PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

Art of War : Washington, September 24
by Larmee Friday, Sep. 23, 2005 at 1:42 AM

Washington DC, September 24

anti-war_larmee_protest.jpg, image/jpeg, 734x713

Washington DC, September 24

Area Opponents of Iraq War
by The Express Times Friday, Sep. 23, 2005 at 7:22 PM

Area opponents of Iraq war hoping to change hearts in Washington
Friday, September 23, 2005
By BILL CAHIR
The Express-Times
Busloads of local residents are preparing for a bus trip to Washington, D.C., for Saturday's anti-war demonstration.

Anticipating 100,000 or more like-minded demonstrators, they hope to convince members of Congress to reassess the war in Iraq and withdraw troops as soon as possible. The program will feature an anti-war march Saturday, a concert and interfaith prayer service Sunday and lobbying visits Monday to Capitol Hill.

The turnout, activists hope, will force members of Congress to take a fresh look at eroding political support for Bush and for the U.S. strategy in Iraq.

"For myself, on a personal level, I've come to the point where I have to do this (march for peace) to live with myself," said Mike Laughton, a part-time staff member of the Lehigh-Pocono Committee of Concern, or LEPOCO, which is sending three busloads of local anti-war demonstrators to the capital.

A veteran who served in the Navy from 1962 through 1965, Laughton explained that, even if he doesn't change any lawmakers' minds, he wants to protest the Iraq war and say, "Not in my name."

Bill Dobbs, spokesman for United for Peace and Justice, an umbrella organization in New York City representing 70 anti-war groups, said several developments over the summer energized the anti-war movement.

Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq, conducted a widely covered anti-war protest at President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas. Having taken a bus tour to oppose the Iraq war, Sheehan plans to appear at Sunday's concert, dubbed "Operation Ceasefire."

"I want to see Cindy Sheehan," said Erik Anderson of Hackettstown, one of the demonstrators planning to come to Washington, D.C., with the Northwest New Jersey Peace Fellowship. "She has really inspired me. She just wants George Bush to answer the question: What is the noble cause my son died for?"

"I want to express myself, and I want to be with a large group of people that feels the same way," Anderson added.

The anti-war movement, which displayed considerable strength before the U.S. invasion of March 2003, claims it is gathering momentum.

Public opinion polls show eroding domestic support for the war and its costs despite most legislators' support.

U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Lehigh Valley, recently visited some of the safer parts of Iraq and pronounced himself satisfied with troop morale and some of the progress made by U.S. forces.

And, speaking at the Pentagon on Thursday, President Bush said he would not heed the anti-war demonstrators.

"The battle lines are drawn, and there is no middle ground: either we defeat the terrorists and help the Iraqis build a working democracy, or the terrorists will impose their dark ideology on the Iraqi people and make that country a source of terror and instability to come for decades," Bush said.

Despite the uphill fight they face politically, anti-war activists say they are not discouraged.

Nancy Tate, a part-time staff member making bus arrangements for members of LEPOCO, says peace activists consider the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq to be part of the problem. The U.S. occupation inspires terrorist attacks and does not secure Iraq, she said, countering the argument that U.S. personnel should not cut and run.

"War to set up an empire in the Middle East is just insane, as far as I'm concerned," Tate said.

Thomas (Reggie) Regrut of Phillipsburg, another member of LEPOCO, will miss Saturday's demonstration to work. He said neutral observers originally inclined to support Bush and the nation-building program in Iraq are no longer sitting on the fence.

Four years after the Sept. 11 attacks, more than two years after the Iraq occupation began and a few short weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf coast, Regrut said, "We're at a point where they're not only questioning it. They're opposed." Bill Cahir is Washington correspondent for The Express-Times. He can be reached at 202-383-7848 or by e-mail at bill.cahir@newhouse.com.



© 2005 The Express Times
© 2005 PennLive.com All Rights Reserved.

taser them all
by hum Monday, Sep. 26, 2005 at 4:43 PM

I hope the police in DC pull out the tasers like they did to those diry hippy in pittsburgh.

150,000-500,000 vs Less than 400
by kl Monday, Sep. 26, 2005 at 9:55 PM

Well, the numbers are in...two events, both well publicized and organized....one an Anti Bush, Anti War demonstration, the other, a Pro Bush, Pro War demonstration.

Saturday's Anti Bush, Anti War demonstration: 150,000 (DC Police) to 500,000 Americans.(C-Span)

Sunday's Pro Bush, Pro War demonstration: less than 400 Americans.(AP)

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Praise, Anger at Pro-War Rally in D.C.
By ELISABETH GOODRIDGE, Associated Press Writer

Sunday, September 25, 2005


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(09-25) 13:40 PDT WASHINGTON, (AP) --


Support for U.S. troops fighting abroad mixed with anger toward anti-war demonstrators at home as hundreds of people, far fewer than organizers had expected, rallied Sunday on the National Mall just a day after a massive protest against the war in Iraq.


"No matter what your ideals are, our sons and daughters are fighting for our freedom," said Marilyn Faatz, who drove from New Jersey to attend the rally. "We are making a mockery out of this. And we need to stand united, but we are not."


About 400 people gathered near a stage on an eastern segment of the mall, a large patchwork American flag serving as a backdrop. Amid banners and signs proclaiming support for U.S. troops, several speakers hailed the effort to bring democracy to Iraq and Afghanistan and denounced those who protest it.


