On May 30, more than 200 people crowded into the Parish Hall at Calvary Episcopal Church to send a message to our Congressional Representatives that they wanted an end to this war and to the outrageous amount of money going to the military, to the detriment of human services.
The Town Hall meeting on the Cost of War at Home was organized by people from the peace community, human services and veterans groups, with 40 groups endorsing. It provided an opportunity to confront the staff members of those congressional representatives who voted on May 24 to support nearly $100 billion in continued funding for the war in Iraq without a deadline for withdrawal of our troops.
Congressman Doyle (D-14th District) was present, as were aides from Congressman Tim Murphy’s office (R-18th District) and from Senator Specter and Casey’s offices. Organizers had met with Mike Butler from Senator Altmire’s office and he had agreed to attend, but at the last moment he withdrew. After learning of the event, Senator Altmire chose to arrange his own Town hall Meeting in Shaler on the same day and time. Altmire, who ran as an opponent to the war, voted in favor of legislation funding the war in Iraq. On May 22, two days before Congress approved legislation to fund the war, Altmire blamed undocumented immigrants for costs to U.S. citizens.
“Over 12 million illegal immigrants living in our country have shown callous disregard for the laws that govern our society while placing an undue burden on American taxpayer-funded health care, education and legal systems,” said Altmire in a release. “The correct response to the immigration crisis is stronger enforcement and a redoubling of our commitment to the rule of law. Bestowing the high honor of American citizenship on lawbreakers is tantamount to giving away the store.”
Yet, by approving nearly $100 billion for war funding, including $14 billion more than what President Bush asked for, it is representatives like Altmire who have shown a callus disregard not only for this country and its people, but also the people of Iraq and for international laws. A number of people from Code Pink attended the Shaler meeting and protested both Altmire’s “yes” vote on military appropriations as well as his unwillingness to attend this Town Hall meeting.
The meeting opened with a brief introduction by moderator Rick Adams, co-convener for the Western PA Black Political Assembly, and featured a series of quick speeches detailing the adverse costs of military spending on human services, local communities and veteran services.
Molly Rush, board member of the Thomas Merton Center, spoke about military spending:
We tend to ask ourselves how to change national priorities in an increasingly militarized society. But I’ve begun to wonder how that may be begging the question. The Iraq war is projected to cost our country over $1 trillion and untold human suffering. But this terrible tragedy has obscured another terrible reality: our national addiction to weaponry and policies that threaten not only world peace but our national security. We’ve been sold the notion that, in the name of our common defense, we must maintain the largest and most expensive military in the world.
She ended with this call to action: “If we can bring together those working for a just economy, those fighting against the war and against environmental destruction, we will build a powerful movement to challenge the media and the government to be accountable to us. Grassroots action is what has created positive change in the past and I’m convinced it is what will effectively challenge the status quo today. Here in this room we’ve brought together many of you from a wide variety of organizations representing human service, the peace movement and veterans’ rights groups. Together we can recover democracy and transform our policies. Let’s do it!”
Malik Bankston, Executive Director of the Kingsley Association (for identification purposes only) talked of “greybeards” those over 50, and how many were in the room. He asked where the young folks were who will carry the burden of this war. He spoke of the tragic cuts to human services and what we could do with the money being spent on the military (see sidebar). He reminded us about Martin Luther King’s Poor People’s Campaign and suggested the time may have come to do a similar action to bring home the plight of people in this country.
Valerie Cortazzo, of the Coalition of Veterans Advocates, spoke for Veterans: “Veterans who have seen and done so much for this country will come home to fight a new war. One that deals with a bankrupt system of care, backlogs in claims for injuries received on duty, and a country that cheers them home and forgets them when they need it most. Some will find they have lost so much when they come home. The lucky ones will still be healthy, have little memory of war, but still have to adjust to a life that continued while they were in a war. The rest will face brain injuries, lost limbs, eyes, ears and the list is endless. They may lose their jobs, their homes, their families and even become homeless…They will request help at the VA. The VA will tell them to wait in line, a long line, months sometimes. They will tell them to put in a claim for disability pay if they can no longer work. This too will have a long line, currently about 600,000 and growing. They may wait years to receive benefits if they can prove that something did occur in war that has affected their ability to function normally. That is not even the worst. They may not be able to prove the trauma for many reasons and if they cannot, they won’t be compensated. This often leads to the streets where it is estimated that 200,000 veterans live homeless, about 1/3 of our homeless are veterans. This war is no different. Some are already living on the streets. It is believed that Pittsburgh’s streets already house up to a dozen Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans.”
Congressman Doyle, who was the only Western PA representative to oppose the legislation funding President Bush’s request for nearly $100 billion for the war, said the U.S. war in Iraq is the “biggest foreign policy blunder in the history of the United States.” Noting that the cost of the war will be paid for by future generations, Doyle said the war needed to be de-authorized and de-funded. The representative also expressed concerns about the privatization of VA hospitals and health care services. He committed himself to not backing down on calling for an end to this illegal war.
“The Iraqi people want us to leave,” Doyle said. “We need to respect the wishes of a democracy.”
The staff members of the other Congressmen declined to give a speech, instead stating they were present to listen to residents and report back to their bosses. At this point the floor was opened for comments.
People spoke out strongly, calling on their Congresspersons to stop supporting this war and the huge military budget, and to address some of the needs at home. Anxious residents formed a long line voicing concerns about the astronomical spending, war profiteering and dynasties, the concentration of wealth, imperialism and private contractors.
At the end Paul Abernathy, of Pittsburgh Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), received a standing ovation for a brief statement in which he read the demands of the Pittsburgh Veterans Tour, which were being circulated in the form of a petition. Their demands include: immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces in Iraq; reparations for the destruction and corporate pillaging of Iraq so that Iraqi people can control their own lives; and full benefits, adequate health care (including mental health) and other support for returning service men and women.
Two actions were recommended at the meeting. The IVAW will be speaking around the city this summer. At these meetings they will be gathering signatures for a resolution, calling for the return of our troops from Iraq, which will be presented to City Council. The American Friends Service Committee and others will be working statewide on a similar action at the state level and are identifying people in the different Congressional districts who will work with us on this campaign.
Scilla Wahrhaftig of the American Friends Service Committee, PA Project contributed to this report.
(First published in The NewPeople, July 2007)
