"WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Anti-war demonstrators will rally across the nation Saturday against Bush administration preparations for a possible invasion of Iraq, organizers said Friday."
"A white-haired woman who identified herself as a Republican said she, too, was planning to join the protesters. The anti-war movement is not just a bunch of left-wing radicals," she said. "There are many, many sensible people who are opposed to this war for sensible reasons." "
"The woman said she did not believe Bush's contention that Iraq's weapons of mass destruction -- which that country contends it does not have -- pose an international threat. "Personally, I think that oil interests play a big part in this," she said. "I'm much more concerned about North Korea and their weapons of mass destruction than I am about the possible ones in Iraq. But Iraq has a lot more oil, and North Korea has none. That, to me, is very telling.""
posted on January 18, 2003 05:58:17 AM newWhile Bush isn't around for the protests, spokesman Ari Fleischer said the president is untroubled by them.
"I think the president welcomes the fact that we are a democracy and people in the United States, unlike Iraq, are free to protest and to make their case known," Fleischer said.
posted on January 18, 2003 11:48:10 AM new
Thanks, Helen, but I'd rather not listen to Ari Fletcher say anything, as he never answers a question, unlike Joe Lockheart did with his direct answers; Ari bald-faced lies to the camera, while Joe tried his best to put it in different terms showing that he was uncomfortable with any tinge of dishonesty whatsoever, and so forth. To sit and read all of that garbage from Ari would be nauseating and a great time waster. Thank you anyway.
posted on January 18, 2003 01:04:10 PM new
I indicated that at the beginning of my post, Borillar. I find it interesting how he manages to evade every answer and keep his job.
The press should go on strike. Let him have a conference and speak to an empty room.
posted on January 18, 2003 04:02:33 PM new
Twetvepole.
"SOONER WE BOMB THE CRAP OUT OF IRAQ THE BETTER... "
You are such a compassionate human being!!
It seems that the lynch-mob sentiment of ‘string’em up it’ll teach’em a lesson’ has remained in American culture since the good’oll days of the Wild-West.
No way!!, are your leaders interested in ‘liberating’ Iranians.
The whole world knows it’s a lie, except Americans it seems.
The view of America as an Imperialist power, will take many, many, many, years to shake off.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 — Protesters rallied by the thousands in the bitter cold of Washington on Saturday and in capitals worldwide in a passionate show of dissent against war with Iraq. The cry “No blood for oil” echoed from America’s National Mall to the streets of Pakistan.
People all over the United States and the world marched for peace today. Today, people came from all over the United States to the anti war march in DC. Another major demonstration was planned in San Francisco. Marches were held in Lansing, Michigan, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Pakistan, New Zealand, Moscow, (where signs called the US a "Global Cannibal ), Syria, - throughout the world!!!
posted on January 18, 2003 06:07:05 PM new"Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal." -- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
"This war is not inevitable, and the person who can stop it is you. Monday, Jan. 20 is Dr. King's holiday. People all over the country will be rallying and marching in his honor, celebrating not only his eloquent opposition to racism and poverty, but his equally passionate protests against militarism. You get more than a vote in this country. You get to speak up. Write, phone, fax and e-mail your representative, senators and the White House. Vote in the streets. Do it." Molly Ivins
"History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people." -- Dr. King
posted on January 19, 2003 01:28:58 AM new
As I watched CNN News, they did show some of the leaders and their points that they were making as to the purpose of the marches around the nation and around the world. They wanted to demonstrate that while there are those who suport this coming war, there are many who are against it -- which is not being reported in the media. Another point was that Bush did not have money to help out the ststes, education, and other programs to help people out, but he has 100 Billon dollars up to as much as One TRILLION dollars to use to prosecute this agressive action against the nation of Iraq. That nobody marching believed Bush anymore; that he is a liar who has lied to them and they know it. It is time for Bush to step down from office.
posted on January 19, 2003 11:27:08 AM new
From KRS' first link:
"Now, 12 years later, it is time for the country to sit up and listen to its veterans -- starting with figures including Generals Anthony Zinni and Norman Schwarzkopf who have consistently urged caution, certified war heroes such as Col. David Hackworth, and the hundreds of veterans who have signed petitions for Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans against the Iraq War."
Bleeding Hearts? Hardly!
From KRS' second link:
"They survived the Depression and World War II, lived through Vietnam and Watergate, witnessed the Iranian hostage crisis, the Persian Gulf War and the Internet boom and bust. Shocked by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, they saw terror replayed in the assaults on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11."
"Now, members of the World War II generation are worried about a possible war in Iraq. Of all the generations studied by pollsters, these Americans -- now in their 70s, 80s and 90s -- are showing the most resistance to an invasion in Iraq in surveys of American opinion."
"Patriotic about their country, however, they await an explanation -- beyond oil or revenge -- that will satisfy their memory of fighting what they view as the Last Great War. "Now don't paint me as un-American," said Fred Thomas, 90, a retired telephone executive in Opelika, Ala., who commanded an artillery battery of the 79th Infantry Division in Europe. "I'm a solid, hard-rock American. I've been a Republican since 1934. I just don't like fighting the kind of war that I can't put my fingers on. With the Germans, you could depend on what they weregoing to do, but these people fight different.""
