Letters From The Frontlines (aka Washington DC)
This entry was posted on March 20, 2007 12:01 PM and is filed under Freedom.
Jon Brant sent me this great article written by Jack Langer about antiwar protesters meeting the Gathering of Eagles in Washington DC last weekend.
It is all turning out just I thought it would, ... 50% of the coward-protesters seem to be mentally lost, grasping at straws and trying to reenact the Vietnam Protests of the 60's and 70's while the other 1/2 are coward-anti-Americans who should be arrested for treason! All 100% of them are cowards, who have no idea what it is like to support, serve or die for your country.
FACT: Every soldier who died in every American war died to protect their rights!
It has gotten so ridiculous that now protester groups are claiming that the US Government planned the September 11th attack itself! (Those are probably the same nut-jobs who claim John Lennon, Elvis Presley and JFK are on the moon eating green cheese!)
The best part of all this? .... In America, the greatest country in the world, you can express your opinion freely, ... just be careful cowards, ... you are starting to tread on the wrong American's; ... Patriots. If you mess with them, make sure your health insurance is paid up in full. This "freedom of speech" works both ways!
Thank you Jack for the eyewitness report! Now we are getting to the truth!
Power to the People
by Jack Langer
I could tell right away this wasn't going to be your average Washington D.C. antiwar protest.
For months, the antiwar coalition, International A.N.S.W.E.R. had been publicizing its plans to hold a major antiwar rally in the nation's capital on Saturday, March 17. However, reaching the protest staging site next to the Lincoln Memorial at 11:00 AM -- an hour before the protesters were slated to begin marching to the Pentagon -- I found the field nearly empty. Across
the street stood several thousand counter-demonstrators, mostly comprised of Vietnam War veterans associated with various biker clubs. Wearing leather jackets emblazoned with organization names like "Rolling Thunder," "Legacy
Vets," and "Combat Veterans of America Motorcycle Club," the vets had turned out to stand guard at the Vietnam Wall and other monuments after some sites were desecrated at an antiwar rally in January. The vets were a grizzled, tough-looking lot, and their presence seemed to surprise the handful of Chinese tourists snapping photos in the area.
Across the street, the war protesters were arriving late with their usual collection of Che Guevara banners, placards decrying American imperialism, and bizarre signs denouncing the 9/11 attacks as a government-orchestrated conspiracy. Some tables were set up offering books and pamphlets advocating socialism while a few enterprising capitalists worked the crowd, briskly selling T-shirts commemorating the march. As they arrived, the protesters were entertained by a DJ who, we were informed over the loudspeakers, was from Puerto Rico - "the first country invaded by the U.S." He played the Edwin Starr protest classic "War (What is it good for?)" several dozen times, it seemed, then launched into James Brown's "I'm Black and I'm Proud," as the mostly white crowd sang along.
Eventually, around 15,000 protesters arrived -- appearing to me about the same number as attended the January antiwar rally..This must have been a severe disappointment to A.N.S.W.E.R., which had drawn upwards of 100,000 people to previous protests. The poor turnout at this year's rallies can largely be attributed to a schism between A.N.S.W.E.R. and the other main antiwar coalition, United for Peace and Justice. The two groups used to sponsor these rallies together, but have recently ceased cooperating.
Their dispute stems from two factors. First, there was some squabbling over the amount of time given to each group's speakers at past rallies -- a surprising bit of selfishness from people who drive cars with bumper stickers proclaiming that everything they need to know they learned in kindergarten. Second, there was a disagreement over the Israel-Palestine
issue. Apparently, A.N.S.W.E.R.'s position is that the Jews should be driven into the sea, while UPJ, being slightly more moderate, seeks to convince the Jews through peaceful dialog to throw themselves in.
Before setting off for the Pentagon, the war protesters were addressed by a few speakers. The veterans watched quietly from just across the street until Cindy Sheehan was introduced. Even before she denounced President Bush as "the greatest terrorist in the world," the mention of Sheehan's name elicited from the vets a rigorous round of booing the likes of which is
rarely heard outside the confines of a Philadelphia Eagles home game.
