the CITIES ARE SPEAKING OUT!
Los Angeles Times
Washington Protest Calls for Return of U.S. Troops in Iraq
On short notice, about 500 demonstrators rally across from the White House, saying rising hostilities signal a
failure of the occupation.
By Jon Marino
Times Staff Writer
April 11, 2004
WASHINGTON Demonstrators concerned about events in Iraq marched in the nation's capital Saturday, calling on
President Bush to recall American troops and end the U.S. occupation.
Wearing buttons telling the president "You're fired," and bearing signs asking "Is it Vietnam Yet?" an estimated 500 protesters
called for changes in U.S. foreign policy which they claimed was responsible for recent uprisings in Fallouja and other areas of
Iraq.
Protesters in Washington said the killing and public mutilation of four U.S. private security officers in Fallouja, and escalating
hostilities across Iraq are evidence that U.S. attempts to stabilize the situation there are futile.
"This government is in retreat," said Mara Verheyden-Hilliard of the Act Now to Stop War & End Racism coalition, which
coordinated the effort. "It is time to bring the troops home, to end the global ambitions of conquest."
Other U.S. policies, foreign and domestic, came under fire as demonstrators assembled at Lafayette Park across from the
White House before marching two hours through the District of Columbia's downtown. The procession increased in size as it
lumbered along, and passing motorists honked their horns in an apparent show of support.
"The U.S. and Israeli governments have worked for decades to crush Arab resistance, to steal our land, our resources," said
Hussein Agrama of the Free Palestine Alliance. "Occupation is a crime from Iraq to Palestine. The Iraqi people and Palestinian
people stand together."
The activities in Washington were among demonstrations planned over the weekend in a number of cities, some organized on
as little as a day's notice.
Previous Washington protests against the Iraq war have drawn tens of thousands of protesters. Organizers said participation in
Saturday's event was limited by logistics: It was arranged by a few dozen individuals over a period of three days.
The protests come as the U.S. continues with plans to transfer power to Iraqis on June 30. But protesters said the time to
relinquish power is now, and cited the uprisings in Fallouja as indicators that U.S. troops are neither safe nor welcome.
"The Bush administration is spending $5 million an hour for the war on Iraq," said Brian Becker of the International Action
Center with the Act Now coalition. "We need money for jobs and education, not for war and occupation."
An April survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press found 57% of respondents said the administration's
handling of Iraq lacked clarity in its direction. Still, 50% expressed support for keeping troops in Iraq, while 44% favored
withdrawal.
"It's incredible," said Sarah Sloan, who helped coordinate the rally and march. "People had 2 1/2 days to spread the word
instead a matter of months, and tens of thousands of people from around the world turned out for this."
The event was momentarily disturbed by an Iraqi man, Rahim al Shmaray, who denounced protest leaders, saying U.S.
involvement was necessary to protect the debilitated nation from invasion from neighbors Syria, Turkey and Iran.
"I went back to Iraq last summer; they are very happy," said Al Shmaray, who came to the United States in 1993. "No one can
help us but God and President Bush."
Washington Post
Demonstrators Seek Removal Of U.S.-Led Forces From Iraq
Protesters Oppose Marines Entering City of Fallujah
By Bill Broadway
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 11, 2004; Page A22
. . .[T]hey took to the streets of Northwest Washington chanting: "No justice! No peace! U.S. out of the Middle East!"
The demonstration and march were peaceful. But the rhetoric was strident, recalling the Vietnam War protests of the 1960s on
a much smaller scale.
"The Bush administration is a murderous regime, trying to strip the rights of the Iraqi people," shouted Mara
Verheyden-Hilliard, member of the steering committee for International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism),
which organized the rally in Washington and protests in 50 other U.S. cities. Organizers estimated overall participation at "tens
of thousands."
"We stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Iraq and in other countries," Verheyden-Hilliard told a crowd of people
of varied ages and ethnic backgrounds. "We tell them that we [the American people] are not their enemy, and we will work to
bring this war to an end."
