Protests against the invasion of Afghanistan
Encyclopedia
The ongoing decade-long War in Afghanistan
has prompted large protests around the world, with the first large-scale demonstrations beginning in the days leading up to the war's official launch on October 7, 2001.
By the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-led war, there were 140,000 foreign military troops in Afghanistan, hundreds of billions of dollars expended, and at least 31,000 people in Afghanistan (civilians, insurgents, Afghan military forces, and others) killed by the war, along with approximately 2,750 foreign troops.
, United States
, denouncing the impending invasion of Afghanistan. The protests were organized by the recently formed A.N.S.W.E.R.
coalition. Thousands gathered at Meridian Hill Park
(Malcolm X Park) and marched downtown, while elsewhere members of the Anti-Capitalist Convergence
clashed briefly with police on their way to Edward R. Murrow park, across from the headquarters of the World Bank
and the IMF. Both groups of marchers converged on a rally at the Freedom Plaza
.
In San Francisco almost 10,000 people converged on a park in San Francisco’s Mission District to denounce the Bush administration’s plans for military intervention in Afghanistan.
In Los Angeles
roughly 2,500 protesters marched through the streets of Westwood
.
In New York City
3,000 to 5,000 people took part in a peace march at Union Square.
Demonstrations were also held in the Netherlands
, Spain
and Greece
. Over 10,000 people filled Amsterdam’s central square, the Dam
, for an open air meeting with "Justice, not revenge" as the main slogan of the protest. It was the largest peace action in the Netherlands since the 1980s, when half a million people marched against the deployment of NATO missiles in their country.
In Barcelona
, Spain
, 5,000 people attended a rally and marched behind a banner that read: "No More Victims—For Peace." The protesters urged the Spanish government not to support any US military intervention or NATO retaliation.
On October 1, 2001, several thousand protesters demonstrated in New York City against any military offensive in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and near Washington. Sporting buttons that said "Don't Turn Tragedy into War" and "Our Grief Is Not a Cry for War", many protesters argued that the attacks were not an act of war but a criminal act to be dealt with through the international justice system.
On October 7, 2001, 10,000 to 12,000 people turned out in New York City to oppose the Bush administration's so-called war on terrorism. The group marched from Union Square
to Times Square
, cheering the police at the beginning of the march. The list of about twelve speakers was cut to three or four by the police, and they were herded at the end into a one-lane-wide "bullpen".
The October 7 March was only the latest in a string of anti-war protests in major U.S. cities and on college campuses. Demonstrations also took place in other countries around the world in recent days, including in Paris
where 5,000 people marched from the Place de la Republique to the Place de Nation to protest military action by the US.
On October 13, 2001, more than 20,000 people joined the UK's biggest protest yet against military action in Afghanistan by the United States and its allies. Turn-out was twice as big as had been expected by organisers, with the noisy but peaceful march through London
culminating in a rally at Trafalgar Square
.
In Glasgow
, Scotland
, United Kingdom
, around 1,500 people gathered in George Square for a rally against the military action in Afghanistan.
In Germany
more than 25,000 protesters took to the streets in cities across the country. In Berlin
, the largest demonstration drew 15,000 people to the central square in a rally that followed several marches throughout the city under the banner "No war — stand up for peace".
In Sweden
the biggest demonstration took place in Gothenburg
, where more than 2,500 people marched through the city.
In San Francisco 10,000 people took to the streets, while a rally in Washington Square
in New York City attracted some 700 people.
In Australia
, thousands of people demonstrated in the cities of Sydney
, Melbourne
, Perth
and Adelaide
.
On October 14, 2001, hundreds of thousands of peace protesters in Italy
and India
called for an end to the bombing of Afghanistan. More than 200,000 demonstrators took part in the peace march from the central Italian town of Perugia
to Assisi
, with protesters shouting "Stop the terrorism against Afghanistan", "We want peace not war", and chanting slogans attacking George W. Bush
, the U.S. president.
