A broad range of antiwar protesters completely surrounded the White House in a wide perimeter after Rev. Jesse Jackson, Jr. negotiated a solution to a tense standoff with Washington, DC police who were blocking the protesters from following the permitted parade route. International Answer, the organization that sponsored the demonstration, announced from the speakers-stage an attendance of 150,000 and most activists at the march agreed there were over 100,000 people present.

SPEAKERS INSPIRE DEMONSTRATATORS

The rally held before the main march featured a line-up of recognized national leaders and activists including actor Susan Serandon, Rev. Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton, Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, Medea Benjamen, Attorney Leonard Weinglass, businessman Ben Cohen (Ben and Jerry) and Former Secretary of State Ramsey Clark. Standing packed like sardines in the sunny park for hours, demonstrators waited patiently to hear all the speakers. The speakers decried the expense of a potential war in Iraq and suggested the money be used for domestic programs instead. Many claimed the war would benefit the rich, but it would be fought by the poor. They also spoke of the solidarity of people around the world in opposition to the proposed war.

Jesse Jackson opened his speech with a moment of silence for Paul Wellstone. He spoke about the history of the civil rights movement through which the "soul of America was transformed." His moving speech called for Americans not to be confused by the "tricks of diversion," of the Bush administrations' call for war in Iraq. Though Jackson said there were, "good wars" "bad wars," he expressed his view that with the "pre-emptive strike," doctrine that Bush would be employing would encourage other countries to move their struggles to more violent levels, such as Pakistan and India. According to Jackson, people are being diverted from the true problems at home, such as "record CEO pay and rising unemployment." He finished by saying, "We need a regime change in Washington."

Ramsey Clark compared the policy of pre-emptive strike to the policies of Nazi Germany, that time and time again, "had struck without reason." He spoke about the 1.5 million children who have died in Iraq due to sanctions, and that the bombing of Iraq continues daily. He declared that because of the Bush administration, the "Bill of rights means nothing - it is the end of the individual." And finally he demanded "Let's liberate the USA" "Let's stand for dignity."

In a shift of focus in addressing issues of soldiers actually ordered into wars, Cynthia McKinney declared that the Bush Jr. administration "wants to take us to war," while veterans are still suffering from the effects of agent orange and depleted uranium (and are still not being treated). She pointed out that, "25% of all homeless are veterans." While the administration wants to "monitor our key strokes, the books we read at the library, they can't feed or shelter our veterans." "It's easy to talk about war when you've never been in it," Congresswoman McKinney said, alluding to the lack of military service of the triumvirate, Cheyney, Wolfowitz and Bush now known as "chicken-hawks." Vermonters lists Bush chicken hawks on its website.



In a dramatic illustration of the cost of the war, Ben Cohen showed a table comparing US budget allocations. The short bars on the graft went to children's health care ($40bn), kindergarten-12 education ($30 bn), job training ($8bn), environment, ($8bn). The long bar went to Pentagon expenditures ($355 bn). (War in Iraq will cost a minimum of $200 bn additional funds). The bar representing military spending was extended with a large black ribbon and went far into the audience.










The most colorful speaker was definitely Medea Benjamin from Global Exchange, a human rights organization opposed to the IMF and World Bank and focusing on issues such as human rights in Columbia. She encouraged women to become "Unreasonable Women for Peace," and join planned hunger strikes outside the White House. She said that the "lethal combination of oil and testosterone" was driving us into war. "Regime change begins at home," she said, "Power to the Peaceful."

HUGE CROWD IS DIVERSE

In contrast with the anti-IMF and World Bank protests held in DC in September, there was approximately equal representation of young adult and middle-aged activists. There were also sizable numbers of younger and older protesters, including about 20 students from a single suburban-DC high school, Montgomery Blair.

FEEDER MARCH STARTS FROM COLUMBIA HEIGHTS

Earlier in the day, about 500 protesters marched about 4 miles from Colombia Heights to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to join the main march, stopping along the way to cheer a group of Cardoza High School students who were planting a peace garden, and to take off their shirts in front of the Washington Post.


When the protesters reached the Washington Post building, "Vermin Supreme," a character dressed in an American flag with a naked butt over the flag and a devil's mask, said "Here we are at the biggest propaganda machine in DC, the Washington Post. Washington Post! Please come out with your hands up. We have some demands. If you don't come out, we'll have to continue to protest." Shortly thereafter, a dozen or so activists took off their shirts baring their chests, symbolic of Bush's war tearing the shirts off their backs. Activists criticized the Post for what they see as slanted pro-war and anti-activist reporting and demanded "Propaganda for peace, not for war." The theme of the feeder march was President George Bush was "taking the shirts off our backs to pay for the war on Iraq."