Organizers said they called for the emergency protest Tuesday night after U.S.-led occupation forces surrounded the city of
Fallujah and 2,500 U.S. Marines entered the city in search of insurgents who had killed and mutilated four U.S. contract
workers last week. Medical officials in Fallujah have said that at least 450 Iraqis have been killed there since Tuesday.
Other speakers -- from Muslim Students Association of the U.S. and Canada, the Free Palestine Alliance and Mexico
Solidarity Network -- demanded the impeachment of President Bush for crimes against humanity and accused the United
States of hiring unscrupulous mercenaries to guard Iraq's oil fields. They lashed out at corporations being paid billions of dollars
to do work in Iraq and accused the United States of wanting to control Iraqi oil.
"What they're saying is correct," said T.J. Myers, 28, a bystander who said he recently returned from a year's military service in
Baghdad and left the Army after a seven-year enlistment.
"It's all about money," said Myers, who lives in Fort Benning, Ga., and was in Washington on vacation. "It's my first time in
D.C., and I have never seen so many homeless people in my life and right near the White House. How can we send [billions] to
another country when we have so many people in trouble here?"
Many in the crowd cheered the speakers and held bright green signs that said: "U.S. Out of Iraq. Self-determination. Not
Colonial Occupation." . . .
San Francisco Chronicle
Anti-war demonstrators want troops out of Iraq
'Emergency' action called in response to surge in violence
Matthew B. Stannard and Cicero A. Estrella, Chronicle Staff Writers
Reacting to new surges of fighting in Iraq, several thousand protesters gathered in San Francisco Saturday, calling for an end to
the United States' military presence in the war-torn country.
Between 2,000 and 3,000 people came to United Nations Plaza and marched down Market Street. Police reported no
problems or arrests.
International A.N.S.W.E.R. organized the "emergency" action last week after a new wave of fighting began in the Iraqi city of
Fallujah.
"The way to end all the violence in Iraq ... is to end the occupation and bring the troops home immediately," said Michael
Smith, 24, a philosophy student at UC Berkeley and part of the Campus Anti-War Network. "We want to see money spent
not on war ... but on education, on health care, on jobs."
The slogan was "bring the troops home," but interpretations varied. Worried family members wanting loved ones in uniform
home alive shared the square with those equating the Iraqi fighters with the French resistance against the occupying Nazis.
Brice Gamble, 36, of San Francisco, was holding aloft a picture of his brother, who has been in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul
since November. Around the photo were the words: "This could be your brother -- bring the troops home."
Gamble said his brother is a loyal soldier trying to do a good job, but said if he were home, he would be joining his brother
marching against the war.
"I'm just out here today in support of our troops as part of the effort to bring them home safe," he said. His eyes filled with
tears. "I want him home. I want the rest of them home." . . .
"The only way the United States is going to leave Iraq, which is very unfortunate, is if the Iraqi resistance militarily wins," said
Joshua Deutsch, 22, a public health student at UC Berkeley with a "Long Live Fallujah" sign.
Deutsch said he hoped as few U.S. troops are killed as possible, but "There is a right side to this conflict, and the Iraqis are
fighting for their freedom."
But protesters said they agreed on the fundamental point: that the war in Iraq was wrong and the troops should come home --
now or soon -- and the Iraqi people left to their own country and its oil.
Dennis Bernstein, radio talk show host at KPFA, called President Bush a "rich kid who protects his class and oil barons," and
then turned his sights on Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry.
"Bush is not alone. Within his band of brothers is John Kerry," Bernstein said.
"He went to Iraq and said the war isn't fought the way he wants. He says we need 40,000 more troops there. Watch out for
this guy."
Oakland Tribune
Protesters call for U.S. to leave Iraq
People march in S.F. and Washington, D.C. as well as other cities
By STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
Sunday, April 11, 2004 - SAN FRANCISCO -- Demonstrators opposed to the war in Iraq gathered in United Nations Plaza
in San Francisco on Saturday as part of a nationwide protest prompted by the "siege of Fallujah by U.S. forces," said Mazda
Majidi, a member of Act Now to Stop War and End Racism Coalition.
