Anti-War Protests Target Wounded at Army Hospital

Washington (CNSNews.com) - The Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., the current home of hundreds of wounded veterans from the war in Iraq, has been the target of weekly anti-war demonstrations since March. The protesters hold signs that read "Maimed for Lies" and "Enlist here and die for Halliburton."

The anti-war demonstrators, who obtain their protest permits from the Washington, D.C., police department, position themselves directly in front of the main entrance to the Army Medical Center, which is located in northwest D.C., about five miles from the White House. Among the props used by the protesters are mock caskets, lined up on the sidewalk to represent the death toll in Iraq. See Video

Code Pink Women for Peace, one of the groups backing anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan's vigil outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford Texas, organizes the protests at Walter Reed as well.

Some conservative supporters of the war call the protests, which have been ignored by the establishment media, "shameless" and have taken to conducting counter-demonstrations at Walter Reed. "[The anti-war protesters] should not be demonstrating at a hospital. A hospital is not a suitable location for an anti-war demonstration," said Bill Floyd of the D.C. chapter of FreeRepublic.com,who stood across the street from the anti-war demonstrators on Aug. 19.

"I believe they are tormenting our wounded soldiers and they should just leave them alone," Floyd added.

According to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, nearly 4,000 individuals involved in the Iraq war were treated at the facility as of March of this year, 1,050 of whom were wounded in battle.

One anti-war protester, who would only identify himself as "Luke," told Cybercast News Service that "the price of George Bush's foreign policy can be seen right here at Walter Reed -- young men who returned from Iraq with their bodies shattered after George Bush sent them to war for a lie."

Luke accused President Bush of "exploiting American soldiers" while "oppressing the other nations of earth." The president "has killed far too many people," he added.

On Aug. 19, as the anti-war protesters chanted slogans such as "George Bush kills American soldiers," Cybercast News Service observed several wounded war veterans entering and departing the gates of Walter Reed, some with prosthetic limbs. Most of the demonstrations have been held on Friday evenings, a popular time for the family members of wounded soldiers to visit the hospital.

But the anti-war activists were unapologetic when asked whether they considered such signs as "Maimed for Lies" offensive to wounded war veterans and their families.

"I am more offended by the fact that many were maimed for life. I am more offended by the fact that they (wounded veterans) have been kept out of the news," said Kevin McCarron, a member of the anti-war group Veterans for Peace.

Kevin Pannell, who was recently treated at Walter Reed and had both legs amputated after an ambush grenade attack near Baghdad in 2004, considers the presence of the anti-war protesters in front of the hospital "distasteful."

When he was a patient at the hospital, Pannell said he initially tried to ignore the anti-war activists camped out in front of Walter Reed, until witnessing something that enraged him.

"We went by there one day and I drove by and [the anti-war protesters] had a bunch of flag-draped coffins laid out on the sidewalk. That, I thought, was probably the most distasteful thing I had ever seen. Ever," Pannell, a member of the Army's First Cavalry Division, told Cybercast News Service.

"You know that 95 percent of the guys in the hospital bed lost guys whenever they got hurt and survivors' guilt is the worst thing you can deal with," Pannell said, adding that other veterans recovering from wounds at Walter Reed share his resentment for the anti-war protesters.

"We don't like them and we don't like the fact that they can hang their signs and stuff on the fence at Walter Reed," he said. "[The wounded veterans] are there to recuperate. Once they get out in the real world, then they can start seeing that stuff (anti-war protests). I mean Walter Reed is a sheltered environment and it needs to stay that way."

McCarron said he dislikes having to resort to such controversial tactics, "but this stuff can't be hidden," he insisted. "The real cost of this war cannot be kept from the American public."

The anti-war protesters claim their presence at the hospital is necessary to publicize the arrivals of newly wounded soldiers from Iraq, who the protesters allege are being smuggled in at night by the Pentagon to avoid media scrutiny. The protesters also argue that the military hospital is the most appropriate place for the demonstrations and that the vigils are designed to ultimately help the wounded veterans.

