At least 10,000 protest in Washington against "endless war"

Space War-France Presse WASHINGTON (AFP) Apr 13, 2003

At least 10,000 people held a noisy protest Saturday in central Washington against the US invasion of Iraq, warning that the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime was just the start of an "endless war" for world domination.

"We're not there (in Iraq) for democracy," said Edward Wolfe, 75, who travelled from New Jersey for the march. "We're not there for liberation. I honestly think we're there for power."

Ed Twigg, from West Virginia, shouted over the sound of beating drums: "The agenda is just to continue on" with a series of occupation wars.

Protests in Washington and elsewhere in North America, including Montreal, San Francisco and Los Angeles, were called in solidarity with a day of protests around the world, including in Britain, Italy, Japan and South Korea, with up to half a million demonstrating in Rome.

"We're calling to stop this series of endless wars, to stop this occupation of Iraq and the Middle East," said Dustin Langley, a volunteer with the US protests' sponsor, Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, or ANSWER.

The "axis of evil" fingered by US President George W. Bush more than a year ago was no more than a "list of targets," Langley said, noting that Washington has "already started threatening Syria."

A protester Saturday carried a placard with a checklist entitled "Bush's list", with Afghanistan and Iraq ticked off and Syria, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela and China next in line.

A counter-demonstrator, Adam Phillips of New York, bore a placard advocating the overthrow of Syria's ruling Baath party, which espouses the same pan-Arab ideology as the deposed Baath regime in Iraq.

"We've declared a global war on terrorism, (and with the defeat of Saddam) we can't think that it's done," he told AFP.

The United States has long called on Damascus to abandon support for what it has branded "terrorist" organizations, notably Lebanon's Hezbollah and the Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Many of Saturday's marchers voiced their support for the Palestinians, and some hurled abuse at a counter-demonstrator holding up an Israeli flag.

ANSWER, a coalition of mostly leftist groups that was a key organizer of the massive demonstrations held in the run-up to the war, estimated Saturday's turnout at 25,000.

The marchers passed by the headquarters of Halliburton, Bechtel and other corporations set to snap up lucrative postwar reconstruction contracts in Iraq, as well as the offices of news groups such as Fox News and The Washington Post that have been criticized for their coverage of the war.

Protester Stan Green, of Clarion, Pennsylvania, said: "The American news media have been totally co-opted in support of the war."

Another marcher, 73-year-old Lonnie Picknes from New Jersey, said: "I am here to oppose corporate global domination and to stop the murder of innocent people. I support the troops but my desire is to bring them back home."

When the marchers reached the heavily defended White House they began chanting "impeach Bush!"

Activists also oppose the man picked to head an interim government in Iraq, retired three-star US general Jay Garner, 64, under fire for his links to the defense industry and strong support of Israel.

Nearby in front of the seat of the US Congress, a smaller demonstration in support of the US-led war saw hundreds of people chanting "USA, USA" and waving US flags at a "Rally for the Troops."

"This is a significant moment in American history and one that we can be proud of," said speaker Bill Kristol, editor of the conservative Weekly Standard magazine "It's not the end of the war on terror ... it's the end of the beginning."

In the crowd, 50-year-old NASA engineer Mike Bowen of Damas, Maryland, told AFP: "I love America. This is the best way to show that I support our troops."

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