The ANSWER Coalition organized what it called "emergency demonstrations" in 50 cities across the country this weekend,
spokesman Leilani Dowell said.
The San Francisco protest attracted several thousand protesters who are "angry and frustrated, and whose commitment to the
anti-war movement is getting even stronger," an ANSWER spokesman said.
Protesters rallied in the plaza for about an hour and chanted "money for jobs and education, not for war and occupation," some
carrying signs that read, "Bring Home the Troops Now" and "End Colonial Occupation."
Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C. demonstrators marched in the nation's capital Saturday, calling on President Bush to recall
American troops and end the U.S. occupation.
An estimated 500 protesters called for changes in U.S. foreign policy they claimed was responsible for recent uprisings in
Fallujah and other areas of Iraq.
Protesters in Washington said the killing and public dismemberment of four U.S. private security officers in Fallujah and
escalating hostilities across Iraq are evidence that U.S. attempts to stabilize the situation there are futile.
"This government is in retreat," said Mara Verheyden-Hilliard of the ANSWER coalition. "It is time to bring the troops home,
to end the global ambitions of conquest."
Other U.S. policies, both foreign and domestic, came under fire as demonstrators assembled at Lafayette Park across from the
White House before marching two hours through downtown District of Columbia. The procession increased in size as it
lumbered along, and passing motorists honked their car horns in an apparent show of support.
"The U.S. and Israeli governments have worked for decades to crush Arab resistance, to steal our land, our resources," said
Hussein Agrama of the Free Palestine Alliance. "Occupation is a crime from Iraq to Palestine. The Iraqi people and Palestinian
people stand together."
The activities in Washington were among demonstrations planned over the weekend in a number of cities, some organized on
as little as a day's notice.
Previous Washington protests against the Iraq war have drawn tens of thousands of protesters. Organizers said participation in
Saturday's event was limited by logistics: It was arranged by a few dozen individuals over a period of three days.
The protest comes as the United States continues with plans to transfer power to Iraqis June 30. But protesters said the time to
relinquish power is now.
"The Bush administration is spending $5 million an hour for the war on Iraq," said Brian Becker, also of the Act Now group. . .
.
Agence France Press
American opposition to Iraq war grows with violence, casualties
Sun Apr 11, 4:06 AM ET
LOS ANGELES, (AFP) - A year after Baghdad fell to jubilant US forces, American public support for the occupation
appears to be waning fast following a week of unparalleled anti-US violence in Iraq. . . .
A CNN/Time poll showed Friday that US public approval for Bush's handling of Iraq had slipped to 44 percent, with 51
percent opposed to it, as horrifying pictures of unrest flicker across television screens.
The telephone poll of 1,005 adults conducted Thursday said Bush's overall approval rating had sunk to a record low of 49
percent. It has sunk to just 38 percent in California, according to a San Jose State University survey.
Hollywood advertising executive Andrew Chase said he had been against the US invasion of Iraq from the start but that his
opposition had surged because of the violence in recent days.
"This military action seems to be getting us more terrorist activity, and as the military activity has become stronger, so has my
opposition," he told AFP as he sipped coffee in a Tinseltown coffee shop.
Movie theatre employee Greg Herger, 39, was equally depressed at the turn of events in Iraq 12 months after many Americans
celebrated what they had thought was the end of a quick war against Saddam Hussein.
"We shouldn't have gone there in the first place; we shouldn't be there now. The whole thing is a mistake. I hope Bush is out of
there this year," he said.
The anti-war protest group Answer Coalition, which organised rallies in 50 US cities Saturday, claimed US grassroots
opposition to the war was growing as reality sinks in.
"As people look at the situation and the rising number of casualties on all sides, a large part of the population is starting to
realise what we have known all along -- that this war was fought under false pretences," said Answer organiser Richard
Becker.
"Now people want to know why we are expending so much blood and treasure on something so illegitimate."
Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez lambasted Bush's aides for playing down the gravity of the deteriorating security
situation in Iraq as dozens of US troops -- including at least 12 based in California -- die.
