Posted on 04/12/2002 10:50:25 AM PDT by VaMarVet
WASHINGTON - Pro-Israel, anti-Israel. Pro-Palestinian, anti- Palestinian. Anti-terror hawks and doves.
Those are only a handful of the groups that will crowd Washington's streets April 19, when as many as 20,000 or more advocates of those discordant positions descend on the nation's capital over a four-day period.
An annual march and protest timed by mostly college-age activists to coincide with a meeting of global financiers at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund this year also comes as the Middle East war is sparking street demonstrations by U.S. partisans on both sides of that roiling conflict.
Added to the mix are those who want to condemn the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and against terrorism, cut off all military aid to Colombia, prevent oil drilling in an Alaskan wilderness area and halt what they call the erosion of civil freedoms by the Justice Department.
Also raising placards will be flag-waving supporters of America's troops and the country in general. The ``Patriot's Rally for America,'' slated for April 20 at the Washington Monument grounds, promises its supporters ``will not allow the America-hating left to take to the streets unanswered,'' according to its Web site at www.rally4america.org.
In all, more than 100 disparate groups are expected to hit the streets around the White House, Capitol Hill and the downtown headquarters of the World Bank and the IMF.
Washington's police will be out in force, with more than 3,600 officers deployed. Another 700 National Guard troops and police from nearby jurisdictions will join them.
Assistant Police Chief Terry Gainer said the police are prepared for the sort of disturbances that swept Washington in April 2000, when some of 10,000 World Bank and IMF protesters turned unruly. A week of demonstrations resulted in about 1,200 arrests and scattered property damage.
``We're working from the playbook of April 2000,'' Gainer said. ``We will not brook any destructive behavior.''
Emotions are certain to be high during the protests, given the polarized position of those advocating one side or the other in the Israel-Palestinian war now raging in the West Bank. U.S. campuses in recent weeks have been roiled by such competing demonstrations, with Jewish student groups and pro-Palestinian activists trading heated epithets.
The biggest potential flashpoint of the coming D.C. protests is likely to be April 22, when Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is scheduled to speak to a major Jewish group in Washington.
The Congress of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations is organizing busloads of participants from across the country to attend a rally that day to demonstrate support for Israel. Pro-Palestinian groups intend to stage counter rallies.
``Our hope will be that we will only be stuck trying to handle a peaceful crowd,'' Gainer said.
Big bump.
RaceBannon, KLT, me and a bunch of others are FReeping the Palestinians this Sunday. I'll probably make the DC trip just so I can say I did it!!
I can't afford a stay-over though, so I won't booze it up and it will just be an extended day trip!!
I hope the weather will be as beautiful as it was for the MFJ.
Outstanding.
OINK!
Just kidding. :-)
All, do not be put off by this quote. We will not be in direct line of sight of the lefty wackos. The DC Police are well versed in dealing with all sorts of demonstrations and participants. The DC Chapter and our many allies faced down these clowns last September. The DC Chapter and LLE have an outstanding relationship.
The only thing you have to fear is the sun so bring your sun screen and your water. It is going to be a great day for America.
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