U.S. Mayors Pass Resolution To Bring 'War Dollars' Home

BALTIMORE -- The U.S. Conference of Mayors approved a resolution on Monday calling for an accelerated end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

That resolution will now become official policy of the mayors' organization -- a small symbol of growing opposition to the war in Afghanistan. The mayors are asking that money spent on wars abroad be used in the United States to develop cities and towns. The last time the conference approved a resolution like this was during the Vietnam War.

On Sunday, Muhammad Younus Nawandish, the mayor of Kabul, expressed some reservations about the idea of an American withdrawal. Nawandish spoke to the conference on Saturday. He told HuffPost that his country was still "in need of security from the international community."

"We understand that the U.S. military will not stay in Afghanistan forever. But still we need your existence for the stability of Afghanistan. If they withdraw now there is a possibility of falling Afghanistan back into during the Taliban regime," Nawandish said through an interpreter.

Debate over the resolution primarily centered on whether it showed sufficient support for American troops abroad.

Pete Lewis, the mayor of Auburn, Washington, cited his own service in Vietnam, arguing that the mayors would repeat "the mistakes another generation did" if they signaled a lack of support for troops abroad. The resolution was amended to make sure no one could interpret it as a statement against service members.

Another amendment suggested by Mayor Mick Cornett (R-Oklahoma City) made sure the resolution also called on President Obama -- in addition to Congress -- to redirect funds to cities and towns.

Before that amendment was approved, Cornett said the resolution should have been referred to the "ideas we oughta stay the hell away from committee."

But Mayor Paul Soglin (D-Madison, Wis.) said that the resolution, which did not call for an immediate withdrawal from wars abroad, was "rather temperate."

"This one does not call for an immediate withdrawal, but it calls for speeding up the effort for ending this war," Soglin said. He and other Democratic mayors supporting the resolution cited the immense cost of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as motivation.

Mayor John Dickert (D-Racine, Wis.) said, "I believe that we should pass the resolution just to simply say that we think that we need to reevaluate where our funds are going and that they are rebuilding our country."

Comments

[joeyfoto]

11:14 PM on 06/21/2011

Good Luck.

These war dollars do not go to people or to countries, they go to corporations, who will give them up only with the greatest reluctance after the maximum amount of political force.

The peace dividend for US cities will be the return of hoards of shell-shocked young men and women who have seen things and done things that will haunt them for the rest of their lives. It is my guess that these "conservative" war lovers will be extremely stingy even with the funds needed to address the ongoing decades of war-wounds — that's their history on veteran's issues.

[phread]

02:01 PM on 06/21/2011

long past the time to end corporate welfare and war.

[Jack Glastra]

03:21 AM on 06/21/2011

The best minds in Auburn, Wa. and Racine, Wi are on the job!

[juna]

12:54 AM on 06/21/2011

I wonder why there is such resistance to troop reduction in Afghanistan. Could it be that somebody wouldn't be raking in the war profits? Could some poor corporation be about to lose its beloved blood money? Just wondering.

[Jack Glastra]

03:23 AM on 06/21/2011

Let nothing get in the way of the military-industrial-congressional-complex, or the jobs it creates...

[joeyfoto]

11:16 PM on 06/21/2011

juna wrote: "I wonder why there is such resistance to troop reduction in Afghanista n. Could it be that somebody wouldn't be raking in the war profits? Could some poor corporatio n be about to lose its beloved blood money? Just wondering."

Fanned for factual approach to a persistent problem...jt

[Dahveed1]

12:11 AM on 06/21/2011

Mayors, the same geniuses that often lure quality employers like Walmart to their fine cities by offering huge tax incentives now want to make up those lost tax dollars by interfering in foreign policy. Wonderful. They made a mess of the local scene, now they feel they want to screw up the world.

I haven't been real impressed with President Obama's performance so far, but he's done better than any of these numbnuts would have done.

[moutonnoir]

12:49 AM on 06/21/2011

uhm.. 'world war' has drained the resources of our country... the entire 'budget shortfall' is withinthe realm of the amount of 'tax cuts'.... pretty shady...

meanwhile the entire budget shortfalls in each state added up are still less than any 40 or 50 F15 fighter jets... We have thousands of these fighter jets...

[Dahveed1]

05:58 AM on 06/21/2011

States? Mayors are responsible for cities. Well then the state/cities should raise their taxes. You seem to like raising taxes. My point is that Federal tax money should not be going to pay for improvements in cities. Mayors here are simply panhandling for free money because they're too lazy to solve their own problems. Its a lot easier for them to whine about Fed dollars being "wasted" somewhere else or paid by someone else than it is for them to tax their own people.

[mustangdad2000]

11:30 PM on 06/20/2011

Guess the mayors are just trying to get their hands on more funds to waste, locally.

[Dahveed1]

12:07 AM on 06/21/2011

Yup, you called that one.

[bobbertino]

09:58 PM on 06/20/2011

That's great, but it's 10 Years Late and A Trillion Dollars Short.

[freekybig53]

09:19 PM on 06/20/2011

I get the push to end the wars but why do they think that any of the money saved will come home to benefit them ?? We know that Obama will continue to try to prop up the puppet governments by sending loads of cash to keep them happy but now he will send them a second check for cleanup and rebuilding leaving even less than these mayors have now !!

[Shaktas Na]

09:12 PM on 06/20/2011

This sounds good on the surface but these very people(Small,medium, and large forms of governmental representation) tacitly or openly gave support for these wars to go on without end. They played go along until various levels of mismanagement of resources(financial and otherwise) ran completely rampant and cities went broke. So if they bring the money home-who is going to stop all of these corrupt politicians from another looting spree?

[Dahveed1]

12:13 AM on 06/21/2011

It doesn't even sound good on the surface. When did it become the Federal Government's job to build any of these cities?

[Roy Rudy]

08:44 PM on 06/20/2011

The US Mayors' have valid and worthwhile and valid interests in their unified resolution. The constructive unification of US Mayors' is demonstrative of collective instrumental interests that focus on constructive agenda's. Their combined interests do not end foreign military, political, and humanitarian efforts, but scaling down the costs of those combined foreign costs. A point well taken and is in direct contrasts to the economic turmoil now facing our nation. Mayor John Dickert (D. Racine Wis) struck key words that carry a strong impact that is applicable to more than just foreign economics in Afghanistan and Iraq, but applicable to the National Budget, National Debt and Payments, Entitlements, Job Creation, and the National Industries. The key words "reevaluate, rebuilding our country, resolution, and funds," apply in some manner to every national interest of the US government, military, foreign policies, health care, budgeting for rebuilding the economy, education, agriculture, manufacturing, jobs, agencies, social aid programs, and the space programs. It is true that we need more space exploration and technologies that propel industries and technologies into new developing designs that meets the ever changing demands of adapting to new discoveries and usages of the 21ST Century. Mayors Paul Slogan and Mick Cornett support the key word usages and applications. The next step is implementation of the key words as they apply. To the Mayors, don't lose your focus.

[Dahveed1]

12:16 AM on 06/21/2011

No, FEDERAL money shouldn't be shunted to these cities. Federal money should be used for federal projects. These mayors are just trying to get on the gravy train that rewards their own mismanagement with Federal dollars.

[Roy Rudy]

02:09 AM on 06/21/2011

You said it, "Federal money, Federal Projects, and Federal Dollars" which is exactly what I was talking about. Your key words in parentheses are classified as general while specific purposes may be the entitlements, national debt, job creation, national economy which identify where the dollars should be spent on. States annual payment based on the National Census determines what quantity of funds each state receives for improvements, education, social welfare programs, and libraries with an even longer list of what our government spends its budget on. What benefits have the average citizens seen as presently lost. Federal funds have paid for many past benefits that at present are not paid for.

[ricksophie]

08:36 PM on 06/20/2011

You would figure, being Mayors of a City’s, that these people would have some semblance of a brain!!!
Don’t they understand that these wars are being financed with debt and not real money?
I guess that logic and reason is more than I can expect out of our politicians.

[Dahveed1]

12:18 AM on 06/21/2011

Well, they're trying to get the Fed to fund their mismanagement of their city. So not brilliant, but it will likely work. The only people worse at managing money than cities or states is the FED.

[WCWinner]

08:28 PM on 06/20/2011

Where were these mayors when Dubya was starting the wars?

[Julius Lovell]

07:56 PM on 06/20/2011

("We understand that the U.S. military will not stay in Afghanistan forever. But still we need your existence for the stability of Afghanistan. If they withdraw now there is a possibility of falling Afghanistan back into during the Taliban regime," Nawandish said through an interpreter)

yea, we need your money to continue to help the taliban regime so they will stay here so we will get more u.s. aide and solders, how do you think we make a living over here.

[chainsawd1]

07:52 PM on 06/20/2011

This is a great initiative and I hope the Mayors can do this. It's time our tax dollars are spent on our citizens in the United States.

We had our Civil war and as bad as it was, it helped build the foundation of our Country as we now know it.

Let Afganistan and Pakistsan and all the other countries looking for our tax dollars take care of themselves. We really need to help ourselves first.

[RickCoMatic]

07:27 PM on 06/20/2011

Having the Mayors make anti-war resolutions isn't going to get the War-mongering thugs advising the President to back-off and get the Hell out of Afghanistan. There needs to be wide-spread demonstrations.
There's the rub.
There's not enough American People affected by any possible involvement in the war to need to demonstrate to bring this war to an end. Military families are left carrying the load.
Volunteers who signed-up for two-years active and two years reserve became prisoners of multiple tour deployments and Stop-Loss unilateral contract extensions rather than open the Selective Service Offices and hear the Country complain out-loud.
But, the American People have been pushed far beyond their limit.
Funding having Marines slaughtered by hidden bombs and bullets fired by a never ending resistance to allow democracy to replace religious beliefs is beginning to irritate those whose live in our heartland.
The idea that Military spending gets OK'd before relief funding for the hundreds of thousands who had their homes destroyed by catastrophic storms needs some close examination as to how People are adequately represented.
Open-up the Draft Boards.
Get the Military some help.
Get-out of the Middle East.
Spend the money restoring the Homeland.
Let the American People top the agenda for a change.