Finally, the march began. It was a motley collection of organizations and interest groups. The parade was led by a collection of antiwar military veterans, followed by the radical feminists of Code Pink. Then came a group of "drummers" who were really just banging sticks on the bottom of some empty pails, succeeded by the mandatory contingent of masked anarchists. Further back were lots of hippie-throwbacks, a good number of college students, some refugee from an anarchist rodeo twirling a lasso around himself, and a variety of people waving Lebanese and Palestinian flags. There were a few American flags as well, although nearly all of these were defaced with peace signs, political slogans, or sardonic renditions of corporate symbols.
The counter-demonstrators lined the first few hundred yards of the parade route, sometimes on both sides. Waving American flags, the vets gave the marchers a generally good heckling; "Go impress your professors!" was my favorite epithet. Despite their fetish for the right to "dissent," the war protesters are unaccustomed to opposition, aside perhaps from a lone College
Republican or two that might show up with an American flag at a campus protest. But these counter-demonstrators were different. They were combat veterans who still bristle at the memory of being jeered by these kinds of radicals when they returned from Vietnam. The marchers seemed not only nervous, but even ashamed -- to prove their patriotism to the vets, they began chanting "U.S.A.! U.S.A.!" This was probably the first time that chant has ever been heard at an antiwar rally.
I fell in with the anarchists, since that's where the action usually is. There were around 100 of them, although the number of face piercings exceeded that by a factor of 10, even with most of their nose rings and tongue rings hidden by masks and bandannas. Their banners proclaimed slogans like "Destroy all government" and "No war but class war." The vets yelled
out to them "Come over here!" and "Show your faces!" Declining either invitation, the anarchists responded by chanting "Whose streets? Our streets!"
But the chant lacked conviction, seeing as the only thing protecting the anarchists from a smackdown by the vets was the line of police officers separating the two sides. I spotted a group of four anarchists carrying an upside down American flag and wondered how far they'd get with it. It turned out to be about 50 yards. Then, a vet managed to infiltrate the parade and
snatched the flag from them, causing all four members of the revolutionary vanguard to run scurrying away.
After parading through this gauntlet of counter-protesters, the rest of the march was pretty subdued. I walked back toward a portable loudspeaker surrounded by Palestinian flags. A speaker was leading a chant of "Stop bombing Lebanon!", which I found strange, since no one is bombing Lebanon. The chanting stopped when the microphone was passed to a Middle Eastern woman whose accent was so thick that no one could understand what they were supposed to be protesting. Finally, they agreed on singing another refrain of "War," which seemed to be their automatic fallback position for almost any unexpected situation.
We arrived at the Pentagon parking lot, where a DJ was again playing "War." I couldn't take the song anymore, so I wandered off in search of the anarchists. I found them at the end of a bridge leading to the Pentagon itself. They were facing a line of police officers in full riot gear, replete with gas masks. "Whose streets? Our streets!" rang out again, but it was pretty clear whose streets these were, since the anarchists weren't allowed to keep marching forward on them.
The police announced through a bullhorn that they'd use teargas if the protesters didn't return to the parking lot. In response, a female-looking anarchist in dreadlocks yelled out to me and some other reporters nearby, asking if we'd help get the word out that the police, without cause, had gassed peaceful protesters. "No!" I instinctively yelled back, eliciting some shocked stares from the anarchists. Another anarchist approached us and asked if we'd stand between them and the police to prevent the cops from "attacking" them. He pointed to one elderly female reporter: "You ma'am, if you get in the middle, there's no way the police will knock you over." The request caught me off guard -- I was unaware that old women are used as
human shields anywhere outside of the Middle East.
The group sat down in front of the police to decide what to do. Some people passed out food, at which point most of the anarchists removed their masks and bandannas to eat, then put them back on when they had finished. My respect for this bunch was rapidly declining.