Many demonstrators focused their ire at Cindy Sheehan, the California woman whose protest near President Bush's Texas home last summer galvanized the anti-war movement. Sheehan was among the speakers at Saturday's rally near the Washington Monument on the western part of the mall, an event that attracted an estimated 100,000 people.


"The group who spoke here the other day did not represent the American ideals of freedom, liberty and spreading that around the world," Sen. Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican, told the crowd. "I frankly don't know what they represent, other than to blame America first."


One sign on the mall read "Cindy Sheehan doesn't speak for me" and another "Arrest the traitors"; it listed Sheehan's name first among several people who have spoken against the war.


Melody Vigna, 44, of Linden, Calif., said she wants nothing to do with Sheehan and others at nearby Camp Casey, an anti-war site set up to honor her son, Casey, who was killed in Iraq.


"Our troops are over there fighting for our rights, and if she was in one of those countries she would not be able to do that," Vigna said.


The husband of Sherri Francescon, 24, of Camp Lejeune, N.C., serves in the Marine Corps in Iraq. One of the many military wives who spoke during the rally, Francescon said that the anti-war demonstration had left her frustrated.


"I know how much my husband does and how hard he works, and I feel like they don't even recognize that and give him the respect he deserves," Francescon said. "I want him to know and I want his unit to know that America is behind them, Cindy doesn't speak for us, and that we believe in what they are doing."


Organizers of Sunday's demonstration acknowledged that their rally would be much smaller than the anti-war protest but had hoped that as many as 20,000 people would turn out.


On Saturday, demonstrators opposed to the war in Iraq surged past the White House in the largest anti-war protest in the nation's capital since the U.S. invasion. The rally stretched through the night, a marathon of music, speechmaking and dissent on the mall.


National polls have found steadily declining support for the war in Iraq, with a majority of Americans now believing the war was a mistake.


In an AP-Ipsos poll this month, only 37 percent approved or leaned toward approval of how Bush has handled the situation in Iraq; strong disapproval outweighed strong approval by 2-1, 46 percent to 22 percent.


___

"taking us for fools"
by me Tuesday, Sep. 27, 2005 at 12:45 PM

And we should believe you because?

Believe no one.
by think for yourself Tuesday, Sep. 27, 2005 at 1:21 PM

Do your own research. Draw your own conclusions.

the art of sniffing my fingers
by Jesse Jackson's butt rubber Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2005 at 1:27 AM

unjust war
by hoe Sunday, Nov. 06, 2005 at 1:59 AM

The final conflict(war) is to pick up the gun to end the war machine and its manufactury forever. Then the workers can truly free the world. Workers of the world, unite.

that's funny
by Authentic Mental Cripple™ Sunday, Nov. 06, 2005 at 8:52 PM

Linking to other indys suit you until you're caught lying. So why should we believe those 3 places? Why should we even believe that spam, NAMBLA boy?

Believe nothing. Find out the truth for yourselves.
by sound advice Monday, Nov. 07, 2005 at 2:16 PM

Do your own research. Draw your own conclusions.

it's already been decided
by mental cripple DeLuxe Monday, Nov. 07, 2005 at 2:21 PM

The decision has already been made, brainiac, if you'd only scroll up this very page: http://pittsburgh.indymedia.org/news/2005/09/20690_comment.php#20847

prove it
by prove it Monday, Nov. 07, 2005 at 10:57 PM

You will highlight in bold what you claim are not your words, otherwise you can kiss my ass, NAMBLA boy.

"a NAMBLA freak"
by it's becoming a popular form of attack Sunday, Nov. 13, 2005 at 11:57 AM

http://villagevoice.com/news/0546,zeliger,69964,2.html

(snip)

Tuesday's school board election in Dover, Pennsylvania, a quiet rural community near the Maryland border where churches seem to outnumber streetlights, was a fitting climax to a year of bitter division there. In a contest with national implications, Dover voters tossed an entire slate of Intelligent Design supporters, replacing them with backers of evolution.

The eight incumbents, calling themselves “Dover First,” were defendants in a lawsuit over a board decision last year to include a statement on Intelligent Design-a theory of creation favored by Christians-in all classes dealing with evolution.

Their eight challengers--running under the name “Dover CARES,” short for Citizens Actively Reviewing Educational Strategies-will now be free to ditch that policy.

At times, the campaign grew downright nasty. A mailing sent out to many Dover residents accused the CARES challengers of partnering with the ACLU-which, the flyer said, defends the North American Man/Boy Love Association's "right to put out information on how adults can lure young children into having sex with them."

(snip)

"I'm the one who will slap you around"
by what a wimp Thursday, Nov. 24, 2005 at 10:55 PM

Sure, right, from the other side of the country, which is as close as he has the spine to get.

stop your whining, crybaby
by crybaby stomper Friday, Nov. 25, 2005 at 4:27 PM

Since only NAMBLA advocates and NeoNazis are allowed to post on your sewer, I'll slap you around right here, because you, the child molesting cockroach, have no control.

That really eats at you, doesn't it, freak? Control freaks usually go out of control when out of their element.

Keep looking over your shoulder, NAMBLA boy.

unjust war
by tom Sunday, Nov. 27, 2005 at 6:00 AM

War itself is the enemy, and the war to end all wars has happened. There is no other way to really end war than to dismantle the war machine and its manufactury. Peace really does equal disarmament.