[Angelwood]

Another Update -- They didn't leave until a short while ago!

This from Kristinn and tgslTakoma:

Nofel Al-Jazairi (he was with the Iraqi-American Council group on stage at the Patriots Rally on March 1) and his son came down to join the FReepers around 4:30 p.m. We gave him one of our megaphones and he addressed the Code Pink protesters as they assembled to form a symbolic human chain around the White House.

He was very well received by people who stopped and listened to his comments. For the most part, though, the protesters didn't want to hear him. They asked, "How much did you pay him to say that?"

One woman was laughing at and mocking everything Nofel Al-Jazairi said. She was shocked that she was chastised by tgslTakoma. tgslTakoma used her megaphone and told the woman that she had no conscience. She was laughing at this man's and his family's pain and suffering at the hands of Saddam and how could she sleep at night? The woman was upset to be singled out and told that she should be ashamed of herself for mocking him.

Many were invited to come speak to Nofel about his personal experiences under the tyranny of Saddam Hussein. There were no takers.

There was one male protester who was persistent, but no one wanted to talk to him. He kept trying to engage tgslTakoma when Nofel's son spoke up and told him, "Look, she said she doesn't want to talk." When the protester ignored him, Nofel's son told him, "We're her bodyguards and you need to leave."

According to tgslTakoma, there were two ladies carrying Raelian signs; tgslTakoma asked them, "Did you guys strip for peace?" One of the ladies said "No, there weren't enough of us."

RodgerD showed up as Saddam. He had a mask and green shirt and thanked all the protesters for their support and waved at them.

All told, the DC FReepers were moved 5 times. The last location was outside the barriers and yellow police tape and that made it more confrontational than other counterprotests.

There will be more additions to this thread later when all the participants are home again. Please check back later for more detailed stories and pictures.

[netmilsmom]

Great Job!!! I love Saddam thanking the crowd for their support!
Hey Dan, do you think we can pull this off in Lansing? I'll leave the kids at home and avoid Mount Clemens!

[hellinahandcart]

Wow, I can't wait for the report & pictures.

The pictures must be pretty darned amusing.

[hellinahandcart]

tgslTakoma asked them, "Did you guys strip for peace?" One of the ladies said "No, there weren't enough of us."

LOLOL...

[kristinn]

Thanks for doing the live reports.

We had a great time today making the Code Pink-Os miserable by shining the light of hypocrisy on their consciences.

Many of them did not react well at all to being exposed as hypocrites posing as caring for Iraqi women and children. In addition to the four assaults, numerous middle fingers and lots of swearing were directed toward us.

Every once in awhile we had a decent conversation with an "anti-war" protester, but for the most part their interactions with us were ugly.

The guy who assaulted me was the brother of a young woman who was upset about the sign I was carrying: "Code Pink Supports The Rape Of Iraqi Women By Saddam's Torturers" b/w "Saddam Tortures Iraqi Children."

The young woman, who was arguing with me along with her young female friend, grabbed for the sign first but failed to wrest it from me. Her brother then grabbed the sign with both hands, pulled hard and stepped back. I stepped with him and pulled the sign back without letting go of it.

The police wouldn't do anything because their priority at that time was guarding the entrance to the White House grounds from a stampede by the "peace" protesters.

A reporter from Time magazine saw the whole thing and took my number for an interview later.

After the third assault, Raoul started saying over the megaphone, "I'm tired of being assaulted by peace protesters. Stop the left wing violence."

We were glad Nofel and his sons were able to stand with us. They are living proof of what the stakes are in Iraq. Nofel told those who would listen to him that 99% of the Iraqi people will welcome the American military with open arms. I'm not sure if their minds were changed right away, but he gave them something serious to think about.

[areafiftyone]

I am so happy the Iraqi American Council group protested with you. They need to be more vocal. God Bless them and the Freepers!