Petition Seeks To Stop Sending Vermont's F-16s To Iraq

[DoYouEverWonder]

January 31, 2006

BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Burlington's Town Meeting election is five weeks away, but a controversial question could still be added to the ballot.

Anti-war activists claim they have enough signatures to get a question on the ballot asking Burlington to use "all legal means" to force the military to stop sending Vermont F-16s to Iraq.

The military leases land for the Air National Guard base from the city-owned airport, and about 1,000 people work there.

Petition backers said the city should cancel the lease if the Pentagon doesn't listen.

"Yes, it could be painful, and yes, the city of Burlington could have some expensive retribution as a result of it," said petition organizer Doug Dunbebin. "But we just have to decide,'Is it worth it? How much do we dislike this war?'"

"In the short term, I think the scheduled transformation to get new F-16s here would be put on hold; planes would eventually go away. I would see the unit shrinking by two-thirds to three-quarters at a minimum. That's what I think would happen," said Brig. Gen. Bill Etter. "I'd say the stakes are very high."

http://www.thechamplainchannel.com/news/6622766/detail.html

[seriousstan]

1. I believe the federal government actually owns the weapons systems.

I know there are lawsuits over the State's control of the Guard units themselves, but I believe there is no debate over the ownership of the weapon systems.

[Green Mountain Dem]

2. Fuck em......

We don't need no steeenkin F-16's in our Green Mtns...we could turn the base into a great park!!