On the night of March 20 an estimated four to five thousand people marched against the Bush administration’s war policies. They had marched together from 24 West Walton and proceeded down Michigan Ave. in commemoration of the 4th anniversary of the start of the Iraq War.
Headlined as “Stop Funding War and Occupation: Bring Troops Home Now”, the Chicago march was part of a nationwide call for the end of U.S. presence in Iraq. Despite a strong police presence, it was a peaceful gathering.
This gathering has not always been so. It met with opposition from the mayor’s office and police since the first demonstrations in 2003 at the start of the war.
With over 800 arrests in 2003, and denial of permits for marching in 2004 and 2005, followed by hostility from Chicago administration and police in 2006, 2007 was a year of acceptance by city officials.
Andy Thayer, a lead organizer of the annual demonstration said, “The city didn’t want to be seen as the last supporters of the Bush administration. It’s unpopular to be for the war, especially in this town.” He went on to say that the police were tolerant and even friendly about the whole affair.
The Iraq War may seem distant to many students, but its effects do reach the Northeastern community.
Rachel Cohen of the NEIU Socialist Club said, “There’s the obvious connection between gigantic tuition hikes and the funding for the war. I also think the antiwar movement has come back to the streets…”
Along the Magnificent Mile “We’re women, we’re marching, we’re not out shopping”, rang out. One marcher said he was out there to make the statement to other countries, “Not all Americans are for this war.”
Many older generations had a rounded perspective on this march. Having lived through Vietnam, a protester named Gregory expressed excitement at the amount of people mobilizing and expressing their opinion. “It reminds me of 1968!”
Dr. Hamburg, a passerby with a Ph.D. in Political Science said, “We’ve got ourselves into a real political problem. ? It’s [the war] really stupid and ill-conceived.” Dr. Hamburg said he favored a “soft partition” of Iraq into Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish regions and said that should Iran become involved with the Shiite region it would be clearer.
His wife declared, “Glad to see it. It reminds me of Vietnam, and the invasion of Cambodia, and May Day. We disagree with the Bush administration’s policies, but not the members of the armed services.”
The message was consistent that U.S. soldiers are not the source of frustration for antiwar protestors. It is the Bush administration, and the waste of money, resources, and lives for what protesters called a “pointless” war.
The NEIU Socialist Club had several members marching with a banner. One member, Adam Norden said, “We’re out here showing what students can do in the world around us. It’s not just about being in a classroom ? Passivity only gets us more war, imperialism, poverty and racism.”
Several other anti-war protests, including one resulting in several arrests at Congressman Rahm Emanuel’s office on Irving Park Road were held in Chicago and across the country to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the start of the war.
Pool reporting by Tom Robb and
Violette Green