Sign up you traitors!
NEW YORK — Anti-war demonstrators plan to dramatically ramp up their protest tactics when the shooting begins in Iraq, with a range of action that runs from the humorous to the dangerously illegal.
Protesters say they will block federal buildings, military compounds and streets in what they consider appropriate acts of civil disobedience. Others plan to walk out of college classes, picket city halls and state capitols.
"People will step up their actions, there will be active civil disobedience," said Simona Sharoni, of United for Peace in Thurston County, Wash.
Organizers claim acts of civil disobedience have been planned in more than 50 cities.
"When you get to the point that the war actually begins, that's a point when many ... feel they have to take the strongest action they can personally take," said Gordon Clark, national coordinator of the Iraq Pledge of Resistance.
But some groups plan more dangerous and illegal action.
Anti-war activists in the San Francisco area have drawn up list of protest areas that includes 70 economic and other targets in that city alone, including power plants, water systems, the Federal Reserve, oil companies, the Pacific Exchange and the Transamerica Building.
"The bare bones of the plan is to basically shut down the financial district of San Francisco … we basically unplug the system that creates war," said organizer Patrick Reinsborough.
Elsewhere, protesters plan to block traffic at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colo., and sit at the gates of Truax Field in Madison, Wis., which houses state guardsmen.
Others will train to breach security at Camp Vandenberg Air Force Base north of Santa Barbara, Calif., and vandalize some of its equipment, according to reports. Protest leaders describe the military base as "the electronic nerve center" for some military operations.
Base authorities said they would use deadly force if necessary to keep the base secure. |
