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Protesters rally in Washington, San Francisco
Sun Oct 26 00:58:31 2003
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Protesters rally in Washington, San Francisco Demand Impeachment !

Protesters rally in Washington, San Francisco
Address:http://www.msnbc.com/news/984885.asp?pne=msntv


Peace activists march in Washington on Saturday.Protesters rally
in Washington, San Francisco

Demonstrators blast U.S. policy in Iraq, demand withdrawal

ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 — To chants of "Impeach Bush,"
thousands of anti-war protesters rallied in the nation's capital
Saturday and delivered a scathing critique of President Bush and his
Iraq policy.

DEMANDING AN end to the U.S.-led occupation and the
quick return of American troops, the demonstrators gathered on a sunny
fall day at the Washington Monument to listen to speeches and songs of
peace.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, who's running for the Democratic
presidential nomination, exhorted the crowd not to be content with the
gradual withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.
"Don't give Bush $87 billion, don't give him 87 cents,
give our troops a ride home," Sharpton said to loud cheers from the
crowd.
The protest drew a diverse crowd — young, old,
veterans, relatives with loved ones in the armed forces and American
Muslims. They waved signs reading "Make Jobs Not War" and "Bush is a
liar" as they marched in a giant circle toward the White House, on to
the Justice Department and then back to the Washington Monument.
The Secret Service placed obstacles to keep the
protesters from marching directly in front of the White House along
Pennsylvania Avenue. Bush was spending the weekend at the Camp David
presidential retreat in Maryland.
Michael McPhearson, a veteran from the 1991 Persian Gulf
War, denounced the president, saying he had misled the nation. "You have
butchered the truth, George Bush."

'IT'S MORE REGROUP, RETHINK'
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Organizers expected more than 30,000 would turn out for
the protest, but the crowd — which filled the area between the
monument and the Ellipse near the White House — appeared much smaller.
Because the U.S. Park Police no longer issues crowd
estimates, the size of the crowd could not be verified.
International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism)
and United for Peace and Justice, which organized the protest, also
planned a mass demonstration in San Francisco for later in the day.
Some demonstrators at the Washington rally acknowledged
that the crowd was lighter than previous protests during and before the
war.
"Now, I think it's more regroup, rethink," said Army
veteran Tom Palumbo of Norfolk, Va.
At one point during the afternoon, a shouting match
erupted between an anti-war crowd and counterdemonstrators holding
"Trust Jesus" signs. Police moved in on horses to separate the two
sides. No arrests were made.
Before the rally, about 200 protesters played songs,
listened to drummers and rallied for peace in a park about 20 blocks
north of the White House. The crowd at the Black Voices for Peace rally
then marched down past the White House to join the larger demonstration
at the Washington Monument.
The D.C. chapter of Free Republic, an independent
grass-roots conservative group, gathered dozens of people at the U.S.
Capitol to show support for Bush and the troops in Iraq.
"Whether or not the war should have started is a moot
point," said Eric Campbell, a 32-year-old who served in the 1991 Persian
Gulf War. "We have to stay if anything for the Iraqi people."
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© 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Busloads Converge in Washington for Anti-War Protest
Washington Post - 12 hours ago
... of Iraq gathered outside the US Capitol building and across downtown Washington ... Mall
for a late-morning rally followed by a march to ... Peace activists ..
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15372-2003Oct25.html

Busloads Converge in Washington for Anti-War Protest

By JENNIFER C. KERR
The Associated Press
Saturday, October 25, 2003; 12:47 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Thousands of protesters huddled Saturday at the foot of the Washington Monument, demanding an end to the occupation of Iraq and the return of the 130,000 American troops there Under a bright sun on a cool fall morning, protesters at the rally waved anti-war signs as they listened to songs of peace. Some placards read: "Make Jobs Not War" and "Bush is a liar."

The protest drew a diverse crowd -- young, old, veterans, relatives with loved ones in the armed forces and American Muslims.

Michael McPhearson, a veteran from the 1991 Persian Gulf War, issued a scathing critique of President Bush, who was spending the weekend at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland.

"Your administration has misled our nation," said McPhearson. "You have butchered the truth, George Bush."

Organizers expected more than 30,000 people would turn out for the rally and a march in the afternoon that would circle the White House and the Justice Department. The crowd appeared much smaller than early predictions. Thousands more were expected later in the day for similar demonstrations in San Francisco.

Before the rally at the Washington Monument, about 200 protesters played songs, listened to drummers and rallied for peace in a park about 20 blocks north of the White House.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who's running for the Democratic presidential nomination, told protesters that no other candidate has been against the war in Iraq as long as he has.

"Just as we came by the thousands at the beginning to say that this war was wrong, we come back now to say this war is wrong at the end."

He said Bush shouldn't get any money to continue the war in Iraq, to the rousing cheers of the crowd.

Protesters at the Black Voices for Peace rally planned to march to the Washington Monument to join the larger demonstration there.

U.S. Park Police said protest organizers have assured them there will be no violence.

"It's going to be a peaceful demonstration. They're going to get their word out, and we're going to try to make it so they can," said Sgt. Scott Fear, a Park Police spokesman.

Sponsoring the protests were International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) and United for Peace and Justice.

To counter the anti-war demonstrations, the Washington chapter of Free Republic, an independent grass-roots conservative group, planned a rally Saturday at the Capitol, where organizers expect about 1,000 people.

"We support our troops and the commander in chief and their mission," said Kristinn Taylor, co-leader of the group.

Associated Press writers Jesse J. Holland and Elizabeth Wolfe in Washington and Mielikki Org in San Francisco contributed to this report.

© 2003 The Associated Press
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• A.N.S.W.E.R definitely NOT the answer. — Judith Moriarty, Sun Oct 26 03:50