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US Protesters Seek New Anti-War Movement
Demonstration follows President Obama's Nobel speech
Hundreds of protesters have gathered near the White House over the weekend to try and start a new anti-war movement. Saturday's demonstration closely follows President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize speech, in which he said war is sometimes needed to establish lasting peace. Demonstrators in Washington opposed this view, as well as the president's request for 30,000 more U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, speaks at anti-war rally in front of the White House in Washington, on Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
"Make it personal, make it personal, because killing is personal. It's immoral. It's personal," chanted protesters.
Former Democratic Alaska Senator and 2008 presidential candidate Mike
Gravel led protesters in anti-war chants, while calling for a mass
movement to help end U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The gathering, full of peace signs, anti-war posters, and one mock
Guantanamo detainee, began under sunny,but cold skies with music from
the hip-hop band Head-Roc.
The headline speaker at the event was current U.S. Democratic Representative from Ohio Dennis Kucinich.
"We must rally, protest, march to exercise our civic capacity to bring
about real change. Congress must take responsibility. I will soon
introduce two bills invoking the War Powers Act, which will force votes
on withdrawal from Afghanistan. The decision to go to war is not the
president's alone to make" stated Kucinich.
But Kucinich acknowledged Congress has other plans in mind. He went on
to say, "this coming week, Congress will fold unemployment compensation
into a bill which will provide $ 130 billion dollars to keep the wars
in Afghanistan and Iraq going. The message is clear: 'we have money for
war, but not for jobs; money for war, but not for peace.'"
Many at the rally said they had voted for President Obama in the 2008
election, including Bill Steyert who took a morning train from New York
City.
Steyert said, "I would go after al-Qaida if and where we know they are
and get them. But having thousands of troops shooting up villages,
breaking in doors, looking for needles in haystacks, many times, it's
ridiculous. And I am just furious because I am a Vietnam veteran and I
saw the terrible waste of lives there. You can go to the (Vietnam
Veterans War Memorial) Wall here in D.C. and see what that got us, and
for what: an independent, communist Vietnam who now we trade with."
One unemployed woman, Wendy Fournier, said the protest was just a start.
"I think that there is such a thing as critical mass, the more
protests, the more people out, the more people have to be aware of what
is going on, the more people are conscious, that right there throws
weight in our favor. Consciousness is the beginning of the whole
thing," she stated.
Speaker after speaker called for a safe return of all troops, the end
of drone strikes and torture and secret detentions, while police looked
on and singers like Jordan Page provided musical interludes.
- Posted in
15 Comments so far
Show AllWhen will Kucinich leave the party? That would at least get some attention.
It's a bit hard to take him seriously when he was encouraging people to vote for Obama less than 13 months ago knowing full well this would happen, knowing he'll run as a Dem next year and figuring that he'll be backing Obama again in 2012.
"Fool me twelve times, shame on me."
quizmasterchris writes "Fool me twelve times, shame on me."
Only Charlie Brown with his football, and democratic party loyalists who say they want peace but support Obama can be fooled that many times.
- The decision to go to war is not the president's alone to make" stated Kucinich. -
Congress on 9/18/01 declared war against enemies to be named later. Here's what Prof. Paulsen says:
The Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF) of September 18, 2001 is the broadest declaration of war in our nation's history, lawfully delegating to the President sweeping authority to use force against a wide array of enemies.
(papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1488964)
The vote for this monstrosity of a law was 420-1, and Barbara Lee was the 1.
When, Mr. Kucinich, will you end the silence and bring this law that dooms us until the light of day? Or will you go on ignoring your responsibility, even as you preach to Mr. Obama?
America - the end where football plays are reviewed but not declarations of war or anything important.
Good point - where was the loyal Dems' hero Dennis that day?!
September 18, 2001
Only a week after the 9/11 event and without any formal investigation into the event. Afghanistan was a set-up as was 9/11.
The goal was to "Get Bin Laden dead or alive", then it was to remove the Taliban, then it was to establish democracy, now it's to stabilize the region with a surge.
None of the goals in Afghanistan has been accomplished.
In Iraq the goal was to disarm Saddam, then to remove him from office, then to establish democracy, then to stabilize the region with a surge.
None of the goals in Iraq has been accomplished. (Unless you want to count lynching a man as "Removing him from office")
Now we're threatening Iran.
