Those in support of the war are quiet no more

[ballz2wallz]

For years it seems those that protest, rally, or gather against the administration, against the war, or against the current government actions are the peace-niks...the anti-war left...needless to say they are usually democrats. They rally often, they rally in large numbers, and they are most often making headlines.

For most of those years, conservatives or those with opposite viewpoints have waited quietly by for the rallies to end, not making much of a scene.

Well, those days are now over. War supporters are getting so fed up with the anti-war rallies that they are beginning to make an effort to show up themselves, and they are finally being noticed.

Veterans, Others Denounce Marchers
Counter-Demonstrators Number in Thousands

By Brigid Schulte
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 18, 2007; A12



As war protesters marched toward Arlington Memorial Bridge en route to the Pentagon yesterday, they were flanked by long lines of military veterans and others who stood in solidarity with U.S. troops and the Bush administration's cause in Iraq. Many booed loudly as the protesters passed, turned their backs to them or yelled, "If you don't like America, get out!"

Several thousand vets, some of whom came by bus from New Jersey, car caravans from California or flights from Seattle or Michigan, lined the route from the bridge and down 23rd Street, waving signs such as "War There Or War Here." Their lines snaked around the corner and down several blocks of Constitution Avenue in what organizers called the largest gathering of pro-administration counter-demonstrators since the war began four years ago.

The vets turned both sides of Constitution into a bitter, charged gantlet for the war protesters. "Jihadists!" some vets screamed. "You're brain-dead!" Others chanted, "Workers World traitors must hang!" -- a reference to the Communist newspaper. Some broke into "The Star-Spangled Banner" as war protesters sought to hand out pamphlets.

"Bunch of hooligans in motorcycle jackets!" one war protester shot back.

The large turnout surprised even some counter-demonstrators. Polls show public opinion turning against the war in Iraq, and the November election was widely seen as a repudiation of the administration's policy.

"I've never been to a war rally. I hoped I'd never have to," said Jim Wilson, 62, a Vietnam vet from New Hampshire. "We're like what they used to call the silent majority."

In some past antiwar rallies, the number of counter-demonstrators has ranged from a handful to a few hundred. "Our side got apathetic," said Debby Lee, whose son Marc, a Navy SEAL, was killed in Iraq and who came to the rally from Phoenix in a caravan organized by MoveAmericaForward.org.

But the war protesters have gone too far, Lee and others said. At a Jan. 27 antiwar rally, some protesters spray-painted the pavement on a Capitol terrace. Others crowned the Lone Sailor statue at the Navy Memorial on Pennsylvania Avenue with a pink tiara that had "Women for Peace" written across it.

Word of those incidents ricocheted around the Internet.

"That was the real catalyst, right there," said Navy veteran Larry Bailey. "They showed they were willing to desecrate something that's sacred to the American soul."

Well before 7 a.m., hundreds of people milled about near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in an effort to, they said, "occupy the ground" and keep any disrespectful war protesters away.

"This is sacred ground to us," said Rick De Marco, 62, a Vietnam veteran from Cleveland.

K.C. O'Brien, 65, a Vietnam vet from Fairfield, Calif., said: "We believe in freedom of speech. We're here to defend the right of people to say whatever they want. But we will not allow any desecration."

Within days of the spray-painting, people were using he Web to organize, making it their mission to protect the monuments, support the troops and accept nothing less than victory in Iraq.

Gathering of Eagles, the group that organized the protest, was so worried about threats to the monuments that it hired private security to guard the Wall, said Harry Riley, 69, a retired Army colonel from Florida. Other vets patrolled the area through the night and early morning, he said.

By early morning, the National Park Service had installed two metal detectors and carefully controlled entry along the path leading to the Wall. Blue-helmeted riot police were stationed along the length of the Wall. For a time, a handful of vets paraded back and forth with American flags waving in the stiff, cold breeze.

By 2 p.m., with the war protesters across the Potomac River, the metal detectors had come down. The path along the Wall was quiet as the occasional veteran paused at the name of someone remembered.

It's good to see people from all over the country come show their support for our troops, for our government, for the war...for the United States of America. And these people aren't flown in or bussed in by people like Soros and moveon.org. These people by their own admission. They are not payed, funded, or convinced to show up. They show up because they are tired of the anti-war left.

To you who showed up to Washington, I salute you.



So true, my friend; freedom is not free.

[garbagemanlb]

Originally Posted by ballz2wallz

For years it seems those that protest, rally, or gather against the administration, against the war, or against the current government actions are the peace-niks...the anti-war left...needless to say they are usually democrats. They rally often, they rally in large numbers, and they are most often making headlines.