In India
, 70,000 people in Calcutta staged the biggest anti-war protest the country had ever seen. The protesters marched more than 7.5 miles through the city, entertained by performers who sang anti-war folk songs.
On November 10, 2001, after weeks of bombing, hundreds of protesters took to the streets across the United Kingdom
to call for an end to the bombing of Afghanistan. In Bolton 250 people gathered in the town's Victoria Square. In York, about 200 protesters called for an end to the war during a two-hour demonstration. A vigil was held in London.
On November 18, 2001, thousands — police estimated 15,000, organizers estimated 100,000 - from all over the UK took part in a march in London
to demonstrate again against the war in Afghanistan
.
Many protesters waved placards reading "Stop the War" and "Not in My Name". As the demonstration fell during Ramadan
, an element of prayer was included in the final rally to allow pious Muslims to observe their faith. Headlining speakers included human rights campaigner Bianca Jagger
, Labour Party
veteran Tony Benn
, Labour MP George Galloway
, and speakers of Muslim faith.
Member of Parliament Paul Marsden told the rally:
Organiser Lindsey German said the bombing campaign had done nothing to tackle international terrorism.
At the time the protest was the largest peace demonstration in more than twenty years.
and foreign policy in the largest peace presence since the war began the previous fall. The April 20th Mobilization to Stop the War, a coalition of many groups, held a rally just south of the Washington Monument
. Another protest focusing on Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people was held near the White House
, while a third protest focusing on the policies of the World Bank
and the International Monetary Fund
took place near the headquarters of those institutions. The three rallies then converged together in a march up Pennsylvania Avenue
to the United States Capitol
in the largest anti-war demonstration to take place in Washington since the Gulf War
more than a decade ago.
Protesters denounced the bombing of Afghan civilians and carried signs and banners reading, "No blank check for endless war," "Criminals in the White House again" and "War without an end. Not in our name."
Some of the most moving speeches opposing the U.S.'s aggression were given by family members of victims of the terrorist attacks on September 11. Derril Bodley, who lost a daughter on September 11, said he had travelled to Afghanistan to call for an end to the "barbarous bombing campaign there." Just a few days after his daughter’s death he spoke out against the possibility of war, saying, "Don’t kill more innocent people in the name of my daughter." He said thousands were suffering and dying by the "perpetration of an aimless war."
Another speaker, Michael Ratner
, a human rights lawyer and president of the Center for Constitutional Rights
, denounced the conditions in which hundreds of prisoners captured in Afghanistan were being held at the U.S.'s military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
:
Another 15,000 to 20,000 people marched in San Francisco in a simultaneous protest on the West Coast, and demonstrations also took place in a number of other American cities.
, Italy
to protest war. Colleen Kelly, who lost her brother Bill, 30, in the September 11 terrorist attacks two years before and founded the Peaceful Tomorrows organization said:
, UK, against the presence of UK troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Organizers estimated that about 30,000 people participated. Police put the figure at about 20,000. Speakers at a rally accused Prime Minister Tony Blair of following the United States into illegal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
On Saturday October 28, 2006, thousands of protesters opposed to Canada
's participation in the war in Afghanistan rallied in 40 cities and towns. Under the slogan "Support our troops, bring 'em home", as many as 500 demonstrators marched through downtown Ottawa to Parliament Hill to protest the military mission and demand the return of Canadian troops. Hundreds of protesters in Toronto
and Montreal, 200 in Halifax, 100 in Edmonton, more than a 100 in Calgary, and more than 500 in Vancouver also took to the streets. Themes of the demonstrations included demands that the troops be brought home from Afghanistan and demands that the mission of the Canadian Forces in that country shift from a combat role to a peace keeping and humanitarian presence. Placards expressed such sentiments as "Build Homes Not Bombs," "Drop Tuition Not Bombs" and "Is This Really Peacekeeping". A total of 42 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat had so far been killed in Afghanistan.