MORE Bleeding Hearts?
When will you War supporters stop being so blind and stupid? When are you going to WAKE UP!!
ed. UBB
[ edited by Borillar on Jan 19, 2003 11:28 AM ]
posted on January 19, 2003 01:27:26 PM new
>Something you appear unable to see is there are also Vets who support this action. It's not one sided.
Oh, Ho! Demanding that I, unlike others, MUST present "Fair and Balanced Reporting", eh?
OK. On CNN yesterday, they showed in Washington D.C. where many tens of thouands marched against the possible war with Iraq. Among them were many, many Veterans of other Wars and millitary actions.
In the meantime, at the Viet-nam memorial, approximately three dozen Vetrans held up signs supporting the President going to War with Iraq.
AND . . .
. . . it was NOT confirmed if they were LOBBIESTS SIMPLY DRESSED AS VETS (A Well-Known Republican Trick On The American People, Who, For The Most Part, No Longer Believe A Single Damned Word They Say!)
The link posted by krs to the article by Klare is the best analysis of this war that I have read.. Klare mentioned an article by Michael Ignatieff about the prospect of US imperialism in the mid east which is very good also...I could print it here but it may be too long. Let me know if anybody want's to read it. (The American Empire; The Burden by Michael Ignatieff.
posted on January 19, 2003 04:51:41 PM new
Demand? No one demanded anything from you. Where in the world do you get these ideas? I said there are just as many vets supporting the decision to take Saddam out.
And you expect to see people marching FOR war??? On any given day, one might expect to see Vets and lots of their friends and family members at the memorial.
And you expect to see people marching FOR the war???
What a silly thing to expect or even to say. Those who supported a president's decision to go to war....don't go out and protest for it.
posted on January 19, 2003 05:55:44 PM new
Yesterday, I should have listed Canada also among the countries that were marching against the war in Iraq.
"Just 15 per cent said Canada should join the United States if it invades Iraq on its own. A greater number — 18 per cent — said they would oppose any Canadian participation, even if the UN gave the go-ahead.
About 72 per cent of respondents said Iraq is not truthful in listing its weapons of mass destruction, but more than half disapproved of the U.S. effort to remove Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
"Canadians do not support unilateral action by the United States, nor do they support providing assistance to that," said John Wright, a senior vice-president at Ipsos-Reid. They put their faith in the UN to slow any invasion, he said."
posted on January 19, 2003 05:58:02 PM new
By 60 percent to 35 percent, people in the Newsweek poll released Saturday they would prefer that the Bush administration allow more time to find an alternative to war.
The Federal Government has played down an opinion poll which shows most Australians do not support Australian involvement in a potential war on Iraq without United Nations endorsement.
An AC-Nielsen survey shows just 6 per cent of Australians would support Australian involvement in a US-led strike against Iraq.
The poll was conducted shortly after the Prime Minister announced the forward deployment of Special Air Service (SAS) troops to the Middle East.
I guess the Republican Party is having second thoughts about this War, seeing as how mainstream churches and Staunch Conservsative Republican supporters are now marching in protest along with the "bleeding hearts" in America.
posted on January 20, 2003 11:49:40 AM new
Unfortunately, I don't believe it. The similarities between Bush and Saddam are incredible and I don't believe either will back down.
posted on January 20, 2003 12:45:28 PM new
I went to an ice sculpture festival this weekend and there was a man walking around with a big foam board with a message hand printed on it.
I think it was probably anti-war because I did see the word war and Bush - but the message was SO long and the print so small I could not read it as he passed in the crowd.
If you have a message it serves no purpose to print a 5000 word essay in tiny letters and run through a crowd.
It has to be short and in big letters. And you might do better to find a place and stand still.
posted on January 20, 2003 04:25:41 PM new
Burn Baby, Burn
"If you must burn our flag, wrap yourself in it first."
- Sign at the counter-antiwar demonstration in Washington, DC this weekend
-----------------------
289 Million Americans Back War Saturday was a big day for those of us who favor the liberation of Iraq. "Anti-anti-war demonstrators gathered in grocery stores, shopping malls and private homes to proclaim their disagreement with protestors marching in the streets of Washington D.C. and San Francisco," ScrappleFace.com reports. "Police across the nation estimate the crowd that avoided [Saturday's] anti-war demonstrations at about 289 million."
No disturbances were reported. "It was a normal Saturday in America," one law-enforcement officer tells ScrappleFace.
The liberal media, however, chose to cover the tiny pro-Saddam demonstrations instead. According to the Washington Post, turnout at the Washington rally, sponsored by the communist front group International Answer, was somewhere between
30,000 and 500,000. Even if you accept the implausible estimate of half a million, that's still a mere 1/578th of the turnout for the pro-war demonstrations--surely within the margin of error, meaning that it's statistically possible no one showed up to the "antiwar" rallies.
Even so, according to Reuters, "President Saddam Hussein hailed worldwide anti-war demonstrations on Saturday and said the protests showed that Iraq had international support for standing up to the United States."