They took a series of votes, decided to leave the bridge to the police, and backed off about 20 yards. Then, in one final act of "resistance" before vacating the bridge, one of them burned an American flag, to the cheers of all the rest. This incident went unreported in all of the mainstream media, despite the presence on the bridge of numerous journalists and photographers.
Walking home, I reflected on what the antiwar movement has degenerated into -- a squabbling collection of aging socialists, pro-Palestinian militants, and cowardly anarchists. The Vietnam vets -- who were there just to protect our monuments and show support for the troops -- had a surprising effect on the protesters. "Fight back! Fight back!" was one of the protesters'
slogans. But it was all talk. When confronted by people who actually fought and bled for their country, the protesters grew sheepish and embarrassed -- I would even say humiliated.
I couldn't help but notice that the anarchists - the supposed hardcore fringe of the movement - waited until they were safely out of range of the veterans to burn a flag. Afraid of the vets, afraid of the cops, they don't seem to be good for much other than occasionally smashing storefront windows when there's no one else around.
"Whose streets? Our streets!", they chanted. Not on Saturday they weren't.
Read more articles like this at HUMAN EVENTS ONLINE! http://www.humanevents.com/
It is all turning out just I thought it would, ... 50% of the coward-protesters seem to be mentally lost, grasping at straws and trying to reenact the Vietnam Protests of the 60's and 70's while the other 1/2 are coward-anti-Americans who should be arrested for treason! All 100% of them are cowards, who have no idea what it is like to support, serve or die for your country.
FACT: Every soldier who died in every American war died to protect their rights!
It has gotten so ridiculous that now protester groups are claiming that the US Government planned the September 11th attack itself! (Those are probably the same nut-jobs who claim John Lennon, Elvis Presley and JFK are on the moon eating green cheese!)
The best part of all this? .... In America, the greatest country in the world, you can express your opinion freely, ... just be careful cowards, ... you are starting to tread on the wrong American's; ... Patriots. If you mess with them, make sure your health insurance is paid up in full. This "freedom of speech" works both ways!
Thank you Jack for the eyewitness report! Now we are getting to the truth!
Power to the People
by Jack Langer
I could tell right away this wasn't going to be your average Washington D.C. antiwar protest.
For months, the antiwar coalition, International A.N.S.W.E.R. had been publicizing its plans to hold a major antiwar rally in the nation's capital on Saturday, March 17. However, reaching the protest staging site next to the Lincoln Memorial at 11:00 AM -- an hour before the protesters were slated to begin marching to the Pentagon -- I found the field nearly empty. Across
the street stood several thousand counter-demonstrators, mostly comprised of Vietnam War veterans associated with various biker clubs. Wearing leather jackets emblazoned with organization names like "Rolling Thunder," "Legacy
Vets," and "Combat Veterans of America Motorcycle Club," the vets had turned out to stand guard at the Vietnam Wall and other monuments after some sites were desecrated at an antiwar rally in January. The vets were a grizzled, tough-looking lot, and their presence seemed to surprise the handful of Chinese tourists snapping photos in the area.
Across the street, the war protesters were arriving late with their usual collection of Che Guevara banners, placards decrying American imperialism, and bizarre signs denouncing the 9/11 attacks as a government-orchestrated conspiracy. Some tables were set up offering books and pamphlets advocating socialism while a few enterprising capitalists worked the crowd, briskly selling T-shirts commemorating the march. As they arrived, the protesters were entertained by a DJ who, we were informed over the loudspeakers, was from Puerto Rico - "the first country invaded by the U.S." He played the Edwin Starr protest classic "War (What is it good for?)" several dozen times, it seemed, then launched into James Brown's "I'm Black and I'm Proud," as the mostly white crowd sang along.
