.Florida groups gather to protest third anniversary of Iraq war
MELBOURNE, Fla. - When Martha Newton marched on Capitol Hill to protest the Vietnam War in the 1970s, she joined a sea of thousands as she held up her peace sign and danced to the music of Peter, Paul and Mary.
On Saturday, 77-year-old Newton held a cane in her right hand instead of a protest sign as she walked with about 200 other demonstrators who gathered in a Melbourne park to mark the third anniversary of the war in Iraq.
Newton is still surprised that the fight against the Iraqi war hasn't gained more steam, but she said she would continue to fight it.
"I'm just terribly opposed to the administration and what they've been doing. I think (Bush) lied about why we went in," she said.
As of Friday, at least 2,312 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes seven military civilians. At least 1,811 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.
Demonstrators carried dozens of gray, cardboard tombstones bearing the names of the Florida soldiers killed in Iraq, while chanting "Bring the National Guard back to the nation."
"Not all of us believe there needs to be immediate withdrawal, but there needs to be immediate preparation to withdraw," said Jeff Nall, 26, of Patriots for Peace and the Brevard County chapter of National Organization for Women.
The demonstrators carried signs with different slogans - "Give Peace a Chance", "Bush is the number one terrorist", "No blood for oil" - but their message was the same.
Lies about weapons of mass destruction, the mounting death toll and an inability to care for the victims of Hurricane Katrina because resources are tied up in Iraq were the most common reasons given for protesting Saturday.
Dressed in faux blood-spattered fatigues, 19-year-old Marlena Harold ticked off a list of grievances against the Bush administration.
"Everyone got swept up in the fear of September 11 and the government used that to manipulate us into going to war," said Harold, a student at the University of Central Florida.
Elsewhere in Florida, demonstrations drew moderate crowds.
A pink-clad Rae Abileah carried pink signs written in Arabic and English that read "End the Occupation." Abileah, who traveled from San Francisco as part of the group Code Pink, was joined by about 200 other demonstrators who stood in front of the courthouse in downtown West Palm Beach.
"The longer the U.S. continues to have a presence in Iraq, the more suffering, death and unnecessary violence takes place," said Abileah, 23.
Code Pink was expecting a crowd of about 500 at another anti-war rally Sunday in Fort Lauderdale, she said.
About 60 people gathered Saturday outside city hall in Orlando, waving a giant banner that read "Drive out the Bush regime."
"I think it's a war for imperialist conquest. I think it's morally wrong to be going in there and be killing hundreds of thousands under false pretenses," said Joe Hawkins, who organized the event as part of the group World Can't Wait.
Kathryn Dibble of Palm Bay is only a teenager, but she has already participated in two anti-war protests.The 17-year-old said she hates being labeled as unpatriotic because she doesn't support the war.
"They try to make it seem like we're terrorists ourselves," said Dibble. "I feel like we're being suppressed."
Mercury News
That's because everyone knew that was a lie, but went along for the ride anyway.
On Saturday, 77-year-old Newton held a cane in her right hand instead of a protest sign as she walked with about 200 other demonstrators who gathered in a Melbourne park to mark the third anniversary of the war in Iraq.
Newton is still surprised that the fight against the Iraqi war hasn't gained more steam, but she said she would continue to fight it.
"I'm just terribly opposed to the administration and what they've been doing. I think (Bush) lied about why we went in," she said.
As of Friday, at least 2,312 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes seven military civilians. At least 1,811 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.
Demonstrators carried dozens of gray, cardboard tombstones bearing the names of the Florida soldiers killed in Iraq, while chanting "Bring the National Guard back to the nation."
"Not all of us believe there needs to be immediate withdrawal, but there needs to be immediate preparation to withdraw," said Jeff Nall, 26, of Patriots for Peace and the Brevard County chapter of National Organization for Women.
The demonstrators carried signs with different slogans - "Give Peace a Chance", "Bush is the number one terrorist", "No blood for oil" - but their message was the same.
Lies about weapons of mass destruction, the mounting death toll and an inability to care for the victims of Hurricane Katrina because resources are tied up in Iraq were the most common reasons given for protesting Saturday.
Dressed in faux blood-spattered fatigues, 19-year-old Marlena Harold ticked off a list of grievances against the Bush administration.
"Everyone got swept up in the fear of September 11 and the government used that to manipulate us into going to war," said Harold, a student at the University of Central Florida.
Elsewhere in Florida, demonstrations drew moderate crowds.
A pink-clad Rae Abileah carried pink signs written in Arabic and English that read "End the Occupation." Abileah, who traveled from San Francisco as part of the group Code Pink, was joined by about 200 other demonstrators who stood in front of the courthouse in downtown West Palm Beach.
"The longer the U.S. continues to have a presence in Iraq, the more suffering, death and unnecessary violence takes place," said Abileah, 23.
Code Pink was expecting a crowd of about 500 at another anti-war rally Sunday in Fort Lauderdale, she said.
About 60 people gathered Saturday outside city hall in Orlando, waving a giant banner that read "Drive out the Bush regime."
"I think it's a war for imperialist conquest. I think it's morally wrong to be going in there and be killing hundreds of thousands under false pretenses," said Joe Hawkins, who organized the event as part of the group World Can't Wait.
Kathryn Dibble of Palm Bay is only a teenager, but she has already participated in two anti-war protests.The 17-year-old said she hates being labeled as unpatriotic because she doesn't support the war.
"They try to make it seem like we're terrorists ourselves," said Dibble. "I feel like we're being suppressed."
Mercury News
That's because everyone knew that was a lie, but went along for the ride anyway.
posted by madtom at 8:56 PM
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