The goal is to get them to disarm their nuclear weapons facilities.
How can this keep going on?
I think you missed something. What 'they' wanted to accomplish was just accomplished the other day. Didn't you read about the major Iraqi oil field rights being auctioned off?
And this is by a country that is being occupied by the US without a legitimate government or a voice of the people. The fact that they the Iraqi government cannot even provide dependable electricity, yet has the 'ability' to sell off the country's most valuable asset is a crime against humanity.
Bringing peace and liberty to the middle east was never a consideration by the power that be, only lip service to the masses so that they can again sit back and watch TV as another country and its people are destroyed by our corporate military forces.
so many typos - (sigh)
My apologies to all.
- calling for a mass movement to help end U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. -
Once again the situation is mis-explained by a politician (Gavel, this time). No wonder that Progressives can't get anywhere. They continue being led in the wrong directions. Is that deliberate?
The war against Iraq (authorized by Public Law 107-243 as well as 107-40) ended long ago (and wasn't necessary or legitimate). Troops are staying there now by agreement with the legitimate Iraqi government.
They also stay for 'counter-terrorism' against 'al-Qaeda in Iraq', which is part and parcel of the global DAFT war enshrined in Public Law 107-40 (AUMF).
There is only 1 war. I suggest that Progressives try to end it and not the figments of politicians' imaginations.
-----
- US Protesters Seek New Anti-War Movement -
I again suggest that the correct strategy is to UNITE and COMBINE all Progressive movements against the law that will end us if we don't end it.
One target. One law.
"establish lasting peace" (Mr. Obama)
Every country deals with future terrorism but only America declared war against it.
If you want peace, we must end the only war that matters.
What legitimate Iraqi government?
Drink the Bush coup-Laida; go after al Qaida. They're just across the "Big Muddy" at al-CIAduh HQ in Langley, VA!
- US Protesters Seek New Anti-War Movement -
Here's a new tactic. Let's throw the red flag out onto the field. We want a review of the DAFT law (P.L. 107-40).
Why is it that America reviews football plays but not declarations of war?
Though I share Locust's desire to repeal the AUMF, especially because it is an unconstitutional unitary executive step toward fascism, the AUMF is merely another symptom of the real war being waged by the corporatist-militarist state against the rest of us, both here and elsewhere (such as in the U.K. where hundreds of thousands of surveillance cameras now openly observe everyone).
Corporate power, especially of weapons-making corporations, is inherently anti-democratic, and is at the root of all our wars, climate chaos and destruction of our environment, manufacturing consent via mainscream media, immiseration and oppression of people here and abroad, and destruction of our constitutional as well as our human rights. The President, most of Congress and the Supreme Court, as well as so many state and local legislators, are nothing more than corporate tools due to our corrupt campaign bribery system, which is about to be made even worse (more pro-corporate and anti-democracy) when the corporate-friendly Supreme Court soon rules in corporations' favor in the Citizens United case, throwing out all remaining limits on corporate electioneering activities.
Once corporations were mistakenly deemed "persons" via the 1886 Santa Clara County vs. Southern Pacific Railroad Supreme Court notes, the eventual end of democracy here was set in motion.
A true populist movement must, therefore, be both anti-corporate and pro-democracy as well as anti-war and pro-environment, with justice and equality, economic as well as social, as its basis. Corporate capitalism has degenerated so destructively far from Adam Smith's vision that it is now the main threat to our existence, being the main reason for our oppressive global militarist foreign and domestic policies.
NEW! Oh NEW! Such a damn giveaway---like a new product we need to buy into.
This begs the question tho---what happened to the anti-war movement that was very much around in 2007-8?? Anti-war uprisings in this country can NEVER END. This whole idea that they do end is what makes them end. In other words, they are too much of a little wave or a fad, demanding too little of commitment, knowledge--and group cohesion.
So, line up the celebs, musicians, liberal pols posters, and marches for this is a BRAND NEW phenom that you gotta get in on before it is passe.
Where is the news coverage of this rally?
There was no mainstream news coverage of this event; however DC Indymedia covered it at http://dc.indymedia.org/newswire/display/148309/index.php and http://dc.indymedia.org/newswire/display/148306/index.php WITH AUDIO AND PICTURES