Thousands protest war across US

Over the weekend, tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in major cities across the country demanding immediate withdrawal of US troops and an end to the continued military occupation of Iraq. Marking the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, launched on Mar. 20, 2003, protesters in New York, Washington, Los Angeles and other cities also denounced potential US plans to attack Iran. On Mar. 16, thousands of Christians prayed for peace at an anti-war service, kicking off a weekend of protests. Afterward, participants marched with candles through snow and wind toward the White House, where police began arresting protesters shortly before midnight. Protest guidelines require demonstrators to continue moving while on the White House sidewalk. Police said 222 people had been arrested by the next morning. John Pattison, 29, said he and his wife flew in from Portland, OR, to attend his first anti-war rally. He said his opposition to the war had developed over time. "Quite literally on the night that 'shock and awe' commenced, my friend and I toasted the military might of the United States," Pattison said. "We were quite proud and thought we were doing the right thing." He said the way the war had progressed and US foreign policy since then had forced him to question his beliefs. "A lot of the rhetoric that we hear coming from Christians has been dominated by the religious right and has been strong advocacy for the war," Pattison said. "That's just not the way I read my Gospel." The ecumenical coalition that organized the event, Christian Peace Witness for Iraq, distributed 3,200 tickets for the service in the packed cathedral, with two smaller churches hosting overflow crowds. "This war, from a Christian point of view, is morally wrong and was from the beginning," the Rev. Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners/Call to Renewal, one of the event's sponsors, said toward the end of the service to cheers and applause. "This war is... an offense against God." In his speech, the Rev. Raphael G. Warnock, senior pastor at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church, lashed out at Congress for being "too morally inept to intervene" to stop the war. The following day, thousands crossed the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial to rally loudly but peacefully near the Pentagon. At its height, and in spite of freezing weather conditions, as many as 30,000 people joined the protest. On a stage in the Pentagon parking lot, speaker after speaker demanded the end of the war in Iraq and some called for President Bush's impeachment. A flag-draped coffin was displayed near the stage bearing a picture of a young soldier killed in Iraq. Speakers there also blamed congressional Democrats for refusing to cut off money for the war. "This is a bipartisan war," New York City labor activist Michael Letwin told the crowd. "The Democratic Party cannot be trusted to end it." "Too many people have died and it doesn't solve anything," said Ann Bonner, who drove through snow with her husband, Tom O'Grady, and two children, 13 and 10, from Athens, OH. "I feel bad carrying out my daily activities while people are suffering, Americans and Iraqis." Rallies also took place in Los Angeles, CA; Oklahoma City, OK; Hartford, CT; Lincoln, NB; and other cities. In largely peaceful demonstrations, about 3,000 people in San Francisco, CA, closed Market Street. In Portland, OR, thousands of marchers packed a grassy stretch downtown to call for an end to the war. At the end of a subsequent march, a small group of protesters scuffled with police who pepper sprayed them. At least two people were arrested. In Los Angeles, CA, several thousand demonstrators took to the streets. Organizers of the rally in Hollywood estimated its size at "tens of thousands," while the Los Angeles Police Department said the figure was in the 5,000-6,000 range. Protesters blew whistles and carried placards bearing slogans critical of Bush, such as "Worst President Ever" and "It's time for regime change in Washington." At the Pentagon, a group of several hundred people continued past the rally point and marched until they confronted a police barricade. Some wearing scarves over their faces carried red and black traffic barrels cut in half and pressed forward as Pentagon police, backed by Virginia state troopers in riot gear, stood two layers deep, trying to push them back. When that failed, the police donned gas masks. One of the protesters threw a firecracker, and many people ran off. About 70 to 80 people sat down and were threatened with arrest. Protesters chanted, "The whole world is watching." Then protesters took a vote and opted to back off. The next day in New York, protesters roared "No blood for oil. No war in Iran" in unison as they marched from midtown Manhattan to the United Nations headquarters. "Not one more dollar, not one more death," they shouted, amid calls for Congress to stop funding the occupation and bring US troops home. Some demonstrators called President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney "war criminals" and demanded their impeachment. Both houses of Congress are currently debating a withdrawal timeline. But many activists doubt that the Democratic Party leadership is serious about ending the occupation, or can muster the votes needed to overcome near-united Republican opposition. "This war is killing dozens of people nearly every day," said Leslie Cagan, national coordinator of United for Peace and Justice, the anti-war umbrella group that organized many of the countrywide protests. "When our communities desperately need federal funds for health care, affordable housing, education and environmental protection, why are the Democrats lining up the votes to drain the treasury to continue Bush's war?" she asked. Since the invasion of Iraq more than 3,200 US troops have been killed and about 63,000 wounded. Figures vary for Iraqi casualties, but some conservative estimates put the death toll of the civilian population at more than 100,000 and upwards to over 600,000. Nancy Lessin, co-founder of Military Families Speak Out, whose group is part of the efforts to put pressure on Congress to end the war, called the Democratic Party leaders' ambiguous statements on Iraq policy "infuriating." She especially took issue with the argument that they are "supporting the troops." "How in the world is Congress supporting the troops by continuing to send them to kill and die in an illegal, immoral, unwinnable quagmire?" she asked. At the rally in New York, no prominent Democratic Party leaders showed up, although many have portrayed themselves as staunch critics of the Bush administration. Organizers said they had invited a number of Democratic lawmakers to participate in the rally, but only New York Congressman Charles Rangel openly expressed his support in a letter, in which he explained that he had other prior engagements. Despite cold temperatures, at least 40,000 people took part in the New York rally.