THINKING FOR OURSELVES

“Can’t win a crime”

by Shea Howell

Michigan Citizen, Feb. 25-March 3, 2007

Last week the State of Vermont became the first state to pass resolutions calling for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. The resolutions by both the Senate and House also call upon the Governor, James Douglas, to enlist the support of other members of the National Governors Association to speak out against the war.

The Vermont action offers an important way for the rest of the country to intensify the drive toward ending this war and toward opening a wider discussion of what peace means.

The Vermont Senate and House both passed the resolutions by wide margins. The House resolution, sponsored by 72 of 150 members, passed by a vote of 95 to 52. The Senate resolution, sponsored by 18 of 30 members, passed by a vote of 25 to 4. Both resolutions oppose the escalation of troops in Iraq, but the Senate version also states “This legislative body believes that an escalation of American troops in Iraq is exactly the wrong foreign policy direction, and that the presence of American troops in Iraq has not and will not, contribute to the stability of that nation, the region or the security of Americans at home or abroad.”

These resolutions are the results of patient work throughout the state over the past several years. Vermont was one of the first states to host Town Meetings to discuss the war and to propose that citizens gathering together should pass resolutions for peace. In 2005 the City of Burlington placed on the ballot a question that called for “bringing the troops home from Iraq now.” The referendum passed with a vote of 65.2% of the electorate. That same year over 50 towns passed some kind of anti-war resolutions. This year dozens of other communities will consider similar resolutions in their town meetings.

The following is an example of the resolutions being voted on: “Shall the voters of the town of Newfane advise the President, Congress and Vermont’s state and federal office holders that Newfane and its citizens strongly support the men and women serving in all branches of the united States Armed Forces in Iraq and believe that the best way to support them is to bring each and every one of them home now and take good care of them when they get home?”

The voices of Vermont Iraq war veterans have been a key factor in all of these discussions. Vermont has lost more people per capita in this war than any other state and Vermont veterans, as well as Vermont families for peace, have taken the lead in encouraging citizen action.

Just prior to the Vermont House and Senate vote, a statement by former Marine Cpl. Matthew Howard, who served two combat tours in Iraq, was distributed. This is how he explained his opposition to the war :

"The people of Iraq are suffering horrors hard to conceive on a daily basis because we are there. And yet their only crime is that they were also victims of previous horrors under a different regime. …Conditions are exponentially worse than when I invaded their country four years ago. ...Withdrawal is what we as veterans want, it is what the people of this country want, and it is what the Iraqis want. You can't win a crime, you can only stop it.”

Vermonters are showing us that our duty, wherever we come together, is to pass resolutions to end this war now. Every church, city council, Town Hall, professional association, legislative body, university, school and neighborhood group should join with Vermont in demanding PEACE NOW.

Email Shea Boggs Center,