Iraq war protesters arrested at IRS
By SARAH KARUSH, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Police arrested more than a dozen people who crossed a
barricade and blocked entrances at the Internal Revenue Service building
Wednesday, the start of a day of protests marking the fifth anniversary
of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
A crowd of more than 100 gathered outside the IRS headquarters, chanting
"This is a Crime Scene" and "You're Arresting the Wrong People." A
marching band led protesters down the street near the National Mall and
around the IRS building before dozens of demonstrators gathered at the
entrance.
Protesters blocked the main entrance for a time, but no federal workers
appeared to be trying to use those doors. Police detained 13 people who
sat down at a side entrance.
The demonstrators said they were focusing on the IRS because it gathers
taxes that are used to fund the war.
Anti-war protests and vigils were planned throughout the day around the
nation. In Ohio, more than 20 different vigils, rallies, marches and
other events were planned.
At the American Petroleum Institute in downtown Washington, dozens of
protesters held signs reading "Out of Iraq" and "No war, no warming,"
and chanted "No blood for Oil!"
Craig Etchison, 62, a retired college professor from Cumberland, Md.,
and a Vietnam veteran, said he has been protesting the war for years.
"I've watched with horror as Bush has lied about this war," he said in
front of the building. "I'm appalled at the number of civilians we've
killed just as we did in Vietnam."
College students from New Jersey to North Dakota have planned walkouts,
while students at the University of Minnesota vowed to shut down
military recruiting offices on campus.
"This is the first time coordinated direct actions of civil disobedience
are happening," said Barbra Bearden, communications manager for the
group Peace Action. "People who have never done this kind of action are
stepping up and deciding now is the time to do it."
In suburban Miami, Linda Belgrave, a sociology professor at the
University of Miami, and a handful of protesters dressed in black waved
anti-war signs at drivers stuck in early morning rush-hour traffic near
the U.S. Southern Command complex. Belgrave said the group planned to
lay flowers at the complex's entry fence later Wednesday morning.
"This is the beginning of the sixth year of this horror and it's got to
end," said Belgrave.
On Tuesday, 10 people were arrested at an anti-war rally in upstate New
York. About 60 people participated in the demonstration that started at
Binghamton University campus and moved through the street to a military
recruiting station. Police said the demonstrators tied up traffic in the
town of Vestal, N.Y., causing two traffic accidents.
The Iraq war has been unpopular both abroad and in the United States,
although an Associated Press-Ipsos poll in December showed that growing
numbers think the U.S. is making progress and will eventually be able to
claim some success in Iraq.
The findings, a rarity in the relentlessly unpopular war, came amid
diminishing U.S. and Iraqi casualties and the start of modest troop
withdrawals. Still, majorities remain upset about the conflict and
convinced the invasion was a mistake, and the issue still splits the
country deeply along party lines.
Activists cite frustration that the war has dragged on for so long and
hope the more dramatic actions will galvanize others to protest.
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