Earlier today in Washington, DC, protesters staged demonstrations in front of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and American Petroleum Institute buildings. Several protesters were arrested in front of the IRS building for crossing over the barriers.
In the case of Syracuse, New York, anti-war protesters enacted a scene of the treatment of prisoners in Baghdad. There was a large Iraqi prison scandal that had erupted as a result of mistreatment of the prisoners.
They had really made their voices hard. On the anniversary of the Iraq war, they made note of the almost 4,000 US servicemen and women that have been killed. The protesters also reminded the world let alone the country about the number of Iraqi civilian deaths over the last five years since the start of the war in 2003.
Those in Cincinnati, Ohio set up a display of 4,000 T-shirts as that symbolism. So far, the current US military casualty count is ten kills away from reaching the 4,000 mark. However, that mark could be reached soon enough.
In Syracuse, New York, one protester laid on the ground covered in a white sheet with red markings to symbolize blood.
Women sang songs and counted the dead in front of the military recruiting station out in New York City.
Vandals took to dumping red paint on a war veterans memorial in Anchorage, Alaska. This could be portrayed as a major negative to those that support the war and those who are protesting the war. But, this was an act committed by vandals according to police.
The protesters across the country had their different means of remembering and honoring the almost 4,000 dead. However, supporters of the war could call this as dishonoring and doing a great injustice to those who have been killed.
In the near future, there could be heated debates in the near future on a social to political level.
Iraq will be one of the major topics in the US presidential races. So far, this issue has been the main platform for GOP nominee John McCain.
While there have been many protests, there have been many arrests.
“We need to find lots of different ways to resist the war, and I decided to try this,” said 29 year old Brian Bickett, who teaches high school in New York City. He was one of many that got arrested for crossing the barriers separating the protesters and the IRS building.
Bickett says that this is the first time that he has committed an act of civil disobedience. Things could get very interesting for Bickett once he goes back on the job.
There were even those that fought in Iraq that the war was a mistake. They had even joined the protesters.
Recently, Sergeant Ryan Weemer and a few others in his unit have been charged for killing unarmed captives during Operation Phantom Fury back in 2004 at Fallujah. He was reactivated to stand trial before the UCMJ. The investigation was launched after Weemer revealed details during a polygraph test while applying for a position with the US Secret Service.
Members from the same unit were also charged for the killings in Haditha in 2005. Commentators of the war compared it to the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War. Haditha has been dubbed as “Bush’s My Lai.”
A recent CBS Poll said that most Americans think that Iraq is not worth it. A recent CNN poll put President Bush’s job approval rating at a new record low.