A rchive Date
[ 26-01-2003 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ U.S ]
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[http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/editorial/outlook/1749855
Houstonians simply can't afford this fight
By DEBORAH MILLER ROTHSCHILD
Jan. 24, 2003, 8:55PM
LAST Wednesday, representatives from the Houston Coalition for Justice Not War and the Harris County Green Party's Peace and Justice Group presented Houston City Council with a petition signed by more than 2,100 Houstonians asking council to adopt a resolution opposing war on Iraq. If council chooses to do so, Houston would join 42 other U.S. cities in concluding that this avoidable war is not in the best interest of their citizens. Among these cities are Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.
Besides pointing out the growing opposition to the war on moral grounds, the speakers who appeared before council discussed the direct effects the war would have on Houston. Its economic and safety implications are so grave that council cannot sweep the war under the rug with the excuse that it needs to focus on potholes and other local responsibilities. In fact, council cannot fulfill its local responsibilities now unless it addresses what this war would mean for Houstonians.
First, council members must ask if Houston can afford this war as it faces an estimated 2003 budget shortfall between $25 and $38 million, and a 2004 shortfall in the mid-$20 million range. Houston's plight is not an isolated problem. This nation is awash in red ink. The federal government is estimating deficits in the $200-$300 billion range. The state of Texas is estimating $10 billion for the coming biennium. So the federal government passes the costs of essential services down to the states, and the states pass them down to the cities. The buck stops at City Council.
None of these grim figures include the costs of a war on Iraq, conservatively estimated at $100 billion. Proportionately, that's $5.5 billion of Texans' taxes and $560 million of Houstonians' taxes. The lengthy military occupation of Iraq following the war would run up the costs by billions more.
Leaders of other cities recognize that they are being put at the bottom of the federal food chain, and that their ability to deliver essential services is imperiled. This past Wednesday, at the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Washington, D.C., the mayors declared that a big-spending federal government is short-changing cities. And the big federal spending is on the military. It will get even bigger if we go to war.
Mayor Lee Brown did not attend that meeting, and he did not respond to the Chronicle's request for comment. But I am sure Brown doesn't want Houston to get short-changed. I feel sure he is distressed at the prospect that his administration may have to cut fire, police and emergency services, health care, transportation, affordable housing, neighborhood redevelopment and job training.
And I am sure that most council members also are distressed at this prospect. That is why they all should decide - in public discussion - whether they will silently acquiesce to a war that would make their job even harder - or speak out for the good of the people they represent.
The second compelling reason for Council to discuss a resolution opposing the war against Iraq is the safety of Houstonians. In the Jan. 13 Wall Street Journal, Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities, a group of national business leaders, placed an ad opposing the war on Iraq. Addressing President Bush, they stated the obvious: "Among the 1 billion Muslims in the world there is now a steady trickle of recruits going to al-Qaida. You will turn the trickle into a torrent. A billion bitter enemies will rise out of this war."
Houston is the energy capital of the world. Petrochemical plants along the Houston Ship Channel produce approximately two-thirds of the petrochemical products in this nation and represent one-third of the world's petrochemical production. Our chemical plants and refineries are sitting ducks for those who will thirst for revenge.
Until now, Houston has been free of terrorist attacks. But once our country launches an unprovoked war on Iraq, the risks to Houston and its citizens will greatly increase. Those risks are certainly the business of the Houston City Council.
A war with Iraq is not a war of necessity, it is a war of choice. The world wants to assure that Iraq is not a threat, but few believe that war is required for that assurance. Given the economic implications and real risks of terrorism Houston will face if the Bush administration pushes us into this war, shouldn't the members of the Houston City Council at least talk about it?
Rothschild is a Houston-based free-lance writer. She can be e-mailed at deorahrothschild@hotmail.com.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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