::View a slideshow of the protest::
Despite the Obama administration’s promises of a phased withdrawal from Iraq, members of the Phoenix-based End the War Coalition say now is a more important time than ever for anti war activists to voice their opinion.
That was the message of the coalition’s sixth annual protest of the war Thursday evening on the footbridge traversing East University Drive, near the intersection at South College Avenue. Thursday marked the sixth year of American occupation in Iraq.
“I think a lot of people are giving President Obama the benefit of the doubt,” said Phoenix attorney and coalition organizer Mitch Rubin. “But in our view, that’s why we need to be out here even more: so we can have an impact on his thoughts and his decisions.”
Rubin’s group partnered with such anti war organizations as Code Pink and Women in Black, along with groups of University students and community members to protest the United States’ presence in Iraq, now in its sixth year.
There were about 50 protestors at the height of the demonstration, who varied greatly in age and political affiliation.
Many of their signs urged rush-hour traffic drivers to “honk for peace.” Some of them said the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks were “an inside job,” while others criticized Obama as an “imperialist” and a “puppet.” More somber protestors held signs calling attention to the war’s casualties, with one simply reading “5000 dead.” (The Associated Press News Research Center estimates the total military casualties to be 4,570.)
Rubin’s belief, that activists need to keep pressure on the Obama administration to keep its promise of withdrawal by the end of 2010, was echoed by most of the other protestors.
Communications senior and Iraq War veteran Hari Khalsa criticized Obama’s plan, which would leave a force of 35,000 to 50,000 American troops in the country after 2010. Khalsa claimed the continued presence of American forces would allow the United States to exert too much control over what should be a sovereign nation.
“It’s still an occupation,” Khalsa said. “How are those people ever allowed to run their own affairs when there is a risk of intervention from American forces?”
Biology senior Randall Clarkson said he felt Americans are too quick to believe President Obama’s promise to withdraw from Iraq.
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” he said. “I’m very skeptical as to whether or not Obama is actually going to act on what he has promised us.”
Around dusk, the group began its candlelit march from the footbridge to the Music Building near Gammage Auditorium. They chanted slogans, such as “Fund education, not occupation” and “Support our troops, bring them home.”
The group made its way from along Palm Walk through the center of Cady Mall in front of the Memorial Union. The scene provided surprise entertainment to students, many of whom gawked at the protestors and took pictures.
The night ended with many of the protestors’ leaving their signs outside the Music Building to join students and faculty attending a lecture by former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich about the state of the economy.
Rubin said he hoped the protest, just one of many nationwide, would help pressure the president to deliver on his promise of a responsible yet timely withdrawal from Iraq.
“[President Obama] was elected because he was opposed to the Iraq War,” Rubin said. “We hope that we can impact him now so we won’t have another six-year-long war.”
Reach the reporter at derek.quizon@asu.edu.