Thousands of Pakistani tribesmen near the border with Afghanistan held a rally to protest against a missile attack that killed 80 people. About 5,000 tribesman held a protest march in Khar, the capital town of Bajaur tribal district, some 10 km south-east of the scene of the attack. The tribesmen said the dead, housed in a seminary, were merely students and that their families should be compensated. The effigies of U.S. president George Bush and Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf
were paraded on mules before being set on fire. Since the U.S. air-strike on the school, thousands of local people have taken part in protests against Islamabad's alliance with the US.
, about 600 people rallied and marched through the downtown core. In Toronto, hundreds of protesters held a rally outside the U.S. consulate. Nearly 500 people marched through downtown Montreal
. About 200 people gathered in front of city hall in Halifax. Demonstrations also took place in Edmonton
, Quebec City
, and St. John's, Newfoundland
.
On April 30, 2007, thousands of Afghans staged a protest accusing U.S.-led coalition and Afghan troops of killing civilians in the western province of Herat. The protesters stormed a government district headquarters in Shindand, south of Herat city, where Western troops have a large base. The anti-U.S. protest came a day after an angry demonstration in eastern Nangahar province over the killing of civilians by coalition and Afghan forces there.
On June 22, 2007, protesters in Quebec City
took part in a march to denounce the Canadian military involvement in Afghanistan and the deployment of additional troops to Kandahar province
.
On Saturday October 27, 2007, rallies took place in 22 different Canadian cities to protest against the Canadian military mission in Afghanistan. In Montreal
, around 300 protesters marched despite heavy rain, while protests in Toronto and Ottawa
numbered around 200. At the time, 70 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat had been killed in Afghanistan.
to call for the withdrawal of UK troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. Police said there were 10,000 people on the streets in London but organizers put the crowds at between 30,000 to 40,000. In Glasgow, there 1,000 to 1,500 people took part in the march, according to police estimates.
On September 20, 2008, thousands of people in France
and Germany
took to the streets calling for soldiers deployed in Afghanistan to be brought home. More than 5,000 people took to the streets in the German cities of Berlin
and Stuttgart
to protest against the decision to prolong the deployment of German troops in Afghanistan. According to police estimates, over 3,300 people in Berlin, and over 2,000 people in Stuttgart took part in the rallies, while event organizers put the total figure at 7,000 people.
In France, marches took place in about 10 cities. Around 3,000 people took part in the largest march in Paris
. At the time of the protests, around 30 German troops and 24 French troops had been killed in Afghanistan.
In the United Kingdom thousands of anti-war demonstrators staged a noisy protest in Manchester to deliver an anti-war message to the government. Over 5,000 people joined in the march to call for the withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan and Iraq. At the time, 120 British soldiers had died in Afghanistan, and 176 had died in Iraq.
On Saturday, October 18, 2008, hundreds of Canadians marched in rallies held in 16 different cities across Canada to protest the country's military involvement in Afghanistan. In Toronto, more than 300 people gathered at Queen's Park to send Prime Minister Stephen Harper a clear message: Bring our troops home, now. In Montreal, hundreds of people turned out to demand Canadian troops be brought home and to shine a light on the dollars-and-cents costs of a growing defence establishment. In Ottawa, around 150 people marched at a rally on Parliament Hill demanding that Prime Minister Stephen Harper bring the troops home. A total of 97 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat had so far been killed in Afghanistan.
On December 18, 2008, more than 10,000 people in Pakistan protested their government's logistical support for U.S. and NATO military operations in Afghanistan and demanded an end to U.S. missile strikes into Pakistan along the Afghan border. In Peshawar
, up to 5,000 people joined the protest as they marched in the streets of the city.
