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Washington, D.C. Antiwar Report of January 18, 2003

whom the Bush administration opposes. Speakers also said that Bush was killing the American way of life in this war for oil. The event in DC was organized by the International ANSWER coalition.

The significance of the event became immediately apparent: for perhaps the first time in history, a massive march of people against war was on the loose in the nation's capitol, controlling the streets and showing no signs of stopping.

A sea of people stretching more than one mile long and taking up four lanes of roadway marched through the nation's capitol Saturday in vocal and colorful opposition to the U.S. government's drive to war with Iraq. People had traveled to DC from many parts of the country to participate. People of diverse ages and ethnic backgrounds braved frigid weather to peacefully rally in front of Congress and march in the streets of Washington DC, to oppose war and to demand peace and justice. Speakers at the rally included Ramsey Clark, Jessica Lange, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and many others. In the game of estimating crowd size numbers, police estimates, official and unofficial, ranged from 30,000 to 200,000 people participated while organizers put the number at 500,000. Many independent observers estimated about 250-300,000 people participating, which made it twice as large as the last anti-war rally in DC in October. Despite this, most media outlets again understated the amount of demonstrators.

Further coverage includes photo galleries of the demonstrations [click on link above to see photos.] http://seattle.indymedia.org Report from Seattle Indymedia:

J[anuary] 18 Marks Day of Massive National and International Resistance to Bush's Iraq War

On Saturday, January 18th, as on October 26th, 2002, the world witnessed an unprecedented level of synchronized anti-war resistance, with hundreds of thousands of protestors worldwide, demonstrating their opposition to an impending U.S. war with Iraq. Opposition took various forms, from neighborhood dinner-and-conversation gatherings throughout the local Puget Sound area (see "Potlucks for Peace" feature below) to strategic direct actions in Canada, the UK and the Netherlands, to mass demonstrations in the streets of Washington DC, San Francisco, Portland, and a number of international cities.

Estimates have the DC protests numbering 265,000 to 377,000 and the San Francisco protests numbering 200,000, the largest street demonstration seen in California since the Vietnam War. Solidarity rallies were held around the country, including several demonstrations in Washington State: Bellingham | Spokane. Tens of thousands of people joined marches and rallies in the deep chill of winter across Canada, as well. Events were held in over 30 communities, large and small, from Yellowknife to Fredericton, the largest of which included Montreal (25,000), Vancouver (20,000), Toronto (15,000-20,000), and Halifax (15,000).

Europe had its own share of solidarity protests, although the major anti-war demonstrations have been planned for February 15th, a date selected in November 2002, at the European Social Forum (Florence). Ten million people are expected to protest across the continent that day in a show of pan-European resistance. For an incomplete list of anti-war protests around Europe and the world, see below: [click on http://seattle.indymedia.org to see info on locations listed below.]

The January 18 protests add support to recent reports that Bush is losing public support, domestically and abroad, for this war. As further evidence of the mounting domestic opposition, 42 U.S. cities have signed anti-war resolutions, and the list is growing.

http://seattle.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=21470&group=webcast

Chicago's city council passed an Anti Iraq War Resolution today (Thurs Jan. 16). For more information re the other cities go to:

http://www.citiesforpeace.org Chicago's city council today voted and passed an anti-Iraq war resolution making Chicago the 42nd American city to pass similar resolutions. Just some of the other cities include:

Seattle New Haven San Francisco Ann Arbor Oakland Detroit Baltimore Santa Fe Madison Burlington Eugene Philadelphia Brookline Evanston Des Moines Albuquerque Washington DC.

and many, many more...

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http://www.citiesforpeace.org

Sample Resolution 2 for Cities to use to oppose war:

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Resolution on the War in Iraq

WHEREAS, the people of the United States have already suffered grievous loss of life and well-being as a result of the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001; and

WHEREAS, based on current information no proven linkage has been made between the horrific terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 and the government of Iraq, and

WHEREAS, there is an urgent need for genuine multilateral action to eliminate weapons of mass destruction world wide,

WHEREAS, governments around the word oppose US unilateral action in regards to Iraq and support the full pursuit of diplomatic resolutions and weapons inspections before any further military action is taken against Iraq,

WHEREAS, a war with Iraq will jeopardize the lives of American soldiers and will kill many innocent Iraqi civilians, who have already suffered enormously under Saddam Hussein's rule and United Nations sanctions, and