Eventually, around 15,000 protesters arrived -- appearing to me about the same number as attended the January antiwar rally..This must have been a severe disappointment to A.N.S.W.E.R., which had drawn upwards of 100,000 people to previous protests. The poor turnout at this year's rallies can largely be attributed to a schism between A.N.S.W.E.R. and the other main antiwar coalition, United for Peace and Justice. The two groups used to sponsor these rallies together, but have recently ceased cooperating.
Their dispute stems from two factors. First, there was some squabbling over the amount of time given to each group's speakers at past rallies -- a surprising bit of selfishness from people who drive cars with bumper stickers proclaiming that everything they need to know they learned in kindergarten. Second, there was a disagreement over the Israel-Palestine
issue. Apparently, A.N.S.W.E.R.'s position is that the Jews should be driven into the sea, while UPJ, being slightly more moderate, seeks to convince the Jews through peaceful dialog to throw themselves in.
Before setting off for the Pentagon, the war protesters were addressed by a few speakers. The veterans watched quietly from just across the street until Cindy Sheehan was introduced. Even before she denounced President Bush as "the greatest terrorist in the world," the mention of Sheehan's name elicited from the vets a rigorous round of booing the likes of which is
rarely heard outside the confines of a Philadelphia Eagles home game.
Finally, the march began. It was a motley collection of organizations and interest groups. The parade was led by a collection of antiwar military veterans, followed by the radical feminists of Code Pink. Then came a group of "drummers" who were really just banging sticks on the bottom of some empty pails, succeeded by the mandatory contingent of masked anarchists. Further back were lots of hippie-throwbacks, a good number of college students, some refugee from an anarchist rodeo twirling a lasso around himself, and a variety of people waving Lebanese and Palestinian flags. There were a few American flags as well, although nearly all of these were defaced with peace signs, political slogans, or sardonic renditions of corporate symbols.
The counter-demonstrators lined the first few hundred yards of the parade route, sometimes on both sides. Waving American flags, the vets gave the marchers a generally good heckling; "Go impress your professors!" was my favorite epithet. Despite their fetish for the right to "dissent," the war protesters are unaccustomed to opposition, aside perhaps from a lone College
Republican or two that might show up with an American flag at a campus protest. But these counter-demonstrators were different. They were combat veterans who still bristle at the memory of being jeered by these kinds of radicals when they returned from Vietnam. The marchers seemed not only nervous, but even ashamed -- to prove their patriotism to the vets, they began chanting "U.S.A.! U.S.A.!" This was probably the first time that chant has ever been heard at an antiwar rally.
I fell in with the anarchists, since that's where the action usually is. There were around 100 of them, although the number of face piercings exceeded that by a factor of 10, even with most of their nose rings and tongue rings hidden by masks and bandannas. Their banners proclaimed slogans like "Destroy all government" and "No war but class war." The vets yelled
out to them "Come over here!" and "Show your faces!" Declining either invitation, the anarchists responded by chanting "Whose streets? Our streets!"
But the chant lacked conviction, seeing as the only thing protecting the anarchists from a smackdown by the vets was the line of police officers separating the two sides. I spotted a group of four anarchists carrying an upside down American flag and wondered how far they'd get with it. It turned out to be about 50 yards. Then, a vet managed to infiltrate the parade and
snatched the flag from them, causing all four members of the revolutionary vanguard to run scurrying away.
After parading through this gauntlet of counter-protesters, the rest of the march was pretty subdued. I walked back toward a portable loudspeaker surrounded by Palestinian flags. A speaker was leading a chant of "Stop bombing Lebanon!", which I found strange, since no one is bombing Lebanon. The chanting stopped when the microphone was passed to a Middle Eastern woman whose accent was so thick that no one could understand what they were supposed to be protesting. Finally, they agreed on singing another refrain of "War," which seemed to be their automatic fallback position for almost any unexpected situation.
