These are some pictures I took of an anti-war protest that took place at the
university I work at last Wednesday:
About 50-60 people showed up. It seemed evenly divided between students and
non-students, but still a rather small turnout for such a gorgeous day (anti-war
protests for the first Persian Gulf War often attracted 200-300 in much worse
weather).
The guy with the bullhorn was interesting until he started going off about
how women are the peacemakers and would bring about peace, etc., etc. Has he
read the polls showing a majority of American women in favor of war with Iraq?
Maybe, but it will likely be non-state terrorism. Military intervention clearly
scared Libya into toning down its support of terrorism, the war in Afghanistan
has removed that country as a haven for terrorists, and replacing the regime
in Iraq should do so as well. The only way to deter terrorism is to cut off
the oxygen these groups receive from rogue states.
If the United States is establishing an empire, it is a very odd sort of empire.
The U.S.-Japan relationship is more characteristic of how the United States
has treated nations that it has conquered militarily. Iraq should hope to be
as well off and free as Japan was less than 30 years after suffering a humiliating
military defeat at the hands of the Americans.
Apparently the U.S. Civil War that ended slavery and the Allied invasion of
Europe that helped turn the tide against Germany were not the answers. Several
million Holocaust victims might have begged to differ.
Note: As a public service, I’ve included all of the photographs I took of the protests on March 19, 2003 here. These are free to use for any purpose provided you credit me, Brian Carnell, as the photographer. Take them, edit them, republish them, whatever.