Federal Bastion Raises a Peace Flag

The Los Angeles Times ^ | 02/12/2003 | David Lamb

[GeneD]

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- One day when historians scour old newspaper clips to glean America's mood as war seemed to grow ever closer, the town meeting here to discuss the possible invasion of Iraq may escape unnoticed — a minor event that made no news, changed few minds and maybe wasn't even representative of the nation as a whole.

But in an overflowing school auditorium Monday night, at a forum with their congressman, a two-star Marine general and an assistant secretary of Defense, the citizens of Alexandria spoke of overwhelming concerns about war with Iraq, and particularly its aftermath. Their antiwar sentiments sounded like those heard in France and Germany.

The message was surprising because Alexandria, across the Potomac River from Washington, is on the front lines of the war on terror.

The Pentagon is nearby, and the federal court where charges against some terrorists have been filed is located here. Six percent of Alexandria's 133,000 residents work for the Defense Department....

[hauerf]

"What surprised me the most was how closely people are following the issue. There was a level of sophistication ..."

Interesting. That high level of audience sophistication is not well conveyed by the article. The tenor of the remarks seems more akin to childlike reasoning and the whining of babies.

[DCBar]

It was the usual collection of leftist activists from the People's Republic of Alexandria. Like San Francisco and Santa Monica, Alexandria wants to have its own foreign policy.