PEOPLE IN WASHINGTON DC OVERWHELMINGLY SUPPORT THE MARCH

Along the route of the "feeder march," many DC residents expressed positive feedback for the marchers. Those interviewed included young and middle age, African-American, Hispanic and white, and poor and better off. Alexis Roach, a nicely dressed homemaker and volunteer, said, "We need money for education, the poor and elderly, we don't need to be worrying about Iraq." A student from the New School Enterprise said "They shouldn't be killing people, because they'll come over here and do the same." A construction worker from El Salvador said, "Our economy is broke, the war is not good, we should not go to war." Sophia Kirtz, standing outside her workplace at the Florida Grill on Florida Avenue said, "I take people dying to the heart, and this (war) is all about oil." A middle-aged man named Franco, who said he was Sicilian and Lebanese responded to the question, "What do you think about a war in Iraq?" "I am against any war," he replied. "Let's go to the UN, but we don't need to build imperialism again. People suffer."

One group of Young Republicans looking a little lonely said they were here to "protest the protest." Dressed in camouflage fatigues, one of the group said he felt it was his duty to fight the war.

14 BLOCK-LONG MARCH SURROUNDS THE WHITE HOUSE

After speeches, the main march was led off by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) "Drill Team", a group of black union activists, dressed in black jackets with golden letters, doing a "step dance." The ILWU Drill Team was followed by a security circle, a group of hand-linked activists who walked in front of ANSWER's banner ("Act Now to Stop War and End Racism Now!"). They provided a layer of security for Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and others at the front of the march. The ILWU banner, directly adjacent to ANSWER's said "An Injury to One is an Injury to All".

When the march arrived at 17th & H Streets, the police blocked the march with a line of foot patrol, horse-mounted officers, and squad cars. Jesse Jackson negotiated with the police officer in charge, and the march was allowed to continue east on H Street.

At 3:21 pm, when the march arrived 15th & G Streets, an announcement came over speakers mounted on a truck, "Attention, Mr. Bush. The people have surrounded you. The White House is surrounded." The march stretched in length such that, from an aerial view, the White House likely looked as if it was surrounded by tens of thousands of protesters.

Why were people present? Julie Eisenstadt, a DC housing activist said "I 'm here today because it's stupid to kill thousands and thousands of people so that we can drive our cars. This war is about oil."

Gary Goff, vice-president of AFSCME Local 2627 in New York City, said "War is not in the interests of working people." Goff said that he was not alone as a union leader on this issue pointing out that unions representing more than one million workers have come out against war on Iraq. Goff also believes that the national AFL-CIO leadership can be swayed on the war issue noting that President John Sweeney recently said that this "war agenda has as much to do with United States politics as with anything in Iraq."

The banners represented diverse groups from around the country, but mainly from the east coast and midwest: Central Kentucky Council for Peace & Justice, New England Committee for Palestine, Columbia University Anti-War Coalition, New York People's Assembly against Imperialism, Pax Christi New York, Muslim-American Society--Maryland Chapter, Philadelphians against the War, York, PA Greens, Brooklyn Parents for Peace, Earlham College (Indiana), Oberlin College (Ohio), .... Messages included "Regime change here! Drop Bush, not bombs!", "Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, Powell, Bush, Cheney--Gangsters--Halliburton, Harken, Lockheed Martin", "Bush needs a brain. Cheney needs a heart, We've got the courage to make the war stop." "US Empire. Not my American dream."

And then, there were the Radical Cheerleaders ever-present, but ever-changing in participants, at protests over the past three years. Marchers' spirits were high, but lifted further with "Bush and Rumsfeld sitting in a tree, K-I-L-L-I-N-G. First, comes Afghanistan, then comes Hussein, then any other nation who complains." They also sang to the tune of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame":

Take, me out to the war games
Take me out I'm so proud
Support Lockheed and fill the gunracks
You don't care if I ever come back
Cuz I'm one, in a million who's fighting
And if we all die it's OK
Cuz you've got more men left to fight
in your old war games!"

See for more photos:
baltimore.indymedia.org/media/protests/display/746/index.php