As Bush spent the Easter weekend on his Texas ranch and officials insisted there is "no major combat" in Iraq, Lopez mocked
the administration. "Quagmire? What quagmire," he asked sarcastically.
In another editorial, the Seattle Times called on Washington to admit the truth about the war that is "splitting Americans down
the middle."
"It's no wonder Americans are conflicted. This was not the war they were sold," it said.
"It's time for President Bush to level with the country: These are not isolated incidents of violence by a handful of people. Iraq is
a powder keg."
But despite the row over whether Bush told Americans the truth about the war from the outset and despite the growing number
of body bags returning quietly to the United States, many Bush supporters remained firmly behind the president and his military
foray.
"This guy is doing everything ... to help us," said Korea War and Vietnam War veteran Dick Drake, 70. "You saw what the
Iraqis did to those civilians the other day."
Former US Marine Tim Whitacre, a 42-year-old resident of Orange County, California, said support for Bush was slipping
because of the horrifying images of the killing of four Americans and the way the press is covering the war.
"What angers me is to see the mainstream press not talking at all about all the good that is going on over there. Perception is
reality, and the perception in the media is that the whole country is out of control and in a mess, and that's just not accurate."
Whitacre said that instead of showing the construction of public amenities or the new-found freedom of Iraqis, the media was
instead focusing on the antics of "a small, ragtag group of extremist radicals that don't want democracy."
"My support is still there solidly and will remain with the president and his policy. This is a war, not a battle -- sometimes you
get the best of them, and sometimes they get the best of you."
Agence France Press
White House protesters denounce 'colonial occupation' in Iraq
Sat Apr 10, 6:41 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) - . . . One year after the fall of Baghdad, protesters decried the US-led occupation of Iraq here in
Washington and in some 50 other US cities.
The war opponents met at midday in front of the White House, where a succession of speakers mounted a platform to
denounce President George W. Bush 's policies in the region.
"This is occupation, not liberation," one speaker said. "If Bush was lying, what should happen to Bush? He should be
impeached because he lied to the Congress."
The Bush administration's main argument for ousting former president Saddam Hussein was that the Iraqi leader was hiding an
arsenal of chemical, biological, and possibly nuclear weapons.
Saddam always denied having such weapons, and after the collapse of his regime US arms hunters failed to find the alleged
weapons.
"This war is total injustice, it's madness, it's imperialism," said Barbara Stapel, a protester in her 50s.
"They destroyed the infrastructures and left nothing else," she said. "Is it the way they're going to gain the heart of people? This
is the worst case scenario."
Some protesters holding signs demanding the withdrawal of US troops compared the conflict to the Vietnam war, during which
58,000 US troops and three million civilians were killed.
"Like in Vietnam, new fighters will come out again now," said Brian Barrett, a bearded man in his sixties who came to the
protest from Baltimore, Maryland, with a Christian group.
A young woman, Sarah Jane Baskin, said the situation in Iraq is not as bad as Vietnam.
"It's not as bad but it is the same in the trend of double talk. They tell the war is over when pictures we see of Fallujah prove it
is not true," she said.
US marines have been engaged in fierce fighting for days against insurgents in the Sunni Muslim town of Fallujah, west of
Baghdad.
"It will continue to deteriorate," said William Ross, another protester. "If the Shiites (Muslims) lose their patience it will be far
worse than Vietnam."
From Pakistan
Anti-war marchers take to the streets in 50 US cities
WASHINGTON, April 10: Organizers of an anti-war protest in Washington said on Saturday that the occupation of Iraq was
bringing back the images of another war, in Vietnam, 30 years ago.
"One year after the fall of Baghdad and eleven months after President Bush proclaimed 'mission accomplished", the war and
subsequent occupation are summoning the images of the US intervention in Vietnam thirty years ago," said a message
distributed by the anti-war coalition, ANSWER, an acronym for Act Now to Stop War and Racism.
