Municipal Government Grapples With Gulf Conflict

The day before war broke out last month, city councillors passed a resolution demanding the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Persian Gulf.

Now, after weeks of fighting and with a ground war seemingly imminent, the City Council has thrown its weight behind the American presence and is advocating a swift end to hostilities.

Miniature American flags adorn the desks in the council chamber, yellow ribbons decorate the trees and bushes outside City Hall and a banner stating "God bless and protect our troops--bring them home safe," hangs across Mass. Ave. outside the council building.

Ever since war broke out in the Persian Gulf last month, the City Council has had to grapple with the question of how to respond on the local level to a national crisis.

Councillors have had to determine how to construct a cohesive municipal policy and present a unified front to the state and federal governments while taking into account the diverse viewpoints of Cambridge citizens.

"We are trying as adequately as we can to represent the needs of the community...to give people a voice. Desperate attempts are being made to retain a dialogue and a respect for differing opinions," says Councillor Ed N. Cyr. "Cambridge has a long history of speaking out on issues of national concern. We are one of the voices the people have."

According to Councillor Francis H. Duehay '55, the council should act as a mouthpiece for its citizenry and provide methods for its citizens to come to terms with the crisis.

"The City Council does represent the community," he explains. "I do think that the council can serve as a kind of sounding board, and certainly when a country goes to war people need somewhere to express themselves."

The council sent copies of the resolution it passed last week, which expressed "its hope for rapid Allied success in fulfilling the United Nations' mandate with a minimum of civilian, American and Allied casualties," to state and federal lawmakers.

In addition, the city has passed an order that will ensure that Cambridge reservists called up to serve in the Gulf will not lose their salaries during their tours of duty. And some councillors are trying to pass a resolution which will allow police officers to display American flags on their jackets.

Municipal Peace Group

In addition, the city's Peace Commission, created in Cold War-era 1982 to provide education about peace to Cambridge students and citizens, has stepped up its outreach activities since the war began in an effort to help people confront the crisis the nation faces, says Director Cathy Hoffman.

According to Hoffman, since January 16 the commission has directed its community involvement efforts towards three different fronts: in-school peace programs, measures to prevent harrassment of Jews and Arabs and neighborhood open discussions.

"It's as important for people with different points of view to talk to one another as it is to stop the war," she says. "Right at this moment it's important to just have dialogue."

Early this month, the Peace Commission sponsored a community forum about the war in the Middle East that drew almost 100 citizens to the cafeteria of Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School to air their opinions about the war and how it had touched their lives.

Of those present, an overwhelming majority voiced strong opposition to the action the U.S. has taken, for reasons ranging from the potential effect it will have on children and the negative stereotypes of Arabs it is creating to President Bush's questionable motives in allowing troops in the Gulf in the first place. One man called the conflict "a war that protects rich Americans and their cohorts internationally."

Hoffman notes that the attitude the council has adopted about the war differs from the ongoing philosophy of the Peace Commission, and she says that the council's change of heart reflects a similar change in the opinions of Cambridge citizens. She says that while "the vast majority" opposed war before it became a reality, its outbreak "shattered a desire for peace as a goal we all had."

But Hoffman adds that she foresees another turnaround on the part of the council if the conflict intensifies or escalates. "Peace is really the only realistic option here," Hoffman says. "You'll see in three or four weeks the City Council passing a very different kind of resolution."

According to Barbara Ackermann, who served as a city councillor in the late 1960s and as mayor in 1972 and 1973, the city's action at this juncture has been unified and rapid compared with its response to the most recent major U.S. military involvement, the conflict in Vietnam.

"When the riots started here...the whole atmosphere spread through the city so it was really kind of the old against the young," Ackermann says. "The council has always reflected the citizenry." The council initially supported the action in Vietnam, and did not agree to condemn it until the fighting had dragged on through 1971.

"The fact that the council put up a kind of innocuous banner and it passed nine to zero shows that things have kind of settled in," Ackermann observes. But she adds that when the war heats up the council's unified front may shatter under pressure from the public because of the greater freedom for protest now allowed, and because of the wide spectrum of ideologies Cambridge citizens represent.

"I think it's a mistake to look for a consensus when a consensus doesn't exist," Ackermann says. "I foresee that there's going to be a lot more anger."

But Alfred E. Vellucci, who served as mayor in 1970 and 1971, says that the dilemma the current council faces is nothing compared to what the council dealt with during his tenure.

Twenty years ago, protesters "sat on top of the press table playing guitars and mandolins in the council chamber," Vellucci says. "Things are different now. This is a peaceful council."