Demonstrators Mark 5 Years of War With Protests Across District

[Breeze54]

Demonstrators Mark 5 Years of War With Protests Across District

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/18/AR2008031801701.html?hpid=topnews


WASHINGTON - MARCH 18: Anti-war activists from the group Code Pink
and affiliated organizations protest outside the U.S. Capitol March 18,
2008 in Washington, DC. The protest highlighted an "Action Day to Take
Back the Constitution", one day before the fifth anniversary of the start
of the war in Iraq. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

By Petula Dvorak
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 19, 2008; Page A03

Scores of demonstrators opened two days of war protests yesterday with a raucous morning march along Constitution Avenue and a piece of silent street theater during the evening rush hour inside Union Station.

A full day of rallies, marches, blockades and demonstrations is planned today for downtown Washington to mark the fifth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq.

Activists plan to blockade the headquarters of the Internal Revenue Service, at 12th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, as well as offices of various corporations in the vicinity of K Street between 13th and 18th streets NW. Antiwar veterans plan a 9 a.m. march on the Mall from the National Museum of the American Indian to the Capitol.

Other events are planned at the Department of Veterans Affairs, McPherson Square, Lafayette Square, the American Petroleum Institute and the Democratic National Committee. A "March of the Dead" from Arlington National Cemetery into the District is set for 9:30 a.m. Other demonstrators will target The Washington Post and other news outlets. :woohoo:

Permits filed with the National Park Service by United for Peace and Justice, the umbrella group organizing the protests, estimate that crowds at the midweek demonstration will likely be in the hundreds rather than the thousands.

Yesterday's events began with a march by about 60 members of the antiwar group Code Pink, who held aloft a living room-size copy of the preamble to the Constitution, beat drums and carried peace signs. They marched along Constitution Avenue from the National Archives to the Justice Department and to the IRS, occasionally disrupting traffic.

About 30 police officers on bicycles and motorcycles and in cars followed them. No arrests were made.

"You're blocking traffic!" a police officer yelled at the protesters as they veered off the sidewalk and into the street.

"We're well aware of that!" one protester yelled back.

At 5:25 p.m., at least 100 people froze in place at the bustling Union Station: A couple kissing, a woman bending over to tie her shoe, several people pointing to maps, a couple sitting at the bar with drinks held halfway to their mouths. All stopped in mid-motion and did not move for 10 minutes in a show of support for the antiwar movement.

Passersby towing suitcases weaved their way through the tableau, dubbed "Frozen Union Station." Dozens of police officers stood by; again, no arrests were made.

"This is the strangest thing," said Michele McKnelly, a librarian from River Falls, Wis., initially unsure why everyone around her had suddenly stopped. "Then I looked around and saw some of them wearing 'End the War' T-shirts."

At 5:35 p.m., the protesters started moving and chanted "End the war" for 10 minutes, then left.

"It was a very, very positive event," said protester Deanna Gorzynski, 52, of New Milford, N.J., who is with a group called the World Can't Wait. "Even those people who don't agree with us stopped to think."

This Story

* Demonstrators Mark 5 Years of War With Protests Across District
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/18/AR2008031801701.html?hpid=topnews

* Special Report: Faces of the Fallen
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/fallen/

* Protest Vignettes - Iraq: Five Years In (Comments from parents of/and soldiers about the war)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/specials/iraq/iraq_voices_031908.html?sid=ST2008031803157

[midnight]

1. Bring them Home!!!!

[Breeze54]

2. Hell yeah!!!!!!

Stop the war!!!!!

[Breeze54]

3. President Bush: Iraq War Must Go On

President Bush: Iraq War Must Go On :crazy: :grr:

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1723673,00.html?xid=feed-rss-netzero

Wednesday, Mar. 19, 2008 By AP/JENNIFER LOVEN

(WASHINGTON) —

Five years after launching the U.S. invasion of Iraq, President Bush is making some of his most expansive claims of success in the fighting there. Bush said last year's troop buildup has turned Iraq around and produced "the first large-scale Arab uprising against Osama bin Laden."

Massive anti-war demonstrations were planned in downtown Washington to mark Wednesday's anniversary of the war, which has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 U.S. troops. Across the river at the Pentagon, Bush was to give a speech to warn that backsliding in recent progress fueled by the increase of 30,000 troops he ordered more than a year ago cannot be allowed.

"The challenge in the period ahead is to consolidate the gains we have made and seal the extremists' defeat," he said in excerpts the White House released Tuesday night. "We have learned through hard experience what happens when we pull our forces back too fast — the terrorists and extremists step in, fill the vacuum, establish safe havens and use them to spread chaos and carnage."

Bush added: "The successes we are seeing in Iraq are undeniable, yet some in Washington still call for retreat."

Democrats took a different view.

"On this grim milestone, it is worth remembering how we got into this situation, and thinking about how best we can get out," said Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich. "The tasks that remain in Iraq — to bring an end to sectarian conflict, to devise a way to share political power and to create a functioning government that is capable of providing for the needs of the Iraqi people — are tasks that only the Iraqis can complete."

The president's address sought to shift the nation's focus from economic ills to the security gains in Iraq, part of a series of events the White House planned around the anniversary and an upcoming report from the top U.S. figures in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker.

Snip-->

Iraq no longer dominates the public debate and tops voters' concerns. With the economy taking a tumble, things improving by some measures in Iraq and much attention riveted on the 2008 presidential race, Iraq has faded from the front burner.

It is widely believed that Bush will in April endorse a recommendation from Petraeus for no additional troop reductions, beyond those already scheduled, until at least September. This so-called pause in drawdowns would be designed to assess the impact of this round of withdrawals before allowing more that could jeopardize the gains.

more.....

Bush is "planning events" for this anniversary? :wtf:

:grr: