Posted on 11/21/2005 12:21:46 PM PST by Spiff
 A Sierra Vista police officer turns back a group of protesters. The group joined in a protest Sunday outside of the main gate of Fort Huachuca. (Suzanne Cronn-Herald/Review)
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 Alice Ritter, left, Connie Graves and Pat Birnie practice protest songs with their group called the Raging Grannies. The group joined in a protest Sunday outside of the main gate of Fort Huachuca. (Suzanne Cronn-Herald/Review)
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SIERRA VISTA — As they returned to Fort Huachuca’s main gate for an annual protest Saturday, war protesters said their effort is gaining momentum, for what it’s worth.
Anti-war groups such as Vietnam Veterans Against the War said the protest was specifically directed at what they believe to be torture techniques being taught to U.S. military personnel at Fort Huachuca’s military intelligence school.
Several counter-protesters arrived on time to position themselves across Fry Boulevard from the war protesters, who had obtained a permit from the city of Sierra Vista to protest on the northeast corner of Fry Boulevard and Buffalo Soldier Trail, from 10:30 a.m. to noon.
Before 10 o’clock a Volkswagen bus parked near the gate, carrying the first protesters to arrive.
Cpl. Tony Venditto of the Sierra Vista police said before the demonstration, about 30 protesters were expected. About 50 had gathered on the protest corner before the demonstration was done.
“I think they’re horribly misguided. I think they have a very improper assumption of what the troops are doing in Iraq,” said counter-protester John George of Sierra Vista.
George said he is a U.S. Army veteran, graduated from the Fort Huachuca intelligence school, and knows first hand that the protesters’ allegations are incorrect.
“I can say with 100 percent certainty that there is no teaching of torture on Fort Huachuca. I believe that the actions of a few bad apples (at Abu Ghraib) have caused people to point the blame at the wrong spot,” the counter protester said.
“The soldiers are the same types of individuals that give these people the right to protest.”
George said it seems like such demonstrations are used as an “excuse for the Democratic party, to smear the Bush Administration as much as they can,” considering the coming 2006 national elections.
George stood aside two Vietnam veterans and a some other counter protesters, holding a sign pledging support to President Bush and U.S. troops in the Middle East.
One of several Vietnam vets on the protest side of the street had a different perspective about U.S. involvement with Iraq, unconvinced that soldiers aren’t being trained to violate the international Geneva Convention protocol.
“Fort Huachuca needs to stop teaching its intelligence students how to torture,” said Michael Holzman, the Arizona state contact for Vietnam Veterans Against the War.
He also had a few opinions about any current U.S. military presence in Iraq.
“The more we stay in the Middle East, it’s like hitting a hornet’s nest with a stick. Stop hitting the nest,” Holzman said.
Saturday’s demonstration was not “anti-troops,” he clarified, adding that as the annual protest comes and goes since the Iraq involvement began, more people appear to be on the war protesters side.
“We’re not anti-troops. I’m definitely not, and I know they aren’t either,” Holzman said, pointing to his fellow demonstrators. “We’re here for peace.”
Numerous others driving through the intersection clearly did not agree with the protesters, waving middle-finger salutes at the protesters. One elderly lady drove by an gave a thumbs up to the counter protesters, one pickup truck with a U.S. Marine Corps sticker gave the war protesters a thumbs up, and one young driver in a huge four-wheel drive showed complete disinterest.
Many people honked their car horns, one way or the other.
The fort’s main gate was closed during the protest.
Some sideline conversation continued from last year, regarding whether it’s actually desecration of a U.S. flag to sew a peace symbol into the bars, and if so whether it’s ever been enforced and who would do so in Sierra Vista.
“They have the right to protest. I’m glad that they’re exercising such a right that we’ve given them. I just believe that their actions and intentions are misguided,” George said.
Protester Susan Gallegos said the recent tradition of this annual protest at Fort Huachuca was a spinoff from the annual Fort Benning demonstration in Georgia, which occurs on the same day as the Fort Huachuca protest.
She said the connection between the two annual protests, is the demonstrators’ belief that both Fort Benning’s School of the Americas and Fort Huachuca’s military intelligence school train soldiers to practice unethical methods.
A statement from the Tanja J. Linton, media relations officer with the Public Affairs Office of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center and Fort Huachuca, pointed out:
“The Army is a values-based institution and trains soldiers to conduct themselves in accordance with the Laws of War. We are proud of the job our instructors are doing and the quality of our students.
“We fully respect the right of Americans to lawfully assemble and express their opinions under the First Amendment. We are thankful that the American people, while free to express their opinions, are supportive of the men and women in uniform who serve our country
every day.”
Herald/Review reporter Gentry Braswell can be reached at 515-4680 or by e-mail at gentry.braswell@svherald.com.
Ping
Why am I not surprised ?
Damn '60s losers !
....and yet they still claim to support the troops....
Refugees from the sixties.
-“The more we stay in the Middle East, it’s like hitting a hornet’s nest with a stick. Stop hitting the nest,” Holzman said.-
At least they're admitting to the hornets, but their analogy is shallow at best. You don't move out of your house because a nest has gotten out of hand. You call the exterminator to come deal with the problem. Or possibly Dave Barry.
The abysmal failure of these silly protests is due to the easy availablity of sex and drugs to young people. In the 60s and early 70s, guys had to go to protest stuff to get laid and score drugs, but that's not true any more. Hell, these high school kids are having sex with the teachers, so why bother to go to some protest , especially when most of the broads there are older and uglier than ther teachers anyway.
Hey, ya still might be able to score some way-cool tie dye.
According to you left wing moonbats, the enemy never does anything wrong and we don't do anything right. Come to think of it, you never use the word "enemy". What do you call someone who fries 3000 office workers on a nice Thursday in September?
Are you living in a parallel universe?
MI school is there they should've seen this coming lol
Can you say oxy-moron boys and girls?
Sure you can, go ahead, try it.
Excuse me?
This is the second annual event, they had permits, and the Post put out the information ahead of time.
What makes you think they didn't know this was coming.
As the end of the article points out, the Post's PAO had a statement prepared for the press.
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