Posted on 09/12/2003 2:46:19 AM PDT by kattracks
Washington (CNSNews.com) - On a day when many Americans were solemnly remembering the lives lost two years ago in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a band of anti-war demonstrators used the occasion to call for world peace and warn Americans that the White House was lying about the attacks.
Officially, the D.C. Antiwar Network organized the vigil, but more than a dozen people from various walks of life turned out to express their frustrations about the administration's policies in Iraq and the war on terrorism. They said the second anniversary of the terrorist attacks served as an impetus to make a statement.
"Today should be a day of remembering and grieving, but also recommitting ourselves to be people of compassion and reconciliation," said Art Laffin, who frequently attends vigils at the White House and Pentagon as part of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker Movement in Washington.
Laffin and other demonstrators disagreed with President Bush's characterization of the anniversary as "Patriot Day."
"Nationalism is a sin because it divides people," Laffin said.
Leonard Sanford of Waldorf, Md., carried a sign along Pennsylvania Avenue that referred to Bush as "scum." He said the president and other members of his administration have used the memory of Sept. 11 to demonstrate aggression around the globe.
"I'm sick of the scum who continually wrap themselves in the American flag," Sanford said. "They talk about patriotism, but none of these people are patriots. These people are political opportunists of the worst sort. They have no concept of personal integrity, of truth, decency - they're just thugs by definition."
Amy Larkin of Rockville, Md., has been attending functions of the D.C. Antiwar Network since a February bus trip to New York City. She said many unanswered questions remain about the Sept. 11 attacks, the war on terrorism and the conflict in Iraq.
Larkin said the lies started on the day of the attacks and have continued ever since.
"As icky as the Taliban was, they had absolutely nothing to do with whoever attacked us," Larkin said. "We need to ask questions about what connection this administration has with [Osama] bin Laden because they go back a long way."
Sanford was even more blunt in his cynicism. In his view, the Bush administration is responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks.
"I have no doubt that the men who piloted those planes were Arab or Arab-Americans. It's whose agenda they were pushing which is important," Sanford said. "They were working a provocation so the U.S. would be able to work up public opinion for aggression throughout the world and at home, with respect to civil liberties and the bully patriotism."
It troubles Larkin that many Americans trust the administration's justification for ousting Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq. She said the war wasn't about bringing terrorists to justice but rather grabbing control of the country's supply of oil.
"We need to pull the troops out and let [the Iraqis] rebuild," Larkin said. "They can take care of themselves. There's been civilization there for 6,000 years, and they know how to take care of things."
Others, like Jack Ross of Fairfax, Va., agreed with that assessment. He said the United States has no right to impose the rule of law on other nations.
"It's a much deeper problem that we have in this country and this society," Ross said. "It's the whole idea that there is a right to be imposed on the rest of the world by this country. That's why there's been so much revolt and outcry, because of that idea."
The demonstrators encountered some opposition, but only in the form of questions. A large sign in Lafayette Square across from the White House - "We are being lied to" - prompted some passersby to wonder aloud what exactly the lies were.
Activist Kristinn Taylor, co-leader of the D.C. Chapter of Free Republic, a conservative organization that has held rallies in support of U.S. troops fighting in Iraq, did not venture out to Thursday's vigil, but he was critical of its message.
Taylor called it a "hate-America" gathering typical of protests taking place since the attacks two years ago. He dismissed the accusations that the president had lied and said the anti-war demonstrators could not be taken seriously.
"Let's go back to the administration's response on Sept. 11," Taylor said. "Our civil liberties weren't suspended, and they still haven't been suspended. People are free to speak out and they're free to organize. The only thing they're not free to do is conspire to commit terrorist acts."
Laffin, however, of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker Movement, said he's simply trying to spread a message of peace.
"I don't want to see what happened on Sept. 11 ever happen again," Laffin said. "I deeply believe the only way out of this cycle of violence is non-violence."
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Why is this news?????
I'll have about 20 people over for a bachelor party this weekend. If we start bashing America, will these clowns write a story about it??
Wow, what incisive political analysis.
Does this mean Saddam Hussein is a poo-poo head?
Please, oh please don't throw me in the briar patch!
;O)
Of all the lines to quote, you picked the same as I did.
Icky? Yet they referred to Bush as "scum."
Our President is scum and the Taliban is just icky. Idiots.
Wow! This is serious! Why that's almost .00000008% of the population! We better listen to these people!
/Sarcasm off.
"I have no doubt that the men who piloted those planes were Arab or Arab-Americans. It's whose agenda they were pushing which is important," Sanford said.
If Sanford is sick of the American flag, maybe he should go live in one of the Arab countries the hijackers were from and live under their "laws" for a while.
Whose agenda were they pushing? That should be easy. The real question should be: Whose agenda are you pushing? The dims are the party destroying America.
"I'm sick of the scum who continually wrap themselves in the American flag," Sanford said. ..........
They are sick of the American flag, period.
Becki
I agree with your point 100%. I am sick of the left and their ideas for America.
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