WHEREAS, a war with Iraq would threaten to further destabilize the Middle East, possibly leading to a wider, regional war and increased support for Al Qaeda and other groups dedicated to terrorism, making the citizens of the United States and the world less safe, and

WHEREAS, past military conflict in the region resulted in widespread environmental destruction, the effects of which have not yet been mitigated or understood; and

WHEREAS, past military conflict in the region resulted in widespread damage to the civilian infrastructure of Iraq and widespread suffering and death of Iraqi civilians; and

WHEREAS, most cities and states are suffering fiscal crises where programs that benefit working people and the poor are being threatened by severe budget cuts. And it has been estimated that a war in Iraq would likely cost the U.S. government over $100 billion, an amount that could go a long way to meeting our health and education needs,

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the City Council of the City of ________: HEREBY, opposes a U.S. invasion of Iraq, but supports instead a genuinely multilateral diplomatic approach to the Iraq situation, sanctioned and directed by the United Nations; and HEREBY, encourages the city of _____ to educate our citizens on the history and issues underlying the disputes in the Middle East; and, RESOLVED, that the _______ City Clerk shall forward copies of this resolution to President Bush, Senators _______ and _______ and to all members of the _________ U.S. Congressional delegation.

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http://www.msnbc.com/news/860481.asp?cp1=1#BODY

Where’s the Dissent? Antiwar protests are happening all over the country and the world, but the mainstream media are hardly paying attention

By Jennifer Barrett NEWSWEEK WEB EXCLUSIVE

Jan. 16 — Last Saturday, at least 5,000 antiwar protesters gathered in Los Angeles to hear actor Martin Sheen of “The West Wing” and other activists speak out against war on Iraq.

ON THE same day, more than 2,000 braved the freezing cold for a similar rally in Minneapolis. And since November, a group of about 200 in San Francisco have been trying to draw attention to the cause by stripping off their clothes and arranging themselves to spell out messages of peace in various public places.

An estimated 100,000 protesters from around the country converged in the nation’s capital last October in what was called the largest antiwar demonstration in Washington since the Vietnam War era, and at least as many protesters are expected to return this weekend for more rallies. On Saturday, a mass march and rally organized by International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism) and other groups will begin at 11 a.m. on the Mall and an ANSWER-led youth and student rally is planned for Sunday at the same time outside the U.S. Department of Justice. But whether members of the media will be there too is less clear. Though the antiwar movement is gathering steam as the possibility of war draws near, it has not garnered much mainstream press coverage yet. A NEWSWEEK Lexis/Nexis news search found that in October 2002 there were more than 1,500 stories about U.S. troops and Iraq but only a third as many stories with the word “antiwar.” In the past week, about 100 stories have been written about antiwar protesters while about eight times as many stories have covered troop deployments and movement in the Persian Gulf.

NEWSWEEK’s Jennifer Barrett spoke to Lance Bennett, founder and director of the Center for Communication and Civic Engagement at the University of Washington in Seattle, about the media’s role in the debate over war with Iraq. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: You coauthored a book called “Taken by Storm: The Media, Public Opinion, and U.S. Foreign Policy in the Gulf War” (University of Chicago Press) in 1994. How would you compare media coverage leading up to the Persian Gulf War to the media’s coverage of the growing conflict with Iraq now?

Lance Bennett: There has been much less public debate about the prudence of this war and there has been less coverage of social protest and a general command from the White House of media content. NEWSWEEK: Why do you think that is?

Lance Bennett: The administration has used this issue to effectively support the president’s popularity and the Democrats are in an extremely weak position at the moment and they are unwilling to challenge that popularity even if they don’t feel the war is a good idea. If there is no official challenge to this policy, the media tend not to open the news gates to social voices that would challenge the policy.

NEWSWEEK: Do you think Americans are getting an accurate picture from the mainstream media of the antiwar movement here?

Lance Bennett: No. The movement is extremely deep, consisting of lots and lots of community groups involved in globalization issues and peace and global civil-society concerns and those who are simply worried about U.S. foreign intervention in a dubious conflict. …

The administration has participated in a very effective news management campaign since the days after the September 11 attacks ... People who raised their voice even a small bit were immediately BROUGHT UNDER FIRE either by members of the network of conservative voices or by the White House itself. That has had a serious chilling tone on journalistic criticism.

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