WASHINGTON, March 17, 2007
Christians Gather To Protest Iraq War
Prayer At National Cathedral And March On White House Kick Off Weekend Protest
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Anti-war protesters hold a candlelight vigil outside the White House in Washington, Friday, March 16, 2007. An estimated 3,000 protesters marched from the National Cathedral to the White House to protest the military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)
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Interactive American Heroes Profiles of U.S. soldiers who've died in Iraq, a look at the war's toll and pictures of mourning.
After the church service Friday night, participants marched with battery-operated faux candles through snow and wind toward the White House, where police began arresting protesters shortly before midnight. Protest guidelines require demonstrators to continue moving while on the White House sidewalk.
"We gave them three warnings, and they broke the guidelines," said Lt. Scott Fear. "There's an area on the White House sidewalk where you have to keep moving."
The protest marks the beginning of what is planned as a weekend of protests ahead of Tuesday's anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion in Iraq, which began on March 20, 2003.
About 100 people crossed the street from Lafayette Park — where thousands of protesters were gathered — to demonstrate on the White House sidewalk late Friday. Police began cuffing them and putting them on busses to be taken for processing.
Police said they would not know the total number of protesters arrested until later Saturday.
The windows of the executive mansion were dark, as the president was away for the weekend at Camp David in Maryland.
John Pattison, 29, said he and his wife flew in from Portland, Oregon, to attend his first anti-war rally. He said his opposition to the war had developed over time.
"Quite literally on the night that shock and awe commenced, my friend and I toasted the military might of the United States," Pattison said. "We were quite proud and thought we were doing the right thing."
He said the way the war had progressed and U.S. foreign policy since then had forced him to question his beliefs.
"A lot of the rhetoric that we hear coming from Christians has been dominated by the religious right and has been strong advocacy for the war," Pattison said. "That's just not the way I read my Gospel."
The ecumenical coalition that organized the event, Christian Peace Witness for Iraq, distributed 3,200 tickets for the service in the cathedral, with two smaller churches hosting overflow crowds. The cathedral appeared to be packed, although sleet and snow prevented some from attending.
"This war, from a Christian point of view, is morally wrong — and was from the beginning," the Rev. Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners/Call to Renewal, one of the event's sponsors, said toward the end of the service to cheers and applause. "This war is ... an offense against God."
In his speech, the Rev. Raphael G. Warnock, senior pastor at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church, lashed out at Congress for being "too morally inept to intervene" to stop the war, but even more harshly against President Bush.
"Mr. Bush, my Christian brother, we do need a surge in troops. We need a surge in the nonviolent army of the Lord," he said. "We need a surge in conscience and a surge in activism and a surge in truth-telling."
Celeste Zappala of Philadelphia recounted how she learned of the death of her son, Sgt. Sherwood Baker, who served in the National Guard. When a uniformed man came to her door asking if she was Baker's mother, she said yes.
"'Yes,' and then I fell to the ground and somewhere outside of myself I heard someone screaming and screaming," she said.
On Saturday morning, a coalition of protest groups has a permit for up to 30,000 people to march from the Vietnam War Memorial across the Potomac River to the Pentagon. Smaller demonstrations are planned in cities across the country.
© MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Add a Comment See all 99 Comments
- There are already U.S. bases in the Kirkuk area for the purpose of protecting the existing non-functioning pipeline.
- Reply to this comment
- The excerpt by Amiram Cohen in my next post can be found at (cut and past the link):
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=332835&contrassID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y
If you think for an instant that the Israelis don't have a tremendous amount of influence in the U.S., think again. - Reply to this comment
- Regarding the Iraq-Israel oil pipeling--
Pat Buchanan said "The neoconservative dream was to create a pro-American, free-market democracy in Iraq to serve as a model and catalyst for Arab peoples and convert Iraq into a base camp of American Empire, flanking Iran and Syria. It was to bring to power an Iraqi 'DeGaulle' named Ahmed Chalabi, who would recognize Israel, build a Mosul-to-Haifa oil pipeline and become the Simon Bolivar of the Middle East."
Also:
"U.S. checking possibility of pumping oil from northern Iraq to Haifa, via Jordan By Amiram Cohen
The United States has asked Israel to check the possibility of pumping oil from Iraq to the oil refineries in Haifa. The request came in a telegram last week from a senior Pentagon official to a top Foreign Ministry official in Jerusalem.
The Prime Minister's Office, which views the pipeline to Haifa as a "bonus" the U.S. could give to Israel in return for its unequivocal support for the American-led campaign in Iraq, had asked the Americans for the official telegram."
Anyone who believes we are not in Iraq for the long haul will be in for a surprise in 2009 when the new president assumes office.
- Reply to this comment
- "The "liberal media" has been ignoring Christians protesting the war since before the invasion." Posted by tuckerndfw
tucker, I don't believe for an instant that the media is "liberal." In fact, until recently, the media has been very kind to the current administration, in spite of the many screwups.
On the other hand, they weren't very kind to the previous administration. - Reply to this comment
- "Sorry for making multiple posts. I'm having problems with the system." Posted by david1737
I had the same problem. Just click Publish once and wait. - Reply to this comment
- It's unfortunate that the voters elected a moron and let him have free reign to get us into this mess.
