Sunday, March 19, 2006

Protests mark third anniversary of Iraq war

If you think the war in Iraq is not a good idea, you're not alone. ABC News online reports that there were rallies of thousands across Europe and large rallies in may cities in the US.

"About 1,000 protesters gathered near New York's Times Square" to denounce the war and Bush's administration; at least 15,000 attended the anti-war march in London; and about 2,000 protesters marched in Athens.

There were also rallies in Australia, but these were poorly reported in the media.

And Iraq continues to burn, with the situation there getting worse each month.

2 Comments:

At March 19, 2006 11:50 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

A British SAS Officer of 8 years standing quit the Iraq conflict last week, on the grounds that what he was being asked to do was unconscionable.

That is not the surprising bit.

The surprising bit is that his commanding officers did not call him a coward, deal out a dishonourable discharge, or any of the other measures you might expect.

Instead, these senior soldiers (who know that it is not their place to criticise their Government's policy) let him go with a glowing reference that cited his integrity.

A clear message to the British Government, and the rest of us, from those on the ground.

David

 
At March 20, 2006 10:35 am, Blogger Mark Lawrence said...

That strikes me as pretty amazing, seeing that he was an SAS officer: the SAS are meant to be willing an able to take on any action, and are usually used for covert operations.

I can see parallels with the movement amongst a few Israeli soldiers to refuse to serve in occupied Palestinian territories, who argue that Israel's occupation and repression of Palestine as immoral. Except that they usually end up in jail.

Also parallels with US soldiers who've returned from tours of duty and gotten involved in the anti-war movement. That happened more with Vietnam and the first Gulf War; don't know how much it's happening now...

 

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