Posted on 03/19/2007 12:00:00 PM PDT by Behind Liberal Lines
ITHACA — Hundreds flocked to The Commons Saturday, joining tens of thousands around the world, to protest the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Some carried picket signs; some wore clothes with embroidered messages. One carried a doll meant to resemble President George W. Bush with a cowboy hat and his “pants on fire.”
“Stop the War!” “Impeach Bush!” and “Out of Iraq!” were familiar cries as the protesters marked the four-year anniversary of the United States' involvement in Iraq.
Several local politicians and anti-war demonstrators lent their voices to the crowd. Speaking on the steps of the Bernie Milton Pavilion, Sergeant Hatt Hrutkay, a member of the Iraq Veterans Against the War, said that the stability the U.S. has promised has failed to come to fruition in Baghdad.
“Democracy has never been imposed by the outside,” Hrutkay said. “The Iraqi people must initiate the changes.”
Former state assemblyman Marty Luster agreed and believes that that the entire war is based on falsehoods.
“We see escalation upon escalation, lie upon lie,” Luster said.
Luster said the only way to end the war is to see Bush out of office, drawing the cheers of those who Luster dubbed “the St. Patrick's Day 400,” a reference to four individuals who in 2003 poured vestibules of their own blood around a recruiting station in Lansing as a protest.
Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-22nd Dist., said that a new face in office is essential to getting the troops out of Iraq.
“We need new leadership,” he said. “This administration has caused more trouble for our country than any other administration.”
Many in the crowd said that they believe Iraq needs continued support, but they do not believe that the U.S. military should be the provider.
“Nothing we've done has been for helping the Iraqi people,” said Mike Pitzrick of Dryden.
Pitzrick acknowledged that it is a difficult subject, but that the country's involvement was for all the wrong reasons.
Zam Gerrity called the war “a crime against humanity.” He agreed that all efforts to rebuild are futile.
Dan Tritto, a Buffalo resident, said that the U.S. does have an obligation to rebuild Iraq. “But you can't do that at the end of a gun,” he said.
While the sentiments of the speakers and the protesters was the majority opinion on the day, to the side were signs proclaiming “support our troops.” Bill Murphy, an Ithaca resident, wanted his voice to be heard as well.
“I'm against rape of innocent woman and dictatorships,” Murphy said, referring to the life Iraqis faced under Saddam Hussein.
No reason to believe she has an agenda, or that any editor did more than check for typos in that screed....
They ought to change the name from Ithaca to Stalin City. These folks are expendable.
I'd bet 1/3 of those twits couldn't find Ithaca on a map.
There was one of these events in my little upstate city. They (according to the paper) even read from the Qur'an. And one of our elementary school teachers was quoted as saying "War is never the answer." Thank God my kids are grown. I would never have made it through a PTA meeting under circumstances such as this.
The picture shows a sea of fools! The elected officials that took part in this should be charged with not upholding their Oath of Office! We witnessed the same perverse freak parade in Hollywood! They were the antithesis of all they proclaimed! How can someone display a "coexist" sticker next to one that suggests "Kill Cheney"?
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