Christine Quinn puts pressure on Mayor Bloomberg to allow Iraq Veterans Parade

Pentagon says no to parade but Speaker presses on

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New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn

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New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is pressing ahead with a plan for the city to host a parade of Iraq War veterans.

Appearing on the  Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC this week, Quinn acknowledged that the plan did not receive unanimous support.

'The way we say we are grateful or we are thrilled or we are happy in New York is with a parade in the Canyon of Heroes,' Quinn told Maddow, in an interview that quoted by Policicker.com.

"If there are other ways the veterans think we should do it I am open to hearing that, but I want is to make sure this moment does not pass us by because if we wait too long it will pass us by and then the thanks will seem, late and belated like the birthday card from your aunt who forgot. It just doesn’t mean as much".

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To date Mayor Michael Bloomberg has resisted the march, claiming he had received word from the Pentagon that the city shouldn’t do it. Maddow asked Quinn if she wanted to take an opportunity to criticize Bloomberg over the matter but she demurred.

"I feel badly for the mayor in the sense that he checked with the Pentagon and said to the Department of Defense can we do this? And what Mayor Bloomberg’s office heard back from them was no we don’t want cities to do that. That position on the part of the Pentagon or DOD puts mayors in a tough spot, because do you disregard what the federal government has said to you?  So I really think what needs to happen is the Pentagon needs to change their positions and make it ok for cities if they want to do this to do this."

According to Quinn tell it, if the Pentagon gave their approval, a parade would almost certain happen in New York immediately.

'Really really, I believe very strongly if Mayor Bloomberg got a green light we would have a parade as quickly as we had this one,' she said, referring to the recent parade in St. Louis, which went ahead despite the Pentagon's preference.

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