COUNTERING MILITARY RECRUITMENT
Articles: Counter-Recruitment: General
Council goes berserk with assault on Marines
Craig Lazzeretti, The Berkeley Voice
Feburary 7, 2008
GIVE BERKELEY credit for one thing. It certainly knows how to keepitself in the national spotlight, even if it means perpetuating its
"Berserkeley" stereotype. Any time the city starts to fade as a real
or perceived center of liberal radicalism, you can count on an
out-of-control City Council to make some outrageous pronouncement
that instantly becomes the subject of scorn from coast to coast.
And so it was with the council's declaration last week that the
Marine Corps recruiting station on Shattuck Avenue "is not welcome in
the city, and if recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited
and unwelcome intruders." That must have been somewhat like the
statement the Japanese made when the Marines had the nerve to step
foot on their beach at Iwo Jima during World War II.
Not surprisingly, the response to those incendiary comments was
immediate and overwhelming. Our initial story at ContraCostaTimes. com
generated 160,000 page views and more than 2,000 comments in the
first two days. The neocons across the country seized on the
resolution the same way they seized on those bogus intelligence
reports about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction back in 2002.
This week, a group of Republican senators introduced a bill to strip
the city of federal funds, including money earmarked for the Berkeley
school district and UC Berkeley, which have absolutely nothing to do
with the positions of the City Council (just ask the university,
which is being sued by the council over its athletic training center
project). Talk about guilt by association.
His inbox overflowing with outrage, Berkeley Mayor and former Army
Captain Tom Bates performed a neat tactical maneuver: simultaneously
retreating and advancing on the council's senseless action. He issued
a statement late last week saying the council would revisit the
declaration on Tuesday because the original version "did not
adequately differentiate our respect and support for those serving in
the armed forces and our opposition to the Iraq war policy."
At the same time, he made clear he still wants the Marines out of
town by offering to help negotiate an end to their lease with their
landlord, whom he noted is a close friend.
Those mayoral connections sure come in handy at times like these. It
was sort of like telling a neighbor you've been feuding with for
months that you really like him after all, so much so that you'll
even help find him a new place to live.
The trouble, of course, with the council's flawed logic is that the
U.S. Marine Corps does not set U.S. policy in Iraq or anywhere else.
It had nothing to do with the decision to invade Iraq in 2003, and it
will not decide when we leave. Its operations also extend far beyond
Iraq, many of which are more humanitarian than military in nature.
Does the council oppose the Marines helping the downtrodden in Africa as well?
Whatever the council's intention, this declaration and the other
items it passed targeting the recruiting station are directed
squarely at a branch of the U.S. military, and therefore the men and
women who wear its uniform. An item seeking to enforce the city's
policy against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation
against the Marines was equally ludicrous (they didn't create don't
ask, don't tell; Bill Clinton did). Gordon Wozniak should be anointed
the council's voice of reason for being the only one to oppose each
and every item concerning the recruiting station last week.
"I understand that there are people across the country that may not
agree with this action but it is the Berkeley City Council's
responsibility to represent the will of the people of Berkeley,"
Bates said in his statement.
I don't believe for a moment the council's action represents the will
of most of the city's residents. It represents the will of a radical,
intolerant fringe group that dominates city politics and is out of
step with sensible progressives here and across the country. If you
don't believe me, just read some of the letters from Berkeley
residents on this page.
The Web comments we received to Doug Oakley's stories were nearly
universal in their condemnation of the council's action. A poll we
posted at ContraCostaTimes. com on the issue had generated 285
responses as of Thursday morning; 274 respondents said they opposed
the council's action. I guess the 11 people who said yes are the ones
who represent "the will of the people of Berkeley."
Certainly, many of the comments and votes came from hawks who have
backed the war from the beginning and still believe it is a good
idea. But opponents of the war also were outraged by this blatant
attack on the U.S. military. And for good reason.
I would argue that those in the anti-war camp have even more reason
to be disgusted and indignant over the council's action. From the
beginning, we have fought the ridiculous notion that our opposition
to this war is a slap at the men and women of our armed forces who
sacrifice so much. Many of us also have loved ones in uniform, or
veterans of the armed forces, whose commitment to preserving our
freedoms we cherish immensely.
When the council makes a statement calling the Marines "intruders" in
its city, and encouraging people to impede their activities, it not
only insults the men and women at that recruiting station but all who
wear the uniform of our nation's armed services across the world -
and, by extension, their families, friends and loved ones.
It was also telling that the office of Rep. Barbara Lee - perhaps the
leading anti-war voice in Congress - expressed no support for the
council's action while vowing to fight any effort to strip the city
of federal funds. When even Lee thinks you've gone too far in making
an anti-war statement, that's saying something.
Of course, Lee's silence is not surprising. The council just provided
fresh fodder in an election year for the pro-war crowd that seeks to
keep us in Iraq indefinitely, equating any attempt to leave with a
lack of support for the troops.
It looks as though there will be an attempt by some on the council,
perhaps a majority, to rescind the "uninvited and unwelcome
intruders" item on Tuesday. But how about all the other insults the
council heaped upon the Marine Corps through various votes? Is it
going to tell the Marines they are now welcome to stay while still
encouraging people to impede their mission with the help of a free
parking space and noise permit?
If the council really cares about influencing public opinion and
ending the war in Iraq, it will retract all its actions concerning
the Marine recruiting station next week and replace them with a
sincere apology to the Marines and other branches of our armed forces.
And let Code Pink search for a parking space like everyone else who
has the nerve to increase our dependence on foreign oil by driving downtown.
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