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//
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