The Seattle Times
Tuesday, April 01, 2003
By Jim Brunner
Seattle Times staff reporter
With thousands of local men and women risking their lives in the Iraq war, Michael Behar thought it would be nice for the Seattle City Council to approve a resolution offering its support for them.
If only it were that simple.
Over the past few weeks, members of Seattle’s liberal and anti-war council have whipped out their editing pens and proposed several revisions to Behar’s proposed resolution.
Some object to depicting the troops’ current mission as being “in defense of their country” or a response to “foreign tyrants and aggressors.” Some want to add statements calling for diplomacy, avoiding “unnecessary combat” and expressing sorrow for Iraqi casualties.
The resolution, which Behar began circulating in early March, is still being passed back and forth among council offices as members search for wording that a majority can agree on. Now some council members are saying maybe there should be two resolutions — one offering support for the troops and a second opposing the war in Iraq.
> Related: Text of Resolution and various rewrites
