More than 20 activists for peace successfully lobbied the Santa Barbara City Council on Dec. 18 to pass a resolution calling for politicans in the nation’s Capitol to end the occupation of Iraq, bring U.S. soldiers home and care for them when they return. Speaker after speaker observed that, among other things:• Millions of dollars should have come to Santa Barbara for federal projects such as harbor dredging; instead the money has been spent on wars overseas.• More that 70 American cities have already passed similar resolutions, strengthening each other when cities, mayors, states and governors lobby Washington together for action.• The unwillingness and unresponsiveness of politicians in both political parties to end the brutal and unpopular war means democracy must come down to the local, nonpartisan level, such as the City Council, for the will of the people to be heard.• The California National Guard and Coast Guard are down in strength, because too many of their brave members have been sent overseas; they would therefore be unable to assist Americans in case of natural disasters such as an earthquake, tsunami, mudslide, flood or wildfire.• Service members and their families are suffering through separation, combat injuries, mental trauma and suicide, with inadequate resources available to help them when they finally return home.During more than an hour of public comments and statements from the mayor and council members, nobody spoke in opposition to the motion, so it passed unanimously to cheers and applause.Andrew HankinSanta Barbara