Protesters Mark Milestone, Marchers Commemorate 6th Anniversary of War in Iraq

[L. Coyote]

Source: Washington Post

Protesters Mark Milestone, Marchers Commemorate 6th Anniversary of War in Iraq


By Donna St. George
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 22, 2009; Page A16

Thousands of demonstrators marked the sixth anniversary of the war in Iraq with an impassioned protest of the nation's military policies yesterday, demanding that President Obama bring U.S. troops home.

The demonstration was the first in Washington of the Obama presidency, replete with many of the same messages of protests during the Bush era. Placards read "War Is Not the Answer," "Troops Out Now" and "We Need Jobs and Schools, Not War."

As marchers made their way from the Mall toward the Pentagon and a hub of defense contractors in Crystal City, they chanted: "Hey, Obama, yes, we can. Troops out of Afghanistan." Activist Dave Cahill, 25, of New Jersey proclaimed from a megaphone, "Obama wants to continue the war."

Some protesters hoisted mock coffins draped with flags -- about 100 in all -- to represent casualties in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries where U.S. actions have claimed lives in the war on terror.

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Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/21/AR2009032101368.html?hpid=sec-metro

[Kolesar]

1. Wrong, ANSWER

A particular point of contention was Obama's speech late last month to Marines at Camp Lejeune, N.C., in which he announced a timetable that would leave about a third of the current U.S. force of 142,000 in Iraq until the end of 2011. And his wording left open the possibility of a longer military presence, protest leaders said.

"He's basically guaranteeing that it will go on for three more years," said Brian Becker, national coordinator of ANSWER, or Act Now to Stop War & Racism, which sponsored the day's events.

"Obama won, Bush is gone, but the occupation of Iraq continues," Becker said. "The movement is finding its feet again, recognizing that the solution was not through the electoral arena."