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Iraq Pullout A non-binding question asks the United States to stop the war and bring the troops home in: Hingham, Hull, Cohasset, Scituate precinct 3, Bridgewater, Easton precinct 6 and Raynham Voters want end to Iraq war The residents of several communities on the South Shore say it’s time to bring the troops home from Iraq. By a margin of 54 percent to 46 percent, voters in the 3rd and 8th Plymouth districts passed a question that asked whether the state’s congressional delegation should be instructed to vote for a resolution calling upon the president and Congress to end the war in Iraq immediately and bring all military forces home. The two districts consist of Hingham, Hull, Cohasset, Precinct 3 in Scituate, Bridgewater, Raynham and Precinct 6 in Easton. “I think the troops should be out of Iraq by now,” Hingham resident Joseph Troccoli said. “I think enough people have been killed over there.” Military Families Speak Out, the American Friends Service Committee, United for Justice with Peace and Veterans for Peace organized petitions to get the non-binding, “sense-of-the-voters question on the ballot in 36 legislative districts in Massachusetts. Voters both for and against the war in Iraq wondered whether it was a realistic question to ask. One woman who wanted the war to end did not agree with the part of the question that called for troops to be brought home immediately, saying while she wanted the troops home, she wanted it to happen in a manner that would make the most sense. Hingham resident John Tuell voted yes on the question, as he has been against the war for some time. “This question is letting people know we’re not happy with the situation. It’s a little way to get our point across,” Tuell said. Denise Aucoin voted yes on the question because she wants her cousin Richard St. Laurent to come home. St. Laurent, a Hingham police officer, is serving overseas. “I wish this question were more binding,” Aucoin said. “There are too many people dying over there.” Paul Shannon of the peace and economic security program of the American Friends Service Committee, was happy with the local results, which seemed consistent with the voting in Wisconsin and Illinois, the other two states where the question was on the ballot. “Things are going very well,” Shannon said. “The vast majority of towns seem to be voting yes. This indicates to us that there is something going on in the grass roots and in people’s hearts and souls that this war is a disaster and things need to change fundamentally. “This referendum is strongly worded and shows people want the troops home now and to put an end to this horrendous war. As far as we’re concerned, people are starting to see through this war and the lies the government has told them.” Kristen Walsh may be reached at kwalsh@ledger.com.
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