For most of those years, conservatives or those with opposite viewpoints have waited quietly by for the rallies to end, not making much of a scene.

Well, those days are now over. War supporters are getting so fed up with the anti-war rallies that they are beginning to make an effort to show up themselves, and they are finally being noticed.



It's good to see people from all over the country come show their support for our troops, for our government, for the war...for the United States of America. And these people aren't flown in or bussed in by people like Soros and moveon.org. These people by their own admission. They are not payed, funded, or convinced to show up. They show up because they are tired of the anti-war left.

To you who showed up to Washington, I salute you.



So true, my friend; freedom is not free.

I'd say those against the war are the ones truly supporting the troops

[Scrum]

Is this a joke?

It's like a fucking bigot convention.

[motivez]

So are you trying to suggest that by contrast, those who show up to the anti-war rallies by contrast hate America, hate the troops, etc?

[Scrum]

And why aren't those people over fighting the war?

[grembert]

This debate over the War in Iraq sounds a lot like a pep rally. The Bush supporters cheer over some news and then the anti-war people cheer over other news. Why don't we use this forum to reach some kind of understanding? I asked some questions in one of the other threads ( mainly to Bush supporters ) and I am going to ask some again. ---- When will we know we have won the War in Iraq? Is it wrong to plan on getting out of Iraq at some future time? Is it really offensive to you that some people protest against the war?

[IminWonderland]

The Right is tired of the Left. The Left is tired of the War. If you want to start being able to work with the Left on all of the other pressing issues that our country needs to deal with, then you need to start talking about ending this War. All the reasons for going have been lies. Our soldiers are dying over there for nothing. The Left raised this from the start, and out of all the wars we have instigated in the 20th Century, this too has been a enormous failure. We should stick to just helping countries out instead of starting our own conflicts since we never seem to be able to get ourselves out with streamers and parades. If you want a War that we will support, then go to war to actually defend us, instead of creating an enemy. This administration has put a new pressure in living under their regime, how can we unite as a country and repair the damage that they have done? It will take probably our lifetime before we are out of the messes and waves they created.

[Thorgrim]

I like all the military aged men there not serving in iraq, what cowards of their own principles

[RMNIXON]

Originally Posted by garbagemanlb

I'd say those against the war are the ones truly supporting the troops

Funny they don't see it that way? So who are being delusional?

[RMNIXON]

Originally Posted by motivez

So are you trying to suggest that by contrast, those who show up to the anti-war rallies by contrast hate America, hate the troops, etc?

Some of them do!

"Act Now To Stop War and End Racism" (ANSWER) is a World Workers Party frontgroup. United for Peace coalition includes Socialist Action and Socialist Party USA. Code Pink is full of known Marxist activists. All very anti-war when it comes to any action by the United States military, but there is no problem with violent revolution to force this country into anti-democratic central government controlled political state. Just as long as "their" kind are in control. I am not saying all war protestors are like this, but you have people who are just as you suggest. So you might want to know who you are standing next to when you wave your signs?

[RMNIXON]

Originally Posted by Thorgrim

I like all the military aged men there....

[Thorgrim]

Originally Posted by RMNIXON

Funny they don't see it that way? So who are being delusional?

General Pace, arguably the most conservative (and actually bigoted) head of the military I've ever seen, said questioning the war was vital and soldiers are not stupid, they know we have a democratic process and that involves robust debating on tactics...including questioning the war

[Thorgrim]

Originally Posted by RMNIXON

Some of them do!

"Act Now To Stop War and End Racism" (ANSWER) is a World Workers Party frontgroup. United for Peace coalition includes Socialist Action and Socialist Party USA. Code Pink is full of known Marxist activists. All very anti-war when it comes to any action by the United States military, but there is no problem with violent revolution to force this country into anti-democratic central government controlled political state. Just as long as "their" kind are in control. I am not saying all war protestors are like this, but you have people who are just as you suggest. So you might want to know who you are standing next to when you wave your signs?

Marxism in the 21st century is a term only used by those with brutal communist dictatorships or those who wish to violently revolt to impose communism, Code Pink does not wish either

Code Pink is simply a feminist anti-war group, who picked pink because its a female color and the color least associated with war

Basically, pascists who believe in female rights are communists?

You should apologize to those on this site who might be affiliated with Code Pink as you've falsely described them from ignorance

[RMNIXON]

Originally Posted by Thorgrim

Marxism in the 21st century is a term only used by those with brutal communist dictatorships or those who wish to violently revolt to impose communism, Code Pink does not wish either

Code Pink is simply a feminist anti-war group, who picked pink because its a female color and the color least associated with war

Basically, pascists who believe in female rights are communists?