"If I went to war and lost a leg and then found out from my hospital bed that I had been lied to, that the weapons I was sent to search for never existed, that the person who sent me to war had no plan but to exploit me, exploit the country I was sent to, I would be pretty angry," Luke told Cybercast News Service.

"I would want people to do something about it and if I couldn't get out of my bed and protest myself, I would want someone else to do it in my name," he added.

The conservative counter-demonstrators carry signs reading "Troops out when the job's done," "Thank you U.S. Armed Forces" and "Shameless Pinkos go home." Many wear the orange T-shirts reading "Club G'itmo" that are marketed by conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh.

"[The anti-war protesters] have no business here. If they want to protest policy, they should be at the Capitol, they should be at the White House," said Nina Burke. "The only reason for being here is to talk to [the] wounded and [anti-war protests are] just completely inappropriate."

Albion Wilde concurred, arguing that "it's very easy to pick on the families of the wounded. They are very vulnerable ... I feel disgusted.

"[The anti-war protesters] are really showing an enormous lack of respect for just everything that America has always stood for. They lost the election and now they are really, really angry and so they are picking on the wrong people," Wilde added.

At least one anti-war demonstrator conceded that standing out in front of a military hospital where wounded soldiers and their families are entering and exiting, might not be appropriate.

"Maybe there is a better place to have a protest. I am not sure," said a man holding a sign reading "Stop the War," who declined to be identified.

But Luke and the other anti-war protesters dismissed the message of the counter demonstrators. "We know most of the George Bush supporters have never spent a day in uniform, have never been closer to a battlefield than seeing it through the television screen," Luke said.

Code Pink, the group organizing the anti-war demonstrations in front of the Walter Reed hospital, has a controversial leader and affiliations. As Cybercast News Service previously reported, Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin has expressed support for the Communist Viet Cong in Vietnam and the Nicaraguan Sandinistas.

In 2001, Benjamin was asked about anti-war protesters sympathizing with nations considered to be enemies of U.S. foreign policy, including the Viet Cong and the Sandinistas. "There's no one who will talk about how the other side is good," she reportedly told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Benjamin has also reportedly praised the Cuban regime of Fidel Castro. Benjamin told the San Francisco Chronicle that her visit to Cuba in the 1980s revealed to her a great country. "It seem[ed] like I died and went to heaven," she reportedly said.

Pathetic. Proof that anti-war, anti-Bush, anti-American leftwing vermin do not "support the troops".

They support the troops. It's just that they support the troops on the other side.

The Pinkos have endorsed the "Iraqi resistance" (their term, see here and here), given money to the other side in Fallujah, and called our troops "killers." Then, the Pinkos demonstrate at the hospital and pretend that they support our troops.

Code Pink (CP) pretends to be supporting the troops, an unbelievable lie. CLICK TO HEAR A WAV-FORMAT SOUND FILE (OR RIGHT CLICK TO SAVE AND LISTEN LATER) (76 sec, 826 K): This is me debating Chief DC Pinko Gael Murphy about her support of the troops - on the other side.

The Pinkos pretend to be protesting the fact that the military admits patients at night, a cover-up according to the Pinkos. The military says that the admissions are simply based on airplane schedules from Europe and the Middle East that land at nearby Andrews AFB in the late afternoon. Some patients are checked by AF doctors and the patient bus takes them to Walter Reed AFTER the rush hour ends.

Interestingly, the Pinkos have had no signs displayed about the nightly admissions for weeks and weeks now. They do have signs proclaiming support for better veteran benefits. In addition to demoralizing the wounded troops, their evil scheme is designed to entice wounded soldiers or family members to turn against the war, the military, and the President (i.e., turn into latter-day John Kerrys or Cindy Sheehans).

We have brought hell to these people, but peacefully and lawfully. Here's what you can do. Find out what CP is up to in your neck of the woods. Probably they are protesting at military recruiting stations. You and other FReepers can go and peacefully counterprotest.

