraqi have become refugees having to flee their homeland with another two million displaced internally, and d) the destruction of the homes, communities and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis as well as the often irreparable disruption of families here at home because of the sacrifice American military personnel have been called to make; and
WHEREAS, the war and continued occupation have resulted in the devastation of Iraq's physical and social infrastructure and led to widespread and continuous resistance to U.S. occupation that threatens the lives of Iraqi civilians and the men and women who compose the ranks of U.S. and other occupying forces; and
WHEREAS, it has recently been estimated by the National Alliance to End Homelessness that up to twenty-five percent of homeless (one in four) are veterans; and
WHEREAS, homelessness is something felt in all communities including Fort Collins; and
WHEREAS, hundreds of similar resolutions have been enacted and registered throughout the country; and
WHEREAS, it is the duty of the City Council to act on behalf and in the best interest of the citizens of Fort Collins, CO; and
WHEREAS, the City Council is empowered to make such resolutions as may be necessary to protect the public interest and for the preservation of health, welfare, peace and order; and
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS, CO
that the City of Fort Collins. CO urges the United States government to
1. commence planning an orderly, rapid, and comprehensive withdrawal of United States military personnel from Iraq; and
2. use monies already appropriated or any new appropriations to fund the orderly withdrawal of United States Military personnel; and
3. support our troops by ensuring that returning veterans receive compensation and care, including full mental and physical health, education, disability, and rehabilitation benefits; and
4. provide the people of Iraq with appropriate non military aid as shall be necessary for the security of Iraq's citizens and for the rebuilding of Iraq to include the employment of Iraqis in all fields of expertise and labor; and
5. establish a plan for the ongoing transition of responsibility for internal security activities to the Iraqi Government; and
6. encourage the pursuit of security and stability in Iraq through diplomacy with other countries in the region to include all of Iraq’s border nations;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution is forwarded immediately to United States President George W. Bush, Senator Ken Salazar, Senator Wayne Allard, Representative Marilyn Musgrave, Governor William Ritter, Colorado State Senator Bob Bacon, Colorado State Representative John M. Kefalas and Colorado State Representative Randy Fischer.