You should apologize to those on this site who might be affiliated with Code Pink as you've falsely described them from ignorance

I said they have Marxist among them, not all of them. I never took issue with the group name. You did! I seriously tire of your constant misrepresentations of people and posts. It reaks of total dishonesty and desperation to win a losing argument. I won't apologize for anything:



"In this grand strategy, Code Pink plays a specialized role -- it is supposed to represent women -- and it uses a specialized tactic -- it claims to represent non-political women aroused by injustice. But one wonders why it bothers with the pretense.

One need only look at the biography of 54- year-old Medea Benjamin. Born Susie Benjamin to a wealthy family, she changed her first name to that of the enraged woman in the Greek tragedy who seeks revenge against her husband by murdering her children. Benjamin’s own vengeance against America has led her to support murderous dictators across the globe. She is an ardent pro-Castro advocate, having once lived in Cuba and married a pro-Castro Cuban. For years she led guided tours to Cuba. After returning from her first trip to Cuba in the early 1980s, Benjamin told the San Francisco Chronicle that Cuban life “made it seem like I died and went to heaven.”

In the 1980s, Benjamin helped form the Institute for Food and Development Policy (IFDP), which sent aid to the Marxist Sandinistas ruling Nicaragua. During the 1990s, she and other members were field marshals during the anti-globalist riots in Seattle. In 2000, she was the Green Party candidate for the California U.S. Senate seat held by incumbent Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat. She chronicled her radical, Socialist agenda in her book, I Senator.

Code Pink’s Jodie Evans has a pedigree equal to Benjamin’s. She is a trustee of the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), a coalition of anti-capitalist environmentalists. RAN’s co-founder, Michael Roselle, also founded the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), which the FBI has ranked alongside the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) as one of the top terrorist groups in the U.S. Evans took her most recent anti-American junket in January 2006 when she joined Benjamin and their newest convert, Cindy Sheehan, on a visit to meet Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. On an earlier trip to Iraq, Evans helped to found the International Occupation Watch (IOW) in Baghdad. With assistance from Benjamin and Leslie Cagan, IOW helps U.S. soldiers declare themselves conscientious objectors and monitors alleged American abuses in Iraq. Its declared mission is to be a “watchdog regarding the military occupation and U.S.-appointed government, including possible violations of human rights, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.”

Code Pink Undermines War on Terror

[RMNIXON]

"Code Pink spokeswoman Sandy Brim flew an American neurosurgeon to San Salvador in 1985 to operate on Marxist Revolutionary Party Commander Nidia Diaz, whose hand had been injured in combat. Diaz’s group had claimed responsibility for the murders of four U.S. Marines and nine civilians two months before. Kirsten Moller, the current executive director of Global Exchange and Code Pink, like Benjamin, worked for IFDP in the 80s."


PoliPundit.com » Code Pink

[Thorgrim]

Some members of Code Pink are Persian Gulf war veterans, I guess that means Code Pink is a veterans group?

Your "past activities" mean nothing, Code Pink is a new organization that is specifically pascifist and non-violent, with no links to communist revolutions

Saying people involved in Code Pink support Castro is like saying people who voted for Bush support cocaine use and drunken driving

[smokie700]

Originally Posted by Thorgrim

I like all the military aged men there not serving in iraq, what cowards of their own principles

And you know that they haven't served? It's completely far-fetched to think they may have served and gotten injured or currently serving in the guard,reserves or active duty. I mean there is no way these guys could have tried to join were not able to and now are showing their support at a rally. That's it everyone that is in favor of the war but still in the states is a coward of their own principles.

[Thorgrim]

Originally Posted by smokie700

And you know that they haven't served? It's completely far-fetched to think they may have served and gotten injured or currently serving in the guard,reserves or active duty. I mean there is no way these guys could have tried to join were not able to and now are showing their support at a rally. That's it everyone that is in favor of the war but still in the states is a coward of their own principles.

They don't look injured to me, they look quite healthy, and I don't see any VFW pins on those 20something guys

It's not because they left them at home, or couldn't afford to join a veterans organization, it's because they only hate other people but don't want to risk their lives over it, its just fun to not serve and make fun of people as not being patriotic, ask the White House and GOP leadership...the band of the chickenhawks

[smokie700]

Originally Posted by Thorgrim

They don't look injured to me, they look quite healthy, and I don't see any VFW pins on those 20something guys

It's not