Iraq war protestors arrested in Washington
WASHINGTON (AP) - March 19, 2008 A crowd of more than 100 gathered outside the IRS headquarters,
chanting "This is a Crime Scene" and "You're Arresting the Wrong
People." A marching band led protesters down the street near the
National Mall and around the IRS building before dozens of
demonstrators gathered at the entrance.
Protesters blocked the main entrance for a time, but no federal
workers appeared to be trying to use those doors. Police detained
13 people who sat down at a side entrance.
The demonstrators said they were focusing on the IRS because it
gathers taxes that are used to fund the war.
Anti-war protests and vigils were planned throughout the day
around the nation. In Ohio, more than 20 different vigils, rallies,
marches and other events were planned.
At the American Petroleum Institute in downtown Washington,
dozens of protesters held signs reading "Out of Iraq" and "No
war, no warming," and chanted "No blood for Oil!"
Craig Etchison, 62, a retired college professor from Cumberland,
Md., and a Vietnam veteran, said he has been protesting the war for
years.
"I've watched with horror as Bush has lied about this war," he
said in front of the building. "I'm appalled at the number of
civilians we've killed just as we did in Vietnam."
College students from New Jersey to North Dakota have planned
walkouts, while students at the University of Minnesota vowed to
shut down military recruiting offices on campus.
"This is the first time coordinated direct actions of civil
disobedience are happening," said Barbra Bearden, communications
manager for the group Peace Action. "People who have never done
this kind of action are stepping up and deciding now is the time to
do it."
In suburban Miami, Linda Belgrave, a sociology professor at the
University of Miami, and a handful of protesters dressed in black
waved anti-war signs at drivers stuck in early morning rush-hour
traffic near the U.S. Southern Command complex. Belgrave said the
group planned to lay flowers at the complex's entry fence later
Wednesday morning.
"This is the beginning of the sixth year of this horror and
it's got to end," said Belgrave.
On Tuesday, 10 people were arrested at an anti-war rally in
upstate New York. About 60 people participated in the demonstration
that started at Binghamton University campus and moved through the
street to a military recruiting station. Police said the
demonstrators tied up traffic in the town of Vestal, N.Y., causing
two traffic accidents.
The Iraq war has been unpopular both abroad and in the United
States, although an Associated Press-Ipsos poll in December showed
that growing numbers think the U.S. is making progress and will
eventually be able to claim some success in Iraq.
The findings, a rarity in the relentlessly unpopular war, came
amid diminishing U.S. and Iraqi casualties and the start of modest
troop withdrawals. Still, majorities remain upset about the
conflict and convinced the invasion was a mistake, and the issue
still splits the country deeply along party lines.
Activists cite frustration that the war has dragged on for so
long and hope the more dramatic actions will galvanize others to
protest.
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Associated Press writers Karen Mahabir in Washington, John
Christoffersen in New Haven, Conn., and Jennifer Kay in Miami
contributed to this report.
