More than 10,000 march on Pentagon, leading war profiteers

A "throng of war protesters swelled Saturday as they marched across the Memorial Bridge." (AP) The protesters marched on the Pentagon and what followed was a dramatic direct action at Boeing, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and KBR, corporations that demonstrators labeled "merchants of death." The predominantly young crowd continued to grow as the day proceeded. They marched through the Pentagon north Parking Lot and then into downtown Crystal City, where the leading war corporations' headquarters are located.

The march was led by a contingent of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. There was a significant delegation from members of the Arab and Muslim communities and many students participated.

The Arlington County Police mobilized in full riot gear in an attempt to block the demonstrators from delivering symbolic coffins at the doorsteps of the war corporations. They brought tear gas, snarling dogs and pointed guns loaded with rubber bullets directly at demonstrators. The Arlington County Police also put out an absurdly low count of the demonstration, which was more than 10,000 people.

In Los Angeles, a simultaneous demonstration drew 4,000 people, which culminated with a dramatic die-in at the Kodak Theater. Another 4,000 demonstrated in San Francisco, where police carried out violent attacks on demonstrators and arrested numerous people.

"This is the launch of the anti-war movement in the post-Bush era. Bush is gone, but the occupation of Iraq continues, the war in Afghanistan is escalating, and the people of Palestine are living under a state of siege," stated Brian Becker, National Coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition.

Comments

WaPo on size of protest

Submitted by Rich Gardner on Mon, 03/23/2009 - 10:21am

The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/21/AR200903...
says:

"Organizers estimated yesterday's crowd at 10,000, but Arlington County police said the crowd was between 2,500 and 3,000."

But a post on the UFPJ discussion list says:

I was at the demonstration in DC and I think it was about 10,000. It was certainly more than 2-3000. I found it unexpectedly inspiring.
The most touching talk was by a black woman who lost her son in Iraq. Her message was simple - the wars must end. They are wrong whether we have a white president or a black one.

The young were as usual the most imaginative and aggressive. I especially liked: "Barack Obama, USA; How many kids did you kill today." Or "We support the war resisters; they're our brothers, they're our sisters." Etc. Code Pink also did a great job, actually organizing for the demo and showing up in force. (Some like PDA gave a paper endorsement, a good step forward for them but did nothing to organize. And then there is the UFPJ leadership....)

The demonstrations serve an important function. They let people know that there are people out there who actively oppose the war. Most people form their opinions on the basis of a kind of multiple choice test - and we are putting another choice on the table. If people do not see others with the same opinion out in public, they lose confidence in their own opinion to some degree.

So this is an historic demonstration - precisely because of what that Black mom said. If anyone has a better plan, let me know. But as Ralph Nader says, "Surrender is not an option."
jw
p.s. I have my bumper sticker now, "Don't blame me, I voted for Ralph."

----------
Photos on John Ks Facebook, who thought the demonstration was between 7000 and 10000 people.

ANSWER always lies about the number that attend their events

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 03/24/2009 - 2:27pm

I call them events because ANSWER never really organizes a real protest. They just take out a permit for a parade with the police.

ANSWER has done more damage to the anti-war effort than any single government agency.

Yes the time has not come

Submitted by saracarrol on Tue, 09/01/2009 - 10:50am

Yes the time has not come yet to stop our war against war! Although the bush era has gone, Iraq and Afghanistan are still in trouble. I really appreciate that all these people and war veterans have come together and protest against the war. Keep going guys the world is with you!Horoscopes

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