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Anti-war protesters gather in D.C.
Christian group calls Iraq war ‘offense against God’; police arrest hundreds
The Associated Press
Updated: 11:51 a.m. ET March 17, 2007
WASHINGTON - Hundreds of anti-war demonstrators and supporters of the U.S. policy in Iraq shouted at each other Saturday from opposite sides of a street bordering the National Mall as protesters formed a march to the Pentagon to denounce a war entering its fifth year.
The anti-war group carried signs saying “U.S. Out of Iraq Now,” “Stop Iraq War, No Iran War, Impeach” and “Illegal Combat.” The other side carried signs saying “Peace Through Strength,” “al-Qaida Appeasers On Parade” and “We Are At War, Liberals Root For the Enemy.”
Police on horseback and foot separated the demonstrators, who were on opposite sides of Constitution Avenue in view of the Lincoln Memorial. Barriers also kept them apart.
Cheryl Davis, 62, a library assistant from Celina, Ohio, endured a nine-hour overnight drive in the wake of a late-winter storm to raise her voice against the conflict that has killed more than 3,200 members of the U.S. armed forces. “I just want peace,” she said. “I just have to do my part.” She had supported the Vietnam War when her ex-husband fought in it.
‘I’m not sure I’m in support’
Protesters met at the starting point of the epic 1967 march on the Pentagon, which began peacefully but turned ugly in clashes between authorities and more radical elements of the crowd. More than 600 were arrested that day. It was there that anti-war activist Abbie Hoffman led the masses in chants, with the fanciful goal of levitating the building.
Saturday’s march was the main event in demonstrations around the country, stretching to the anniversary of the invasion Tuesday.
Police on horses ensured anti-war protesters and counterdemonstrators stayed apart at the staging area. Several thousand people, many of them service members, rallied in support of the war. They played “The Battle Hymn of the Republic;” the anti-war crowd danced to Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition.”
Veterans, some from the Rolling Thunder motorcycle group, lined up at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
“I’m not sure I’m in support of the war,” said William “Skip” Publicover of Charleston, S.C., who was a swift boat gunner in Vietnam and lost two friends whose names are etched on the memorial’s wall. “I learned in Vietnam that it’s difficult if not impossible to win the hearts and minds of the people.”
‘We were quite proud’
Park Police Lt. Scott Fear said more than 200 people were arrested from a crowd of several thousand protesters who marched to the White House on Friday night after a peace service at the Washington National Cathedral. Those arrested were handcuffed, taken away on buses and fined $100 for disobeying a lawful order or crossing a police line. They had demonstrated on the sidewalk in front of the White House, where protesters are required to continue moving.
The windows of the White House were dark, as President Bush was away for the weekend at Camp David in Maryland.
The church service and weekend protests drew John Pattison, 29, from Portland, Ore., to 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 U.S. foreign policy since then had forced him to question his beliefs.
‘An offense against God’
The ecumenical coalition that organized the event, Christian Peace Witness for Iraq, distributed 3,200 tickets for the service in the cathedral, with two smaller churches hosting overflow crowds. The cathedral appeared to be packed, although sleet and snow prevented some from attending.
“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, but even more harshly against President Bush.
“Mr. Bush, my Christian brother, we do need a surge in troops. We need a surge in the nonviolent army of the Lord,” he said. “We need a surge in conscience and a surge in activism and a surge in truth-telling.”
Celeste Zappala of Philadelphia recounted how she learned of the death of her son, Sgt. Sherwood Baker, who served in the National Guard. When a uniformed man came to her door asking if she was Baker’s mother, she said yes.
“‘Yes,’ and then I fell to the ground and somewhere outside of myself I heard someone screaming and screaming,” she said.
© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Christian group calls Iraq war ‘offense against God’; police arrest hundreds
The Associated Press
Updated: 11:51 a.m. ET March 17, 2007
WASHINGTON - Hundreds of anti-war demonstrators and supporters of the U.S. policy in Iraq shouted at each other Saturday from opposite sides of a street bordering the National Mall as protesters formed a march to the Pentagon to denounce a war entering its fifth year.
The anti-war group carried signs saying “U.S. Out of Iraq Now,” “Stop Iraq War, No Iran War, Impeach” and “Illegal Combat.” The other side carried signs saying “Peace Through Strength,” “al-Qaida Appeasers On Parade” and “We Are At War, Liberals Root For the Enemy.”
Police on horseback and foot separated the demonstrators, who were on opposite sides of Constitution Avenue in view of the Lincoln Memorial. Barriers also kept them apart.
Cheryl Davis, 62, a library assistant from Celina, Ohio, endured a nine-hour overnight drive in the wake of a late-winter storm to raise her voice against the conflict that has killed more than 3,200 members of the U.S. armed forces. “I just want peace,” she said. “I just have to do my part.” She had supported the Vietnam War when her ex-husband fought in it.
‘I’m not sure I’m in support’
Protesters met at the starting point of the epic 1967 march on the Pentagon, which began peacefully but turned ugly in clashes between authorities and more radical elements of the crowd. More than 600 were arrested that day. It was there that anti-war activist Abbie Hoffman led the masses in chants, with the fanciful goal of levitating the building.
Saturday’s march was the main event in demonstrations around the country, stretching to the anniversary of the invasion Tuesday.
Police on horses ensured anti-war protesters and counterdemonstrators stayed apart at the staging area. Several thousand people, many of them service members, rallied in support of the war. They played “The Battle Hymn of the Republic;” the anti-war crowd danced to Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition.”
Veterans, some from the Rolling Thunder motorcycle group, lined up at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
“I’m not sure I’m in support of the war,” said William “Skip” Publicover of Charleston, S.C., who was a swift boat gunner in Vietnam and lost two friends whose names are etched on the memorial’s wall. “I learned in Vietnam that it’s difficult if not impossible to win the hearts and minds of the people.”
‘We were quite proud’
Park Police Lt. Scott Fear said more than 200 people were arrested from a crowd of several thousand protesters who marched to the White House on Friday night after a peace service at the Washington National Cathedral. Those arrested were handcuffed, taken away on buses and fined $100 for disobeying a lawful order or crossing a police line. They had demonstrated on the sidewalk in front of the White House, where protesters are required to continue moving.
The windows of the White House were dark, as President Bush was away for the weekend at Camp David in Maryland.
The church service and weekend protests drew John Pattison, 29, from Portland, Ore., to 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 U.S. foreign policy since then had forced him to question his beliefs.
‘An offense against God’
The ecumenical coalition that organized the event, Christian Peace Witness for Iraq, distributed 3,200 tickets for the service in the cathedral, with two smaller churches hosting overflow crowds. The cathedral appeared to be packed, although sleet and snow prevented some from attending.
“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, but even more harshly against President Bush.
“Mr. Bush, my Christian brother, we do need a surge in troops. We need a surge in the nonviolent army of the Lord,” he said. “We need a surge in conscience and a surge in activism and a surge in truth-telling.”
Celeste Zappala of Philadelphia recounted how she learned of the death of her son, Sgt. Sherwood Baker, who served in the National Guard. When a uniformed man came to her door asking if she was Baker’s mother, she said yes.
“‘Yes,’ and then I fell to the ground and somewhere outside of myself I heard someone screaming and screaming,” she said.
© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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