"Peace" Marches

How was your weekend?

I worked swing shifts, and had to avoid one of the gates to Ramstein because of this:

HEIDELBERG, Germany — Demonstrators in cities across the globe plan to hold protests Saturday to mark the first anniversary of the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

Some of the demonstrations are set for U.S. military bases overseas, according to the Installation Management Agency, Europe Region.

At Campbell Barracks — the Heidelberg headquarters for U.S. Army Europe and V Corps — several hundred protesters are expected outside the main gate along Römerstrasse.

Up to 1,000 demonstrators are expected on Kronprinzstrasse in downtown Stuttgart, Germany. The protest is planned to start at 2 p.m. and may last until the evening.

In Landstuhl, Germany, the military expects 5,000 protesters to march from the train station, heading for the west gate at Ramstein Air Base.

Five thousand expected? Well, it is America's largest military installation in Europe. But after-the-fact, this report from the World Socialists indicates turnout was a bit less than anticipated:

In Germany, thousands demonstrated in about 70 cities and towns, with 3,000 attending a rally in Berlin and thousands more gathering outside a US airbase in Ramstein.

When the numbers are vague ("thousands") you know it was a bad day for the bad guys. To be fair, the weather here was miserable, and most of the anti-war crowd aren't as young or spry as they used to be. (Has it really been 35 years since Woodstock?)

USAF Security Forces put the count at 800. German police were less impressed, estimating 700. The population of Kaiserslautern is just over 100,000. The population of the world is just over 6.4 billion.

Speaking of population, according to China's Xinhuanet

Thousands of German protestors held rallies outside American military bases in the country on Saturday to mark the first anniversary of the US-led war against Iraq.

In the south-western German city of Landstuhl, several thousands of Germans participated in a march towards the nearby Ramstein airfield, which serves as a logistic center for American troops and their equipment in Iraq.

The protestors demanded the immediate withdrawal of American troops from Iraq, in what is part of the world-wide action against US military occupation in Iraq.

In front of the headquarters of the US European Command in Heidelberg, about 90 people rallied to protest Washington's Iraqi policy.

Meanwhile, demonstrations in the size of hundreds of people were also held in Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Stuttgart and many other German cities.

According to reports reaching here, large demonstrations broke out around the world from Australia to Britain to demand US withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

Maybe most of the Germans road the Freedom Bus to New York City for the big protest there.

I wonder if this sign would be a big hit in New York?

This shot is from San Francisco, via LGF. You'll find a link there to lots of photos from the premier demonstration town on the left coast.

About which the Chronicle had this to say:

The 87 people arrested at Saturday's war protest were released from county jail by the end of the day after signing a petition promising to return to court, police and sheriff officials said.

Eighty-two were charged with misdemeanors for failing to obey a traffic officer and blocking a roadway. The rest face more serious violations, including two felony charges of aggravated assault and attempting to free a prisoner already in custody, San Francisco Police Deputy Chief Greg Suhr said Sunday.

Which may lead to the conclusion that carrying stupid signs is a protected form of free speech, but yea verily thou had best not jaywalk while doing so. ;) If so, kudos to the SF Police. Maybe a few fines will be levied. Last year,

Those protests cost the city more than $3.5 million in expenses and lost revenues, with most of the costs going to police overtime. Suhr said it was too early to estimate the costs of Saturday's demonstration.

Not quite the smashing success of Al Qaeda's recent "demonstrations" in Spain, but hey, there's more than one way to skin a cat, as they say. Bankrupting a city and interfering with its commercial activities can have big impacts, you know.

A bit southward along the coast we arrive at the home of Citizen Smash, whose email prompted this entire entry.

On Saturday, I spent the afternoon observing an anti-war demonstration in San Diego’s Balboa Park. As a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, I’ve never been to such a demonstration before, and only decided to attend this one out of a sense of perverse curiosity.

What I discovered astounded me – one young woman took the stage to speak in favor of supporting the “Iraqi Resistance.” Fortunately, I had the foresight to bring along a handheld memo recorder, so I was able to capture every word of her speech.

Here’s an excerpt:

“…The first thing is that we need to support the Resistance of Iraqis in Iraq. (applause) Right. These are people who are risking their lives to get the United States out of their country. And we have to see them as our allies. We have to see them as our main allies.

“Similarly, we have to support resistance in the US military. Soldiers, and you know, anyone – (applause) families who are actually opposing the war, we need to be on their side.

“If you recall, there’s one time in the last 30 years when the US military machine was brought down, during Vietnam, and it was brought down because there was a fierce Resistance in Vietnam, and because the soldiers were refusing to fight…”

Yes, you'll want to read the whole thing. Smash has a three-part entry on his personal coverage of the protests, starting here.

Think about it, a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, relating his visit to the protest of the outcome of that war. And Smash demonstrates something those people never will: restraint. I'm not sure I could be as tactful about the whole thing as he is, but when it comes down to it, I guess free speech is what we fight for.

Some folks just use that gift more wisely than others.

In closing, this counterpoint:

Update: Blackfive was surprised to find himself witnessing the demonstrations in Chicago, and he demonstrates why "discretion is the better part of valor." Both Smash and Blackfive have links to more first hand reports.

Udate: Continued here.