On December 20, 2008, Canadians in Montreal and Toronto threw shoes at posters of George Bush in front of their respective U.S. consulates during protests against the U.S. military occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, and against Canada's involvement in the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.
since Barack Obama became President, thousands of Americans, some bearing mock coffins to protest war casualties, took the streets on the sixth anniversary of the 2003 Iraq invasion to protest the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
More than 10,000 people marched on the Pentagon
. Led by a contingent of Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans, the protesters proceeded on to the headquarters of major military-industrial corporations such as Boeing
, Lockheed Martin
, General Dynamics
, and KBR
, corporations that the demonstrators characterized as "merchants of death" and to which they sought to deliver symbolic coffins.
In Los Angeles
, thousands marched down Hollywood Boulevard
to call for all U.S. troops to be brought home. A 4,000-strong crowd took part in the "Stop the Wars" march and rally.
Another 4,000 people demonstrated in San Francisco. Rallies against the wars similarly took place in New York City
, San Diego, Saint Paul, Minneapolis, and other American cities.
On March 28, 2009, up to 15,000 protesters marched through central London to demonstrate ahead of the G20 summit of world leaders. The Put People First march, organized by an alliance of more than 150 anti-war, environment, charity, labour, student, faith, and development groups, included calls for Western troops to pull out of Afghanistan and protesters chanting "What do we want? Jobs not bombs."
On October 7, 2009, Students for a Democratic Society
called a national day of action against the war in Afghanistan. Over 25 chapters of SDS planned and held various actions around the country. A "Funk the War" march led by Rochester
SDS was forcibly ended by the police, with 12 of the 60 marchers arrested and later released or bailed out.
On the weekend of October 17–18, 2009, anti-war protests took place in 50 cities across the United States. In Boston
, hundreds of protesters gathered at Copley Square
to protest the war in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq. Zoya, a 28-year-old Afghan woman spoke against the U.S.-led war in her country, saying her homeland does not need more foreign occupation. Suzette Abbot, carrying a sign that read "Yes We Can Get Out of Afghanistan", said "Obama needs to make good on his promises. We all worked to get him elected. Now he needs to earn that peace prize."
In Minneapolis, 400 people marched, calling for an end to the U.S. war in Afghanistan and an end to the continued U.S. occupation of Iraq.
The organizers in Minneapolis stated:
On October 24, 2009, more than 10,000 people marched through the streets of London in protest against the war, which they said is a futile and unwinnable conflict. Protesters called for the withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan, gathering first at Speakers Corner, Hyde Park
, before marching to Trafalgar Square
. The number of British soldiers killed in the eight-year-long war was 222 at the time of the protest.
Lance Cpl. Joe Glenton defied orders from his commanding officer to become the first serving soldier to openly attend a national anti-war demonstration. He stated:
Paul McGuirk, who served in Afghanistan until April 2008 but left the Army because he could not support the war in Afghanistan, said:
The oldest protester taking part in the march, Hetty Bower, 104, lived through both World Wars and said she felt nothing has been learnt. She recalled seeing cheering young men as they marched to the trenches when she was nine-years-old.
On Saturday, November 14, 2009, around 1,000 people demonstrated against the war as NATO's parliamentary met in Edinburgh
, Scotland
while at the same time a poll showed that the majority 71% of Britons want British military forces withdrawn from Afghanistan within 12 months.
On the same day, about 200 South Koreans in Seoul
protested their government's plan to send troops to Afghanistan. Lee Jung-hee, a lawmaker with the opposition Democratic Labor Party said: "We should not fall into the swamp of the U.S. anti-terror war."
to protest the U.S.-led invasions and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The crowd, stretching about four blocks long, started at Lafayette Square, stopping in front of Halliburton
's offices and the Mortgage Bankers Association's building, and ended at the White House. Protesters contrasted the financial funding of the two American wars to the lack of money for health care, job growth, and cash-strapped local governments and school systems. Protest signs included "Healthcare not warfare" and "Drop tuition, not bombs", and marchers shouted:
On Saturday November 20, 2010, protesters led by military families held a 10,000-strong demonstration march through London
against the war in Afghanistan.