The group said it was obvious from the events of the past few days that a growing number of Iraqis did not feel they had been
liberated. They want the United States to leave immediately and this sentiment is echoed by a growing number of US soldiers
and their families as well, the message aid.
According to the organizers, rallies and marches started on Saturday in more than 50 US cities and will continue till Sunday
evening.
They said Saturday's rallies were part of a nationwide protest planned throughout the weekend against the Bush administration's
war policies in major US cities.
The protest, which continues throughout the Easter weekend, was called on an emergency basis responding to the events of the
last few days in Iraq, and especially the siege of Fallujah, organizers said. . . .
"People are coming from all over the area with signs and banners expressing their opposition to the brutal US occupation,
which is killing thousands of Iraqis and hundreds of Americans," said Preston Wood, a coordinator for the anti-war ANSWER
Coalition.
"We want to let the Bush administration know that we're tired of his insane war plans," he added.
In Washington, protesters met outside the White House in Lafayette Park and are planning to march across the Capitals
commercial and residential districts before dispersing.
Leaders of the anti-war movement, veterans, military families, students, civil rights advocates and religious leaders will address
the protesters during the march. But the man they want to hear their protest, President Bush, is at his home in Crawford, Texas.
Protesters most popular chants are: US out of Iraq, Bring the Troops Home Now and Money for Jobs, Education, Housing
and Healthcare - Not for Wars of Aggression.
Protests are being held during this Easter weekend, which began on Friday, throughout the East Coast, West Coast, Midwest
and South, including in major cities like Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York,
Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, and Washington.
Organizers described the protests as "nationally-coordinated emergency demonstrations," reflecting anti-war sentiments of the
American people.
"The revolt sweeping Iraq in opposition to foreign occupation has resulted in the White House and Pentagon ordering a reign of
terror against all those who defy US dictates. Hundreds of Iraqis have been killed. A large number of US troops have also
died. And there is no let up in sight," said another message distributed by the organizers.
Seattle Times
Sunday, April 11, 2004, 12:00 A.M. Pacific
Violence in Iraq spurs renewed anti-war protest
By Kristen Gelineau
The Associated Press
SEATTLE Seven-year-old Adrian Corey-Derrah stood on the edge of the street, flashing the peace symbol at passing cars
and holding a sign nearly as big as himself that read, "Bring the troops home now."
The tiny, sandy-haired boy was among about 50 people who lined the steps of the Federal Building downtown to protest the
war in Iraq, one of dozens of such protests taking place across the nation yesterday.
"They're killing people to get their oil," Corey-Derrah said. "It makes me sad when they kill people."
The protests, organized by several anti-war groups, come after a week of the fiercest fighting U.S. troops have faced since
President Bush declared the end of major combat May 1.
In Washington, D.C., around 200 anti-war protesters stood outside the White House chanting "no blood for oil" and "end
occupation now."
Corey-Derrah's father, Chris Derrah, said he refused to take his two sons to a Seattle protest a year ago. The strong police
presence and a large group of pro-war activists would have been too overwhelming for the boys, he said.
But after noticing a shift in public opinion about the war, Derrah felt yesterday's demonstration would be much easier to handle.
Just two police officers stood about 20 feet from the protesters, and there was no counter-demonstration.
"Somebody at work the other day ripped down their picture of (President) George Bush," said Derrah, 40, of Seattle. "This is
the beginning of the end of the occupation."
That sentiment was echoed among the protesters, who said more and more people across the country are beginning to lose
patience with America's military presence in Iraq.
"The No. 1 terrorist in the world today is right here in the U.S.A.!" protest organizer Jane Cutter shouted into a megaphone as
protesters chanted the phrase along with her.
Lara Muffley, a 34-year-old Seattle resident, said the recent reports of violence in Fallujah, Iraq, have strengthened her resolve
to speak out against the war.
"It's ridiculous that this is even happening," Muffley said. "There's so much killing going on and we're the cause of it."
Her friend, Liz Reed, said she fears the U.S. is isolating itself from its last remaining allies.
"We already had a bad reputation worldwide, and now we're infuriating everyone," said Reed, 36, of Seattle. |
