Res. No. 1213

Resolution calling for a change of policy in Iraq and the strategic withdrawal of United States Armed Forces.

By The Speaker (Council Member Miller) and Council Members James, Reed, Martinez, Foster, Barron, Boyland, Clarke, Sanders Jr., Stewart, Vann and Jackson

Whereas, The United States and a coalition of other nations invaded Iraq on March 19, 2003, to remove Saddam Hussein from power and establish a free and democratic government in that country; and

Whereas, According to the Institute for Policy Studies, the United States Congress has appropriated $204.4 billion for the invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq, with another $45.3 billion more expected to be authorized in the immediate future; and

Whereas, According to the latest figures reported by the United States Department of Defense, the invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq have cost the lives of nearly 2,000 members of the United States Armed Forces and resulted in more than 15,000 casualties; and

Whereas, According to Cities for Progress, a project of the Institute for Policy Studies, there were approximately 138,000 United States troops stationed in Iraq as of August 30, 2005; and

Whereas, The brave men and women serving their country in Iraq have performed their duty brilliantly, and have our utmost support as they fulfill their mission to our country; and

Whereas, A continuing insurgency has frustrated the establishment of a free and democratic government for the Iraqi people and threatens the lives of American military personnel serving in Iraq; and

Whereas, Top American military commanders have said that the gradual withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq is imperative to ending the insurgency there; and

Whereas, General George W. Casey Jr., the commander of multinational forces in Iraq, testified before the Armed Services Committee of the United States Senate on September 29, 2005, that reducing the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq will “take away one of the elements that fuels the insurgency, that of the coalition forces as an occupying force;” and

Whereas, President George W. Bush continues to support a policy of open-ended occupation in Iraq, a policy that strengthens the insurgency and diminishes American power and prestige throughout the world; and

Whereas, The President and officials in his administration launched their invasion of Iraq without formulating a plan for the aftermath of the fall of the Hussein regime and, according to an unclassified report by former intelligence officers, “apparently paid little or no attention” to pre-war assessments by the Central Intelligence Agency that warned of an insurgency; and

Whereas, The President and his administration sent American troops into combat in Iraq without giving them the support they deserve, including sufficient body armor and armor for military vehicles that would have protected soldiers killed or wounded by improvised explosive devices; and

Whereas, The President and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld have over-extended the American military to the point where Retired Army General Barry McCaffrey has observed “… we can no longer sustain the presence we have now. This thing, the wheels are coming off it. The American people are walking away from this war;” and

Whereas, The number of global terrorist attacks classified as “significant” by the U.S. State Department has tripled under the Bush administration and current U.S. foreign policy has made the world more dangerous for Americans and our allies; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls for a change of policy in Iraq and for the strategic withdrawal of United States Armed Forces.

NH/RA

LS#3620

10/24/2005

H:word/resolutions/miller/ls#3620