WINDHAM – Close to a dozen peace activists gathered at the Windham Public Library on Tuesday night for a community meeting to discuss the war in Afghanistan, more specifically, how much taxpayers have spent on the war.

“There’s so much money being spent on this war,” said panelist Clarence Smith. “And we are our own enemy.”

The gathering was hosted by the Bring our War $ Home Coalition and was sponsored by the Windham Democratic Party. The event included four panelists each of whom is a peace activist in their community. Panelists included Clarence Smith, a member of Veteran’s For Peace; Heather May, a local activist; Mallory Shaughnessy, former Cumberland County commissioner; and Bruce Gagnon, secretary of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space. The purpose of the event was to inform the public how much money is being spent and how that spending affects local communities.

“It is what I call the trickle down, crowding out effect,” said Shaughnessy, of Windham. “When there is no federal money to give it becomes the state’s responsibility. When there is not enough money at the state level, it goes to the local community. We are all being hit by this.”

Shaughnessy went on to explain that the federal government mandates the spending requirements for social programs such as child and senior health care, fuel assistance and education but because of the money being spent on the war the funding for the mandates is cut leaving the local government to pay.

“Programs have to take money from one area to pay for the mandates in other programs,” said Shaughnessy. “Those programs are now disappearing.”

To put the spending in perspective, Gagnon said the $3.4 billion Mainers spent since 2001 on both the Iraq and Afghan wars, a number he pulled from costofwar.com, could have been used to pay for 352,446 scholarships for university students, one year’s salary for 60,997 elementary school teachers, or a year’s salary for 84,499 firefighters.

“One year worth of war could solve the fiscal crisis in our country,” said Gagnon. “My belief is there will be no economic recovery in America as long as we are spending money on these wars. That money goes down a rat hole.”

Event organizer and Bring Our War $ Home co-founder Sally Breen also pointed out that the group’s objective was to stop war altogether.

“We are trying to stop the war by stopping the funding of the war,” said Breen. “That is our long-term goal. Well, actually, I hope it is our shortterm goal.”

The panelists, as well as those in attendance, urged the community to talk to their town councilors, state representatives and friends to get the message across if the issue is something they feel passionate about.

“Talk about this with your neighbors,” said Smith. “No matter what your party. This needs to be a bipartisan effort.”

For more information on the group and its goals, visit www.bringourwardollarshome.org.