Below are links to threads from two of the earlier FReeps in the series and in which we had direct interactions with National Chief Pinko Medea Benjamin and/or DC Chief Pinko Gael Murphy. The photos are hyperlinked. Clicking on them pulls up a larger version.

FReepers vs. Code Pink at Walter Reed, July 8 (Heavy graphics, Join us July 15!)
DC Chapter ^ | July 12, 2005 | BillF

Posted on 07/12/2005 3:08:44 PM PDT by BillF

On the heels of an historic rout of the Code Pinkos on July 1, FReepers continued to frustrate the hate-filled Pinkos and their evil scheme as police ordered a stunned and distraught DC Chief Pinko, Gael Murphy, back to her side. FReepers of the DC Chapter and FReepers from elsewhere achieved the decisive victory on Friday night, July 8.

This was the 13th FReep of the unlucky Code Pinkos as FReepers hinder the Pinkos' evil scheme: to fake friendship with soldiers in hopes of finding one or more who, vulnerable in their wounded state, can be manipulated into joining the anti-war movement and breaking faith with their fellow troops. Many of the most severely wounded troops from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan are taken to Walter Reed for continued treatment and rehabilitation. The Pinkos other goal is too demoralize those wounded troops.
[snip]

Back of Nina0113 as she tells Gael Murphy off, tgslTakoma in the middle
background.
[snip]
CLICK TO HEAR SOUND FILE (OR RIGHT CLICK TO SAVE AND LISTEN LATER) (76 sec, 826 K): This starts with Murphy accusing us of being filled with hate. (Laughable. She is so filled with hatred of us that she has to come over to get in our faces, but we try to keep away from her.) At one stage, she tells me to "shut up." (Right, not too much hate there.) I argued that we supported the troops, but the only troops they support are the "Iraqi resistance, the terrorists." bmwcyle is also in the sound file.
CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THAT THREAD.

FReepers vs. Code Pink at Walter Reed (round IV w/ Medea & Murphy coming to our side)
DC Chapter ^ | May 7, 2005 | BillF

Posted on 05/06/2005 12:36:47 AM PDT by BillF

For the forth time in just over 4 weeks, DC Chapter FReepers conducted a FReep of Code Pink's anti-war protest at the gate of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where many of the most severely wounded troops from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan are taken for continued treatment and rehabilitation. The FReep of the leftists' obscene blood dance was on the Friday night, April 29.
[snip]
Code Pink co-founder Gael Murphy and Code Pink chief founder Medea Benjamin separately came over to talk to us, each for at least twenty minutes. Below are sound bites, WAV files that you can click on to hear or right click and save for later listening.
[snip]
*SOUND FILE (64 sec, 481 K): Benjamin discusses Afghanistan and infiltration with BillF, BufordP, and Always Free. After Buford mentions Muslim FBI translators who refuse to blow the whistle on fellow Muslims, Medea says that maybe our country is infiltrated. "You're an infiltrator in this country, too," is what I said to Medea.
SOUND FILE (74 sec, 690 K): Benjamin tries to explain the contradiction between her alleged friendship with military members and the Code Pink view of our military as "killers."
SOUND FILE (28 sec, 310 K): kristinn applauds no terrorist attacks in the U.S. after Sept 11, but Benjamin decries an increase around the world. BillF says the increase is caused by her friends.
*SOUND FILE (100 sec, 1.1 M): Benjamin talks about working with ANSWER. She describes ANSWER as Stalinists who are "nasty, angry."
*SOUND FILE (50 sec, 1.1 M): Benjamin says that neither of our respective sides is as bad as the other says, but kristinn disagrees with respect to them not being as bad as we think they are. BufordP corrects Medea when she accidentally lets the flag touch the ground. Medea says "I like you guys. I love your Mother of All Banners."
SOUND FILE (55 sec, 592 K): Benjamin won't back Hillary in '08, but she says that she normally backs a candidate who finishes in third place or below.
*SOUND FILE (46 sec, 506 K): Benjamin explains her choice of "Medea" as a first name. She claims that Medea really did not kill her children.
[snip]

BufordP poses with Medea Benjamin.
CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THAT THREAD

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