It's also unfortunate that we will be there a very long time rebuilding and protecting the pipelines that will move oil from northern Iraq to Israel.
With the Israeli lobby in Washington for foreign aid and military support, the next president will have little say in the matter.
However, I hope I'm wrong...
source:
http://www.jewishsf.com/bk030418/i22b.shtml - Reply to this comment
- Sorry for making multiple posts. I'm having problems with the system.
- Reply to this comment
- Sorry WillyN3, we are alone due to the Iraq War. There is no MultiNational Force, there is no coalition. Just the fiction of one.
My take is that we need to keep tabs on those Republican senators/representatives that vote with Bush and target them for defeat at the polls. The Democrats are trying but because they cannot get enough Republican senators to cross over and do the right thing, this terrible tragic mistake will continue. The closer we get to November 2008, the more you will see the anti-war fraction prevail. Each senator/representative running will come to his senses sometime in summer of 2008.
On the protests - De Ja Vu all over again. It took the Vietnam protests to get LBJ to start withdrawing American troops and it looks like history is repeating itself. But, this time, the draft is not a factor. - Reply to this comment
- Sounds like the Christians are beginning to wake up to the Republicans right's theft of their moral standing- too late, it's already gone! This country has never had a more corrupt, dishonest and dangerous administration. The world is watching us like we watched the Soviets and we'll' soon be alone.
- Reply to this comment
- Sounds like the Christians are beginning to wake up to the Republicans right's theft of their moral standing- too late, it's already gone! This country has never had a more corrupt, dishonest and dangerous administration. The world is watching us like we watched the Soviets and we'll' soon be alone.
- Reply to this comment
- The "liberal media" has been ignoring Christians protesting the war since before the invasion.
Posted by tuckerndfw
Good point. I wonder why they would do that. - Reply to this comment
- WillyN3...Good point.
"The world is watching us like we watched the Soviets and we'll' soon be alone."
Think about it.
Wire tapping
Data mining
Git-mo
Abu ghraib
Secret CIA prisons
Surveillance cameras every where
Twenty year ago I would think this described the Soviet Union. The world is watching. - Reply to this comment
- Please support the March 17, 2007 march on the Pentagon, demanding that the cowards, liars, and traitors who occupy that building abandon the illegal war of aggression against Iraq, cancel plans for an illegal war of aggression against Iran, and calling for the impeachment, sentencing, and imprisonment of the megalomaniacal Bush regime.
www.notinourname.net/content/view/16/1/
Don%u2019t forget the huge rallies planned for March 18th, 2007, in a city or town near you. Our rights must be constantly exercised, or they will wither and atrophy.
Please consider signing the following petition, calling for an immediate end to the U.S. inflicted debacle in Iraq.
www.ipetitions.com/petition/OutNow
For incomparable coverage of these, and other various worldwide actions, please visit:
www.indymedia.org/en/index.shtml - Reply to this comment
- I wonder why this has become news?
The "liberal media" has been ignoring Christians protesting the war since before the invasion.
I attended a protest rally in Crawford, Texas sponsored in part by the Dallas Peace Center before the invasion began.
The Dallas Peace Center is primarily a "Christian organization" and is affiliated with dozens of other organizations, many of which are Christian.
Christians did not suddenly develop an opposition to the war, the "liberal media" suddenly decided to give them publicity.
Who knows why, but it is a good thing. US forces have no business playng policemen in Iraq. When and if Iraqis want a police force, they can hire & train their own. Without US combat forces getting in their way.
Dallas Peace Center:
http://www.dallaspeacecenter.org/ - Reply to this comment
- "Considering the choices given in the last election, the "Rethuglican" was the best choice based on information that was available at that time." Posted by Klingon69
The "Repugnican" was not the best choice by any means. He won only because he slandered and demeaned anyone who stood in his way, including his fellow "Repugnicans" (McCain). - Reply to this comment
- Sounds like the Christians are beginning to wake up to the Republicans rights theft of their moral standing- too late, it's already gone! This country has never had a more corrupt, dishonest and dangerous administration. The world is watching us like we watched the Soviets and we'll' soon be alone.
- Reply to this comment
- Sounds like the Christians are beginning to wake up to the Republicans rights theft of their moral standing- too late, it's already gone! This country has never had a more corrupt, dishonest and dangerous administration. The world is watching us like we watched the Soviets and we'll' soon be alone.
- Reply to this comment
- Sounds like the Christians are beginning to wake up to the Republicans rights theft of their moral standing- too late, it's already gone! This country has never had a more corrupt, dishonest and dangerous administration. The world is watching us like we watched the Soviets and we'll' soon be alone.
- Reply to this comment
- Sounds like the Christians are beginning to wake up to the Republicans rights theft of their moral standing- too late, it's already gone! This country has never had a more corrupt, dishonest and dangerous administration. The world is watching us like we watched the Soviets and we'll' soon be alone.
- Reply to this comment
- Sounds like the Christians are beginning to wake up to the Republicans rights theft of their moral standing- too late, it's already gone! This country has never had a more corrupt, dishonest and dangerous administration. The world is watching us like we watched the Soviets and we'll' soon be alone.
- Reply to this comment
