By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer
The Orange County Board of Commissioners voted 6-1 on Tuesday not to approve a resolution calling for the end of Congress’ expenditure of tax dollars on the war in Afghanistan.
County resident Mark Marcoplos first proposed the resolution in September.
The resolution, which requests that members of North Carolina’s congressional delegation oppose legislation providing further war funding, states that “an inordinate level of military expenditure is being made by the U.S. federal government for warfare in Afghanistan,†which “creates great and unnecessary harm to the people of the nation of Afghanistan and to U.S. military personnel and their families.â€
Board members said they did not feel it was appropriate to pass the resolution.
“I think that there are times when this board can appropriately make comments about issues that go beyond the borders of Orange County … but I also think they have to be well-crafted, carefully thought out and well-balanced, and I don’t think that this particular resolution rises to this level,†Commissioner Barry Jacobs said.
Commissioner Mike Nelson said he did not have a problem supporting controversial resolutions, but that he trusted the president to try to figure out the right way to proceed, given the complicated nature of the war.
Commissioner Alice Gordon was the lone dissenter and proposed a revised version of the resolution that included statements regarding the loss of life in the war. Gordon’s nephew served three tours in Iraq.
“It’s quite on my mind what the human cost could be of a war,†she said. “I really felt that the important issue was the war and bringing it to an honorable conclusion … The financial importance is considerable, but I want to put the emphasis on the human cost of war.â€
Several veterans spoke against the proposed resolution.
Charlie Cleary, a Vietnam veteran and commander of the 40 and 8 American Legion in Orange County, said his organization voted not to support the resolution.
“By not supporting your veterans, you’re telling them that all the things they have done are in vain,†he said, noting that many veterans return from war with severe injuries.
Robert Nichols, a World War II veteran, said the government should focus on defending the country against terrorists.
“The military people in Afghanistan and the other places that we’ve got them are our first line of defense, and we’re going to need them and we need to pay them. It’s a lot better to lose the money than it is to lose the lives,†he said. “My son went to get a job, and he’d been to college for a while, and you know what they told him? He’s overqualified. So maybe we need to take some of this education money and put it where it’s doing most good, and that’s keeping terrorists out of the country.â€
Marcoplos said he didn’t understand why board members said it wasn’t their role to communicate to state and federal government officials about such issues, pointing out that they’d done it before with the approval of a resolution opposing the invasion of Iraq.
“It occurred to me that those were the Bush years and they’re all Democratic Party members,†he said. “In the beginning, I thought they would just pass it, because I felt like a majority of the commissioners had a grasp on the big picture and could see the opportunity for leadership here. I was surprised in the end that they didn’t see that.â€
The Carrboro Board of Aldermen recently approved a version of Marcoplos’ proposed resolution.