We arrived at the Pentagon parking lot, where a DJ was again playing "War." I couldn't take the song anymore, so I wandered off in search of the anarchists. I found them at the end of a bridge leading to the Pentagon itself. They were facing a line of police officers in full riot gear, replete with gas masks. "Whose streets? Our streets!" rang out again, but it was pretty clear whose streets these were, since the anarchists weren't allowed to keep marching forward on them.
The police announced through a bullhorn that they'd use teargas if the protesters didn't return to the parking lot. In response, a female-looking anarchist in dreadlocks yelled out to me and some other reporters nearby, asking if we'd help get the word out that the police, without cause, had gassed peaceful protesters. "No!" I instinctively yelled back, eliciting some shocked stares from the anarchists. Another anarchist approached us and asked if we'd stand between them and the police to prevent the cops from "attacking" them. He pointed to one elderly female reporter: "You ma'am, if you get in the middle, there's no way the police will knock you over." The request caught me off guard -- I was unaware that old women are used as
human shields anywhere outside of the Middle East.
The group sat down in front of the police to decide what to do. Some people passed out food, at which point most of the anarchists removed their masks and bandannas to eat, then put them back on when they had finished. My respect for this bunch was rapidly declining.
They took a series of votes, decided to leave the bridge to the police, and backed off about 20 yards. Then, in one final act of "resistance" before vacating the bridge, one of them burned an American flag, to the cheers of all the rest. This incident went unreported in all of the mainstream media, despite the presence on the bridge of numerous journalists and photographers.
Walking home, I reflected on what the antiwar movement has degenerated into -- a squabbling collection of aging socialists, pro-Palestinian militants, and cowardly anarchists. The Vietnam vets -- who were there just to protect our monuments and show support for the troops -- had a surprising effect on the protesters. "Fight back! Fight back!" was one of the protesters'
slogans. But it was all talk. When confronted by people who actually fought and bled for their country, the protesters grew sheepish and embarrassed -- I would even say humiliated.
I couldn't help but notice that the anarchists - the supposed hardcore fringe of the movement - waited until they were safely out of range of the veterans to burn a flag. Afraid of the vets, afraid of the cops, they don't seem to be good for much other than occasionally smashing storefront windows when there's no one else around.
"Whose streets? Our streets!", they chanted. Not on Saturday they weren't.
Read more articles like this at HUMAN EVENTS ONLINE! http://www.humanevents.com/
Comments
Display comments as (Linear | Threaded)
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March 27, 2007 6:47 PM
Van wrote:
Is this whole country slightly retarded? What part of.... Nobody from Iraq had ANYTHING to do with the events of 9-11!!! Do they not understand. It is disgraceful that our great country's lives and resources would be wasted on a blood-feud between the Bush family and the Hussein family.
The terrorists came from Saudi Arabia, (Yes, that would be the Bush family friends.),not Iraq. The orders came out of Afghanistan (also not Iraq).
The guy who spear-headed the attack was from.... no not Iraq... Saudi Arabia.
So why are we in Iraq? WMD's? Hahahahaa... let's not even go there! Uhhhh... money for Cheney's ex-company??? Maybe... Because Saddam Hussein said he wanted daddy Bush dead and even attempted it? Maybe.... Who knows? But we shouldn't be there.
Sure it is a tough pill to swallow. Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld told a bunch of lies, thousands of young Americans lost their lives needlessly and now it is too late to leave because we have destabilized the region.
"Afraid of the vets, afraid of the cops,...." Hmmm... sounds like pre-war Iraq to me..........
Reply to this -
March 28, 2007 2:48 AM
Joe Cantafio wrote:
Van,
It's very interesting. There is proof of WMD's, ... don't you remember? The inspectors found 14 before the war, ... that's what started all this. Then the real liar (Saddam) said he would get rid of them all. He broke treaty after treaty.
I also do not believe it's a family feud between the Hussein's and the Bush's.
As for seeing this through, ... I lost a young cousin in 2004 in Baghdad,and I was there entertaining our great troops in 2004. I don't want the 3,000 + soldiers to die in vain.