On the same day NATO announced that it had signed a deal with Afghan president Hamid Karzai
to ensure NATO's long-term military presence in that country even after it formally ends combat operations, ostensibly in 2015, conditions permitting, when its troops would then shift to training Afghan combat forces. A senior U.S. official, however, stated that some combat troops would remain beyond that time.
At the NATO military summit in Lisbon, British prime minister David Cameron
promised that the withdrawal of British combat troops from Afghanistan by 2015 was a "firm deadline" that would be met.
A speaker at the demonstration, Seamus Milne, a commentator for the Guardian, told the crowd that NATO's announcement of its goal to withdraw combat-involved troops in five years time was "a sham" and pointed out:
Protester Clara Torres said British troops should be brought home from Afghanistan now, not in five years in 2015, saying: "They shouldn't be there in the first place."
Joe Glenton, a British veteran who had been jailed six months for refusing to serve in Afghanistan, and had returned his medals to Downing Street the day before, criticised the government's continued spending on the war in the face of large government spending cuts:
The executive director of War on Want
, John Hilary, also decried the diversion of British taxpayer money from needs at home to warfare in Afghanistan:
At the time of the protest against the war, the number of British soldiers killed by the war since 2001 stood at 345.
published a letter from the NGO War on Want
and others, asking its readers to email the word "Yes" to register that they want their country to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan. The campaign is ongoing and the charity plans to present the names received to the British government as a sign of the British public's opposition to the war.
On October 7, 2011, the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, over 200 protesters demonstrated outside the White House, denouncing the war, carrying model drones
, and demanding an immediate pullout of the Western military forces from that country.
Hundreds of American war veterans and their families and anti-war protesters marched to Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial
in Washington, D.C.
, carrying signs saying "Fund jobs, not war!" and "Wars are poor chisels for peaceful tomorrows." Speakers included three women from Afghanistan representing the group "Afghans for Peace".
In Los Angeles, around 100 people marched downtown to call for an end to the war in Afghanistan on its 10th anniversary. The demonstration started with a prayer service at a church followed by a march to a civic center federal building. 14 peace activists were arrested by authorities for blocking traffic in planned civil disobedience
.
Among those attending the protest was actor Mike Farrell
from M*A*S*H who said he believed the war has wasted billions of dollars without significantly affecting terrorism. Farrell also stated his disappointment that President Barack Obama, who was given a Nobel Peace Prize
, had continued the war in Afghanistan.
In New York City, a protest against the war took place in Times Square
. Led by the Granny Peace Brigade
, they called for the war in Afghanistan to be ended immediately and troops to be brought home.
In New Jersey, around 70 people led by Princeton
-based Coalition of Peace Action demonstrated in Trenton
to protest the war in Afghanistan on its 10th anniversary - the longest war waged by the United States in its history. Rev. Robert Moore called for American troops to be brought home now, rather than in 2014, in order to save Afghan civilian lives, the lives of American soldiers, and billions of dollars needed at home:
Jean Athey, head of an activist group in Maryland, who recently visited Afghanistan, spoke of the impact of the war imposed on Afghans:
On October 8, 2011, anti-war protesters at the Smithsonian Institution
's National Air and Space Museum
in Washington, D.C. were pepper-spray
ed by security forces and the museum was closed early. The protesters, estimated at 100 to 200 people, had planned to participate in a "die-in
" at the museum's "Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicles"
exhibit to protest the massive military spending and the U.S. use of unmanned military drones against civilians in the war in Afghanistan. Under the Obama administration, drone strikes quadrupled from less than 50 under the Bush administration to more than 220 in the past three years. Dozens of protesters were sickened by the pepper spray, and several people fell to the ground in agony.
