Columbus City for Peace Resolution  
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A resolution of support for the U.S. troops currently serving in Iraq, as well as those who have previously served, and those that have been killed or wounded during such service, and their families; expressing concern for the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians who have been killed or wounded in that country and the millions who are now internal or external refugees; further calling for the leaders in this country to defund the war and make the problems of our cities a priority and further calling for an immediate and orderly withdrawal from Iraq.

Whereas, the United Nations and the international community as a whole support peaceful resolutions to international disputes, as evidenced by the hundreds of similar resolutions supported by communities around the U.S.; therefore we should declare peace a civil right in a democracy and a human right in the world; and

Whereas, the 2008 Citizens Grassroots Congress supports the brave men and women deployed in Iraq, honors the memory of those who have lost their lives in the war and those who have been wounded, and supports their loved ones; and

Whereas, the 2008 Citizens Grassroots Congress is concerned about the hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians who have been killed and wounded as well as the millions of internal displaced citizens and Iraqi refugees who have fled their country; and

Whereas, the financial cost of the war is half a trillion dollars, with the cost to Columbus citizens at $1.1 billion as of March 16, 2008, resulting in a division of funds that has deeply impacted our city’s ability to fund human services such as health care, housing, and recreation, and for failing infrastructures; and

Whereas, Blackwater has emerged as the world’s largest private mercenary army, and an estimated $100 billion of the U.S. government’s $588 billion defense budget has now been privatized, and certain corporations have been linked to human rights violations in Iraq and are not subject to the uniform code of military conduct; and

Whereas, the City of Columbus’ elected officials have a duty to act on behalf and in the best interest of the citizens of Columbus and are 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

Whereas, the City of Columbus’ elected officials, community leaders, and citizens have a responsibility to highlight the implications of continuing the war in Iraq with a resulting reduction on available federal resources critically needed for our community’s most vulnerable persons:

Be it Resolved that the 2008 Citizens Grassroots Congress requests that the Columbus City Council declare the City of Columbus a “City for Peace.”

   Citizens Grassroots Congress, 253-2571