But I will tell you, the best thing about this country is that you can agree or disagree with me, ... and we still have the freedom of publicly voicing that opinion and that's what our great troops protect. Nobody is going to get their heads cut off and we aren't going to try and kill each other. Hell, ... I'd probably buy you a drink.
Believe me, our family is just sick about the loss of young Ryan, ... but he believed in what he fought for and we will defend that choice and that belief until the day we die.
I appreciate you voicing your opinion Van.
Have a great night,
Joe Cantafio
Reply to this -
March 28, 2007 2:52 AM
Van wrote:
Sorry about your loss Joe. But, right you are. I never find fault in a
person for their beliefs, as long as their intentions and actions are toward
the common good.
van
Reply to this-
April 2, 2007 6:07 PM
Jim VanNatta wrote:
Van,
I couldn't sit back anymore and read this type of commentary from people regarding the war and those that we have lost. I just returned yesterday from San Diego, where I VERY PROUDLY watched my son Derek graduate from Marine Boot Camp. Yes, I would prefer that he not get deployed, and yes, I will worry every minute that he is on active duty. But, he volunteered. The President doesn't enjoy sending the troops into harm's way, but it is necessary. Joe and I also have a very dear friend, Vinny Forras whose Marine son Michael returned from duty in Iraq, and is now doing special duty. Vinny and I, and all of the many thousands of other proud parents, watch our kids preparing for the most honorable service that one human can do for another - be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for people they don't even know, and in some cases, don't even agree with their views.
Although I come from a very political family, Derek has never been too involved with political issues. But, he does know what is right, and that is that the United States needs to have brave and competent leaders, and a strong military for our defense.
So, for all those that sit back and actually believe that we got into this war for some personal vendetta, or to line Halliburton's pockets, or for any one of the other wild concepts, please just try to open your minds and understand that the real evils are the terrorists that have attacked us, and not President Bush. On Sept. 20, 2001, President Bush told the country that the war on terror was not going to be easy, and wasn't going to end soon. Now, for some reason, people claim that he told us that it would be quick and easy. Before everyone jumps on the attack wagon, please look at the facts. If you want proof that Bush never claimed it would be easy, simply Google his speech and read the transcript. Also, nowhere in that speech, or at any other time did the President or anyone from his administration ever try to claim that Iraq was involved with the attacks of 9/11. Also, just for those that want more facts: the US had every legitimate right under international law to go into Iraq. Go back to the UN resolutions, and more importantly, the cease-fire agreement that Saddam signed, and then violated a few short weeks later. Under that agreement, and following international law, the US had the right, and indeed the obligation to remove him from power. Unfortunately, we telegraphed our moves for almost 18 months, giving Saddam the opportunity to remove or hide any weapons of mass destruction. For God's sake, they buried an entire jet in the sand; how hard would it be to bury smaller weapons, including chemicals?
I agree that we all have the right to say what we believe. And in that same spirit, I think that we all have an obligation to ensure that the facts are what will lead the discussions, not sound bites and attacking comments.
God Bless our President, and all of our troops!
Reply to this-
April 7, 2007 11:01 PM
Ryan Jazak wrote:
Well said Jim.
God Bless your son Derek for his volunteer service to our nation. He is now one of the few and proud, a Marine. I will never forget the pride I had 13 years ago watching my brother graduating from the same service at MCRD in San Diego. That pride still lives with me to this day as I send him off to war. As a father, I know the pride and emotion that you feel. I know how proud you are of your boy. I am proud of him as well. I am honored to welcome you to the family of the Marines. Michael Forras, Derek VanNatta, Eric Jazak, and Ryan Cantafio are just a few of the brave warriors who answered Americas call. I salute each and every one. All have given some, some have given all. God Bless our brave Marines, and God Bless our fallen.
Semper Fi,
Ryan
Reply to this
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April 7, 2007 11:01 PM
Ryan Jazak wrote:
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April 2, 2007 6:07 PM
Jim VanNatta wrote: