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[The Bobster]

Americans in large numbers are coming around to what some of the rest of us have known for a while ...

Antiwar Fervor Fills the Streets

Demonstration Is Largest in Capital Since U.S. Military Invaded Iraq

By Petula Dvorak, Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, September 25, 2005

The demonstration drew grandmothers in wheelchairs and babies in strollers, military veterans in fatigues and protest veterans in tie-dye. It was the first time in a decade that protest groups had a permit to march in front of the executive mansion, and, even though President Bush was not there, the setting seemed to electrify the crowd.

Signs, T-shirts, slogans and speeches outlined the cost of the Iraq conflict in human as well as economic terms. They memorialized dead U.S. troops and Iraqis, and contrasted the price of war with the price of recovery for areas battered by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Riffs on Vietnam-era protests were plentiful, with messages declaring, "Make Levees, Not War," "I never thought I'd miss Nixon" and "Iraq is Arabic for Vietnam." Many in the crowd had protested in the 1960s; others weren't even born during those tumultuous years.

Protest organizers estimated that 300,000 people participated, triple their original target. D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey, who walked the march route, said the protesters achieved the goal of 100,000 and probably exceeded it. Asked whether at least 150,000 showed up, the chief said, "That's as good a guess as any.


Antiwar Rallies in Washington and Other Cities

By MICHAEL JANOFSKY, New York Times
published: September 25, 2005

Speakers at the rally included a newcomer to the modern antiwar movement, Cindy Sheehan, the California mother whose son was killed last year fighting in Iraq. Ms. Sheehan has become the face of the movement because of her efforts over the summer, camping near Mr. Bush's ranch in Crawford, Tex. Her appearance and brief remarks drew a thunderous response.

"I really haven't had a chance to digest all this," she said in an interview after her speech, referring to the attention she has received. "I hope I'm a catalyst for change, but I don't want to be the focus of change."

But the crowd also heard from old lions of the antiwar movement, like the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the actress Jessica Lange, Ralph Nader and former Attorney General Ramsey Clark, who has endorsed impeaching Mr. Bush.

Mr. Jackson reminded the crowd that the war proceeded without proof that Iraq had unconventional weapons or a connection to Al Qaeda, saying, "We deserve another way and better leadership."

[Joo Rip Gwa Rhhee]

[Wangja]

[bucheon bum]

Joo brings up a non-issue yet again.

Point of story: more and more Americans are not supporting the war.

[Wangja]

Yes.

Put another way perhaps, the 65% who did not vote for Bush are seeking a re-count.

[The Bobster]

[Bulsajo]

Sheehan Arrested During Anti-War Protest

By JENNIFER C. KERR Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON Sep 26, 2005 � Cindy Sheehan, the California woman who has used her son's death in Iraq to spur the anti-war movement, was arrested Monday while protesting outside the White House.

Sheehan and several dozen other protesters sat down on the sidewalk after marching along the pedestrian walkway on Pennsylvania Avenue. Police warned them three times that they were breaking the law by failing to move along, then began making arrests.

Sheehan was the first taken into custody. She stood up and was led to a police vehicle while protesters chanted, "The whole world is watching."

[mithridates]

There! Finally found a picture from overhead.

[The Bobster]

[igotthisguitar]

Reuters says U.S. troops obstruct reporting of Iraq

Reuters/Barry Moody | September 29 2005

The conduct of U.S. troops in Iraq, including increasing detention and accidental shootings of journalists, is preventing full coverage of the war reaching the American public, Reuters said on Wednesday.

In a letter to Virginia Republican Sen. John Warner, head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Reuters said U.S. forces were limiting the ability of independent journalists to operate. The letter from Reuters Global Managing Editor David Schlesinger called on Warner to raise widespread media concerns about the conduct of U.S. troops with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who is due to testify to the committee on Thursday.

Schlesinger referred to "a long parade of disturbing incidents whereby professional journalists have been killed, wrongfully detained, and/or illegally abused by U.S. forces in Iraq."

He urged Warner to demand that Rumsfeld resolve these issues "in a way that best balances the legitimate security interests of the U.S. forces in Iraq and the equally legitimate rights of journalists in conflict zones under international law".

At least 66 journalists and media workers, most of them Iraqis, have been killed in the Iraq conflict since March 2003.

U.S. forces acknowledge killing three Reuters journalists, most recently soundman Waleed Khaled who was shot by American soldiers on Aug. 28 while on assignment in Baghdad. But the military say the soldiers were justified in opening fire.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L28327739.htm

[The Bobster]

From a recent interview with Cindy Sheehan at the demonstration in Washington :

[Bulsajo]

From Ted Leo's blog:

[Yu_Bum_suk]

With the other Abu Ghraib photos now likely to be released there could be some serious momentum here.

The funny thing is, I really don't care anymore. Iraq will be a mess regardless of whether the US and UK are in there. If the US leaves, it will be a great lesson learnt that will have an effect for decades, like Vietnam. If the US stays en masse like they are now, most of their manoeuvre brigades are preparing to go to, in, or recovering from, Iraq, rendering it much less powerful. If it stays in Iraq on a few bases, it risks being ordered out or humiliated.

I was living in America in 2003 and I vigourously protested the war, in part because there are actually things I like about the US and would like to preserve. On the whole, it felt like persuading a brick wall. Now, it's interesting to see a majority oppose it. I just can't help but wondering what the hell they were all thinking back then.

[TheUrbanMyth]

[TheUrbanMyth]

Let's not blow this out of proportion. What we have here is 300,000 (at best) anti-war demostraters. That is a very tiny proportion of Americans. I don't understand the people who are saying this is the beginning of something.