Posted on 14-3-2003
New
York City Council Opposes Iraq War
Newsday, Wednesday 12 March 2003
The City Council in the place hit hardest by the Sept. 11 attacks
approved a resolution Wednesday opposing war with Iraq except
as a last resort.
The 31-17 vote came after months of debate over whether New
York should stake out a position.
"We of all cities must uphold the preciousness and sanctity
of human life," said Councilman Alan Gerson, a Democrat
who voted for the resolution and whose district includes the
World Trade Center site, where 2,792 people were killed in the
attacks.
Democrat Alan Jennings said that after losing one of his closest
friends in the trade center attack, he was in no mood to vote
for an anti-war measure.
"Our troops are in the Middle East at this time to fight
for our democracy," Jennings said. "I think this resolution
sends the wrong message to our men and women in uniform."
The resolution, which carries no legal weight, backed war only
if "other options for achieving compliance with United
Nations resolutions calling for the elimination of weapons of
mass destruction and the means of their development have failed."
Last month, 100,000 to 350,000 people took part in an anti-war
protest near the United Nations. Recent polls show that 75 percent
of New Yorkers oppose a war without the support of the United
Nations.
Since September, anti-war resolutions have been approved in
such cities as Los Angeles; Kalamazoo, Mich.; Chicago; Portland,
Maine; and Milwaukee.
|