In Chicago, a crowd of around 700 people gathered downtown to protest the decade-long war in Afghanistan. The rally began at noon at Congress Parkway and Michigan Avenue, before the anti-war protest marched through downtown Chicago to call for an end to U.S. military action in Afghanistan. Stopping at President Obama's campaign headquarters for the 2012 presidential election, protesters likened Obama to many of his Republican predecessors in his policies on the war and economy.
Speaking to the crowd, Dennis Kosuth, an emergency room nurse, said:
Also on October 8, 2011, up to 5,000 people participated in a mass assembly in Trafalgar Square
, London to protest 10 years of war in Afghanistan. Speakers addressing the crowds included musician Brian Eno, 106-year-old anti-war campaigner Hetty Bower, award-winning journalist John Pilger
, Wikileaks
founder Julian Assange
, writer and socialite Jemima Khan
, and a number of members of the British Parliament.
Lauren Booth, sister-in-law of former Prime Minister Tony Blair
, read out the names of British soldiers killed in the decade-long war.
A poll published the day before, on the 10th anniversary of the start of the U.S. bombing campaign in 2001, showed that the majority 57% of Britons want Western troops withdrawn from Afghanistan immediately.
Following the rally, the protesters marched along Whitehall
to Downing Street
where a delegation called on the British prime minister for the immediate withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan, delivering a letter from British military families asking him to bring the troops home and spare other families the tragedies they have suffered. The death toll for British soldiers in the war stood at 382.
At the rally, musician Brian Eno blasted the war that costs British taxpayers £12-million a day, saying:
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
has prompted large protests around the world, with the first large-scale demonstrations beginning in the days leading up to the war's official launch on October 7, 2001.
By the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-led war, there were 140,000 foreign military troops in Afghanistan, hundreds of billions of dollars expended, and at least 31,000 people in Afghanistan (civilians, insurgents, Afghan military forces, and others) killed by the war, along with approximately 2,750 foreign troops.
2001
On September 29, 2001, as many as 20,000 people demonstrated in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, denouncing the impending invasion of Afghanistan. The protests were organized by the recently formed A.N.S.W.E.R.
A.N.S.W.E.R.
Act Now to Stop War and End Racism , also known as International A.N.S.W.E.R. and the ANSWER Coalition, is a United States-based protest umbrella group consisting of many antiwar and civil rights organizations...
coalition. Thousands gathered at Meridian Hill Park
Meridian Hill Park
Meridian Hill Park, is located in the Washington, D.C. neighborhood of Columbia Heights in the United States. The 12 acres of landscaped grounds are maintained by the National Park Service as part of Rock Creek Park, but are not contiguous with the main part of that park...
(Malcolm X Park) and marched downtown, while elsewhere members of the Anti-Capitalist Convergence
Anti-Capitalist Convergence
Anti-Capitalist Convergences are organizations which sprang up in North America in the late 1990s and early 2000s as forms of coordinating activities by the growing social justice, anarchist, and environmentalist anti-capitalists...
clashed briefly with police on their way to Edward R. Murrow park, across from the headquarters of the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
and the IMF. Both groups of marchers converged on a rally at the Freedom Plaza
Freedom Plaza
Freedom Plaza, originally known as Western Plaza, is an open plaza in Northwest Washington, D.C., United States, located at the corner of 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, adjacent to Pershing Park. Constructed in 1980, the plaza is mostly composed of stone, inlaid with a depiction of parts...
.
In San Francisco almost 10,000 people converged on a park in San Francisco’s Mission District to denounce the Bush administration’s plans for military intervention in Afghanistan.
In Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
roughly 2,500 protesters marched through the streets of Westwood
Westwood, Los Angeles, California
Westwood is a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles .-History:...
.
In New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
3,000 to 5,000 people took part in a peace march at Union Square.
Demonstrations were also held in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Over 10,000 people filled Amsterdam’s central square, the Dam
Dam Square
Dam Square, or simply the Dam is a town square in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. Its notable buildings and frequent events make it one of the most well-known and important locations in the city.- Location and description :...
