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| Franchise Defenseman |
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Joined: Fri Sep 11, 2009 9:09 pm
Posts: 2876
Location: Portland, Oregano
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Crosscheck wrote: Stuuuuuuu wrote: What world are you living in? There has been plenty of anti-war protest about Afghanistan, in my opinion even MORE than there was under Bush. Show me one. I just went to Code Pink's website and all they have for Obama is a link to a strongly worded letter http://www.codepink4peace.org/http://www.losing-hope.org/Well, 2-3 weeks ago, the House took up a debate on continuing the war. I know you'll say it was Dennis Kucinnich (sp?)who brought that to the floor. But I think that the fact that he was allowed to introduce the debate shows just how unpopular the war is becoming. The representatives probably would not allow that to be debated (it hasn't been in the past, only funding measures) if a good portion of their constituents didn't have problem with the war. Oh, and here's the wikipedia entry for protests against the Afghanistan war, for ONLY 2009:
On March 20, 2009, in the first large demonstration in Washington since Obama took office, thousands of Americans, some bearing mock coffins to protest war casualties, took the streets on the sixth anniversary of the 2003 Iraq invasion to protest the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.[38]
More than 10,000 people marched on the Pentagon. Led by a contingent of Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans, the protesters proceeded on to the headquarters of major military-industrial corporations such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, and KBR, corporations that the demonstrators characterized as "merchants of death" and to which they sought to deliver symbolic coffins.[39]
In Los Angeles, thousands marched down Hollywood Boulevard to call for all U.S. troops to be brought home. A 4,000-strong crowd took part in the "Stop the Wars" march and rally.[38][40]
Another 4,000 people demonstrated in San Francisco.[39] Rallies against the wars similarly took place in New York City, San Diego, Saint Paul, Minneapolis, and other American cities.[38][41][42][43][44][45]
On March 28, 2009, up to 15,000 protesters marched through central London to demonstrate ahead of the G20 summit of world leaders. The Put People First march, organized by an alliance of more than 150 anti-war, environment, charity, labour, student, faith, and development groups, included calls for Western troops to pull out of Afghanistan and protesters chanting "What do we want? Jobs not bombs."[46]
On October 7, 2009, Students for a Democratic Society called a national day of action against the war in Afghanistan. Over 25 chapters of SDS planned and held various actions around the country.[47][48] A "Funk the War" march led by Rochester SDS was forcibly ended by the police, with 12 of the 60 marchers arrested and later released or bailed out.[49][50]
On the weekend of October 17-18, 2009, anti-war protests took place in 50 cities across the United States. In Boston, hundreds of protesters gathered at Copley Square to protest the war in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq. Zoya, a 28-year-old Afghan woman spoke against the U.S.-led war in her country, saying her homeland does not need more foreign occupation. Suzette Abbot, carrying a sign that read "Yes We Can Get Out of Afghanistan", said "Obama needs to make good on his promises. We all worked to get him elected. Now he needs to earn that peace prize."[51][52][53]
In Minneapolis, 400 people marched, calling for an end to the U.S. war in Afghanistan and an end to the continued U.S. occupation of Iraq.[51]
The organizers in Minneapolis stated:
"President Obama is reported to be listening to the generals about the next steps in Afghanistan; he should be listening to the people, who want an end to the war."
"During the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the U.S. government is spending billions for wars and occupations, while millions lose their jobs and housing and go without health insurance."
On October 24, 2009, more than 10,000 people marched through the streets of London in protest against the war, which they said is a futile and unwinnable conflict. Protesters called for the withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan, gathering first at Speakers Corner, Hyde Park, before marching to Trafalgar Square. The number of British soldiers killed in the eight-year-long war was 222 at the time of the protest.[54][55][56][57][58]
Lance Cpl. Joe Glenton defied orders from his commanding officer to become the first serving soldier to openly attend a national anti-war demonstration. He stated:
"When I went to Afghanistan I was proud to serve the Army and to serve my country, but before long I realised the government as using the Army for its own ends."
"It is distressing to disobey orders, but when Britain follows America in continuing to wage war against one of the world's poorest countries I feel I have no choice."
Paul McGuirk, who served in Afghanistan until April 2008 but left the Army because he could not support the war in Afghanistan, said:
"I think the government should stop pretending it's a just war and wasting the lives of our guys, and stop pretending it's a winnable war."
The oldest protester taking part in the march, Hetty Bower, 104, lived through both World Wars and said she felt nothing has been learnt. She recalled seeing cheering young men as they marched to the trenches when she was nine-years-old.
"It didn't take long before we saw those men coming back missing legs and missing arms, totally blind and war was no longer fun."
On Saturday, November 14, 2009, around 1,000 people demonstrated against the war as NATO's parliamentary met in Edinburgh, Scotland while at the same time a poll showed that the majority 71% of Britons want British military forces withdrawn from Afghanistan within 12 months.[59][60]
On the same day, about 200 South Koreans in Seoul protested their government's plan to send troops to Afghanistan. Lee Jung-hee, a lawmaker with the opposition Democratic Labor Party said: "We should not fall into the swamp of the U.S. anti-terror war."[61]
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