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Anti-War Group Suspects it May be Victim of 'Infiltrators'
CNSNews ^ | August 30, 2005 | Marc Morano

Posted on 08/30/2005 12:04:13 PM PDT by Ooh-Ah

(CNSNews.com) - The anti-war group Code Pink, slammed by conservatives and some wounded veterans for co-sponsoring recent protests in front of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., now suggests that the most inflammatory signs held up at the protests might have been the work of "infiltrators whose aim [was] to disrupt the vigil."

Among the most controversial signs held up at the protests was the one reading "Maimed for a Lie." But far from qualifying as an "infiltrator," Stephen McCarron, a spokesman for another anti-war group sponsoring the demonstrations, was photographed on June 17 holding the "Maimed for a Lie" sign himself.

Cybercast News Service obtained the photo from the D.C. chapter of the conservative blogging group Free Republic. When contacted on Monday, McCarron acknowledged that he held the "Maimed for a Lie" sign at the June 17 protest. He also expressed reservations about having the sign appear in front of the Army hospital.



"To some extent it might be (inappropriate,)" McCarron said. "We spoke to the (Walter Reed anti-war) organizers and they recommended it is a bit insensitive, so we are not going to show it anymore.

"Then again, the maiming itself, the wounding itself, the killing itself that's occurring, that goes on, is also offensive," McCarron said.

McCarron did defend the use of the sign during an interview with Cybercast News Service at an Aug. 19 protest, although on that evening, the "Maimed for a Lie" placard was not present. Asked whether he thought the sign was offensive, McCarron said he was "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," McCarron added. He also appeared on the Fox News Channel on Aug. 25 as a spokesman for the anti-war groups, defending the decision to protest in front of the medical center.

Over the weekend, Code Pink issued a statement, alleging that it was being subjected to "right wing attacks" and described the protests in question as the "Walter Reed Hospital vigil."

"In recent weeks, the [Walter Reed Army Hospital] vigil has attracted some people who have tried to change the tone and message of the vigil, including yelling and holding up inappropriate signs," the Code Pink statement read. "The organizers have asked the newcomers to be respectful and wonder if they might indeed be infiltrators whose aim is to disrupt the vigil."

There appears to have been disagreement even within the Code Pink organization over the suitability of some of the signs that were featured at the protests.

Asked by radio talk show host Sean Hannity on Aug. 25 whether she was "embarrassed" that signs reading "Maimed for a Lie" and "Enlist here to die for Halliburton" were being waved in front of the hospital, Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin replied: "I don't think the signs you said are appropriate signs and if I were there (at Walter Reed), I would ask them (the anti-war activists) to take them down."

But Laura Costas, also a Code Pink spokeswoman, insisted just hours later that such signs as "Maimed for a Lie," were appropriate.

"If that's how somebody feels about it, they're entitled to that," Costas said during an appearance on the Fox News Channel program, "Hannity and Colmes."

McCarron, a Gulf War veteran, is no stranger to controversy. A 1999 article in the Socialist Review quoted him at an anti-war town meeting alleging that U.S. soldiers in the Gulf War had killed "innocent people, especially women and children."

"In basic training they tell you not to steal, rape, or kill innocent people, especially women and children. All that was ignored in Iraq," McCarron said, according to the Socialist Review, in reference to the first Persian Gulf War of 1991.

When reminded about this quote on Monday, McCarron conceded that he "probably" did make the statement, but said he was specifically referring to the U.S. military's decisions involving bombing.

"I questioned what kind of ethics the aerial bombardment was bound by," McCarron explained. "I don't think aerial bombardment in the first Iraq warfare was bound by the same ethics that I (as a soldier) was bound by," McCarron, a former Marine intelligence specialist added.

See Earlier Articles:

Anti-War Protests Target Wounded at Army Hospital


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: antiwar; cindysheehan; codepink; codepinkdc; dcchapter; military; protests; walterreed
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1 posted on 08/30/2005 12:04:15 PM PDT by Ooh-Ah
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To: Ooh-Ah

Maybe they are wearing pink tinfoil hats.


2 posted on 08/30/2005 12:05:44 PM PDT by Kurt_D
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To: Ooh-Ah

Praise the Lord, and pass the Pepto.


3 posted on 08/30/2005 12:06:11 PM PDT by xcamel (Deep Red, stuck in a "bleu" state.)
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To: xcamel

Karl Rove plot


4 posted on 08/30/2005 12:07:26 PM PDT by Rosemont
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To: Ooh-Ah
Well, they've certainly been infiltrated by cross-dressers.


5 posted on 08/30/2005 12:08:18 PM PDT by My2Cents ("It takes a nation of candyasses to hold this military back.")
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To: Ooh-Ah

And that, my friends, is a smack down...


6 posted on 08/30/2005 12:08:22 PM PDT by Hurricane Andrew (History teaches that wars begin when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap.)
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To: Ooh-Ah
Zap.

Don't do the rhetoric if you can't take the heat, Code Pinko.

7 posted on 08/30/2005 12:08:22 PM PDT by atomicpossum (Replies should be as pedantic as possible. I love that so much.)
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To: xcamel
Your formatting is much better, but here's the original post.
8 posted on 08/30/2005 12:08:22 PM PDT by andyk (Go Matt Kenseth!)
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To: Ooh-Ah
Sounds like projection to me.

Most conservatives have jobs and no time for "infiltration" nonsense.

DUers, on the other hand...

9 posted on 08/30/2005 12:08:53 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (Islam Factoid:After forcing young girls to watch his men execute their fathers, Muhammad raped them.)
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To: My2Cents
That is a truly frightening image.
11 posted on 08/30/2005 12:10:28 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (Islam Factoid:After forcing young girls to watch his men execute their fathers, Muhammad raped them.)
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To: Rosemont

Kevin McCarron is Karl Rove in disguise.

My evidence: they both have first names starting with the letter "K." PROOF!


12 posted on 08/30/2005 12:10:28 PM PDT by BeHoldAPaleHorse
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To: My2Cents

" Ya know when that shark bites, with his teeth, babe"


13 posted on 08/30/2005 12:13:10 PM PDT by steveo (Member: Fathers Against Rude Television)
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To: My2Cents


Egad...that's nightmare enducing. Geeeeeshhh...


14 posted on 08/30/2005 12:13:35 PM PDT by in hoc signo vinces ("Houston, TX...a waiting quagmire for jihadis.")
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To: BeHoldAPaleHorse
You forgot the r and o in the last name.

That nails it for me.

15 posted on 08/30/2005 12:14:55 PM PDT by dts32041 (Shinkichi: Massuer, did you see that? Zatôichi: I don't see much)
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To: Ooh-Ah

Commies with crabs bump...


16 posted on 08/30/2005 12:15:05 PM PDT by LRS
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To: Ooh-Ah; kristinn

Code pinkios try to back peddle for credibility PING


17 posted on 08/30/2005 12:17:59 PM PDT by Deetes (God Bless the Troops and their Families)
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To: in hoc signo vinces

Can you say, "Reichstag Fire"?


18 posted on 08/30/2005 12:18:35 PM PDT by 50sDad (Star Trek Tri-D Chess: http://my.ohio.voyager.net/~abartmes/tactical.htm)
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To: Ooh-Ah

McCarron is one unhappy guy.


19 posted on 08/30/2005 12:22:14 PM PDT by ModelBreaker
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To: Ooh-Ah
I smell FEAR from these losers. They crap when the light hits them!
20 posted on 08/30/2005 12:26:15 PM PDT by BallyBill ("That's Commander ChickenHawk to you, hippy!!")
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