Iraq War Veterans Lead DC Antiwar March

Starting with a noon rally in Lafayette Park, people from all over the country gathered to hear former presidential candidate Ralph Nader, peace activist Cindy Sheehan, former attorney general Ramsey Clark, protest coordinator Brian Becker, Iraq War veterans, and many others call for an immediate end to the war in Iraq. Speakers called for ending and defunding the war now, ending the Bush administration’s lies, and redirecting tax dollars to fund social needs at home. The crowd swelled to overflowing from Lafayette Park into the pedestrian mall of Pennsylvania Avenue that runs in front of the White House.

Given the land area of Lafayette Park and the pedestrian mall (approximately 50,000 square meters), and the density of the crowd, it is estimated that some 70,000 people participated. While the Washington Post headlined its coverage “Dueling demonstrations” (September 16, 2007, p. A8), referring to a counter-demonstration of the Gathering of Eagles, the antiwar demonstrators actually outnumbered pro-war demonstrators by at least 50 to 1.

As people marched to the Capitol with Iraq War veterans in the lead, the lead banner behind them stretched across the entire width of Pennsylvania Avenue, eight lanes across. People were packed shoulder-to-shoulder behind the lead banner, and the march stretched out for nearly ten blocks. The banner demanded “U.S. out of Iraq now!” The crowd called for “an end to war and occupation, and money for jobs and education.” Many Iraq War veterans wore their uniforms, symbolizing the growing opposition to the war and its objectives among soldiers currently serving in Iraq.

Upon approaching the Capitol, marchers stormed up Capitol Hill, calling for an end to war funding and for impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney and President George W. Bush. But when they reached the base of the Capitol, they found not the highest institution of American democracy, but three rows of Capitol Police blocking their way to the Capitol steps. Some protestors remarked, “So this is democracy!” Others brought their small children to show them this other side of American “democracy”. Some protestors decided to cross the police barricade and “die in” by lying down in front of the Capitol steps, whereupon they were immediately arrested by Capitol Police. By the end of the day, some 190 persons had courted arrest through non-violent civil disobedience.

The march and “die in” were organized by the ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and Racism) Coalition, and endorsed by thousands of other grassroots organizations based around the country. Symbolizing how the antiwar demonstrators still cared for their institutions of democracy, they cleaned up all the trash and debris left behind by the people’s “siege” of the Capitol. As people were leaving for home, they were not bringing to an end just another antiwar demonstration, but commencing two weeks of intense antiwar activity in Washington, DC by a broad range of national antiwar groups.