...and this guy.
Posted on 10/29/2009 12:40:12 PM PDT by SmithL
Berkeley once again dipped into U.S. foreign policy Tuesday when its City Council unanimously passed a resolution asking the Obama administration to withdraw troops and private armed contractors from Afghanistan and cease drone attacks on Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The issue proved to be the liveliest of the evening, with members of the public protesting when councilmembers Susan Wengraf and Linda Maio suggested postponing the item to correct ambiguous wording in the resolution.
Code Pink, CopWatch and Berkeley’s Peace and Justice Commission, which recommended the resolution to the council, voiced their support for immediate troop withdrawal.
Melody Ermachild Chavis, author of Meena, Heroine of Afghanistan: The Martyr Who Founded RAWA, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, said that Afghanistan’s perception of the United States had taken a turn for the worse since the U.S. occupied Afghanistan in 2001.
“Afghanistan was welcoming us before—if only everything had been different,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking to say that that U.S. contribution in Afghanistan has been negative. We have bombed weddings, the children playing along the banks every day for eight years. If there are three things I could tell President Obama, it would be stop killing Afghanis, stop killing Afghanis, stop killing Afghanis.”
Code Pink’s Zanne Joi said it was important for Berkeley to step up because it was the “anti-war voice for the nation.”
“We are the peace voice for the nation,” she said. “There’s nothing we are doing in Afghanistan that’s moral.”
Peace and Justice commissioner Bob Meola, who wrote the agenda item, said that if the council didn’t pass it Tuesday, it might be too late.
“We can quibble over the wordsmithing, but I believe the train will leave the station,” agreed Councilmember Max Anderson. “We will miss an opportunity to weigh in on this if we leave foreign policy to others. We have troops in 140 countries around the world and presidents taking part in war crimes. Yes, we ought to get out of there rapidly, even if you think we are fighting the Taliban, even if you think we are fighting al Qaeda or propping up Pakistan. This is not the way to do it.”
The council’s resolution also supports a bill by U.S. Rep Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), which seeks to cease funding of the war in Afghanistan and calls for an exit strategy and withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country.
“Congresswoman Lee has a very good strategy—no more troops, no more money,” Councilmember Gordon Wozniak said. “Rather than us telling the president how he should do his job, we should just tell him not to expand the war.”
Councilmember Kriss Worthington said that Berkeley’s resolution was not meant to be a slap at Lee or Obama.
“Having a resolution like this will make it easier for her (Lee) to negotiate,” he said.
That makes them THE ENEMY.
Eventually we need to get a government in place that will mount a defense against these pukes.
I’ll never forget the day back in the 80’s when the great city of Cotati declared itself a “nuclear-free zone.”
Find Cotati on the map. If you can. Hint: it’s in Sonoma County.
“City Council Says No to Drone Attacks in Afghanistan”
“I’ll bet anyone withing 20 feet of them would be happy if they’d say YES to some hot water, soap and a towel.
Huh. I didn’t know berkekey was flying drones in Afganistan.
When did Berkely get so stupid?
Berkeley City Council is crazy, but should we really be sending out drones to kill people, or is that Unamerican?
In Berkely, CA it’s always 1969.
goodnesswins says .... NO to military protection of Berkeley....in any way, shape or form.
I hope Obama takes their advice.
He should definitely take his marching orders from Code Pink and the lunatics at Berkley.
Was the vote before or after they pass the bong and mushrooms around? ;-)
Just get back to fixing Berkely potholes you jackasses!
Berkeley has a say in this? Or is it just political showmanshipm?
I agree with them, save those drones for SF and berkley.
Do terrorists know they’re welcome in Berkley?
It’s nice to know that Berkeley has handled all the regular problems that cities have such as school maintenance, pot hole repair, traffic control, utilities, etc., so they have time to get involved in strategic and tactical war fighting.
Yeah, pull’em the hell out. Leave’em to their own devices.
What’s hard to find about Cotati? Googling the name brings you right to it. Other than likely being full of libs, is there something special about the place?
Wow. This will make a difference in US war policy. //sarc//
IT’s just that same disgusting spirit that used to cheer the viet cong on and wave commie flags around. I think that it should be the responsibility of every good citizen, upon proper opportunity, to do them harm, and to do all of their true believers harm.
More like 1967. Summer of Love and all that rot. I actually lived very near there during the 1960s. It wasn't pretty.
It’s a tiny hole near Sonoma State College - or maybe the college is actually located there - I don’t recall. There’s nothing special about it, I simply meant that these nutty places in CA have been making grandiose political “statements” for decades.
Good thing they’re not in charge!
BTW, WHO asked them???
Yeah, I guess your collective radical credentials are at stake over this one, no doubt about it.
Councilmember Anderson, I hope you won't be offended if I call you Councilman... did you ever even look at your job description? Did you notice it said "City Council" and not "Council on Foreign Relations"?
The sense of self-importance among these ivory-tower loons is a source of constant amusement and horror...
I agree: bring the troops home; invade Berkeley and liberate it instead.
Loonie Tunes Lives..
The extreme leftists in Berkley are having a difficult time demonizing the war while trying to suck Barack’s skinny ass.
Ah, ok. I understand. If not for their assinine statements no one will have ever heard of these places except the people that live within a few miles of it.
Bezerkly being an exception due to being completely overrun. The west coast center for all things left. The city runs entirely powered by their own smug self satisfaction.
...and this guy.
Does it really matter if you get zipped by a drone versus a human? Do they object to the impersonal and unfriendly aspect of war? Wow. How do they feel about mortars and machineguns, is this more to their liking? Inquiring minds want to know.
When will the Bezerkeley City Council get it over with and secede from the US?
How did we make it through WWII without the adice and consent of the Berkeley City Council?
So why is this a national news item and not local news/chat?
I’ll go along with a suspension of drone attacks in Afghanistan on two conditons:[1] Only until Il Douche makes up his mind, or twoweeks [whichever is left], and [2] During that period, we unload the ordnance of every drone we have on Berkeley and San Fran.
I can only imagine how offended I would be if I gave a RAT’S PETUTY what Berkley had to say about foreign policy.
It’s not about that, it’s about making themselves feel important.
Far-left liberal Mecca.
I thought I saw Pelosi and a few others bowing down to pray in its direction today.....
I agree, too. Let’s stop using drones in Afghanistan for a while and use a few in Berkeley, instead. Nothing drastic, just a little target practice on unoccupied buildings, so we can see if they really work.
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