, for an open air meeting with "Justice, not revenge" as the main slogan of the protest. It was the largest peace action in the Netherlands since the 1980s, when half a million people marched against the deployment of NATO missiles in their country.
In Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, 5,000 people attended a rally and marched behind a banner that read: "No More Victims—For Peace." The protesters urged the Spanish government not to support any US military intervention or NATO retaliation.
On October 1, 2001, several thousand protesters demonstrated in New York City against any military offensive in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and near Washington. Sporting buttons that said "Don't Turn Tragedy into War" and "Our Grief Is Not a Cry for War", many protesters argued that the attacks were not an act of war but a criminal act to be dealt with through the international justice system.
On October 7, 2001, 10,000 to 12,000 people turned out in New York City to oppose the Bush administration's so-called war on terrorism. The group marched from Union Square
Union Square (New York City)
Union Square is a public square in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York.It is an important and historic intersection, located where Broadway and the former Bowery Road – now Fourth Avenue – came together in the early 19th century; its name celebrates neither the...
to Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
, cheering the police at the beginning of the march. The list of about twelve speakers was cut to three or four by the police, and they were herded at the end into a one-lane-wide "bullpen".
The October 7 March was only the latest in a string of anti-war protests in major U.S. cities and on college campuses. Demonstrations also took place in other countries around the world in recent days, including in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
where 5,000 people marched from the Place de la Republique to the Place de Nation to protest military action by the US.
On October 13, 2001, more than 20,000 people joined the UK's biggest protest yet against military action in Afghanistan by the United States and its allies. Turn-out was twice as big as had been expected by organisers, with the noisy but peaceful march through London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
culminating in a rally at Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...
.
In Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, around 1,500 people gathered in George Square for a rally against the military action in Afghanistan.
In Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
more than 25,000 protesters took to the streets in cities across the country. In Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, the largest demonstration drew 15,000 people to the central square in a rally that followed several marches throughout the city under the banner "No war — stand up for peace".
In Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
the biggest demonstration took place in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, where more than 2,500 people marched through the city.
In San Francisco 10,000 people took to the streets, while a rally in Washington Square
Washington Square Park
Washington Square Park is one of the best-known of New York City's 1,900 public parks. At 9.75 acres , it is a landmark in the Manhattan neighborhood of Greenwich Village, as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity...
in New York City attracted some 700 people.
In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, thousands of people demonstrated in the cities of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
and Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
.
On October 14, 2001, hundreds of thousands of peace protesters in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
called for an end to the bombing of Afghanistan. More than 200,000 demonstrators took part in the peace march from the central Italian town of Perugia
Perugia
Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the River Tiber, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area....
to Assisi
Assisi
- Churches :* The Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi is a World Heritage Site. The Franciscan monastery, il Sacro Convento, and the lower and upper church of St Francis were begun immediately after his canonization in 1228, and completed in 1253...
, with protesters shouting "Stop the terrorism against Afghanistan", "We want peace not war", and chanting slogans attacking George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, the U.S. president.
In India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, 70,000 people in Calcutta staged the biggest anti-war protest the country had ever seen. The protesters marched more than 7.5 miles through the city, entertained by performers who sang anti-war folk songs.
On November 10, 2001, after weeks of bombing, hundreds of protesters took to the streets across the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to call for an end to the bombing of Afghanistan. In Bolton 250 people gathered in the town's Victoria Square. In York, about 200 protesters called for an end to the war during a two-hour demonstration. A vigil was held in London.
On November 18, 2001, thousands — police estimated 15,000, organizers estimated 100,000 - from all over the UK took part in a march in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to demonstrate again against the war in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
.
Many protesters waved placards reading "Stop the War" and "Not in My Name". As the demonstration fell during Ramadan
Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...
, an element of prayer was included in the final rally to allow pious Muslims to observe their faith. Headlining speakers included human rights campaigner Bianca Jagger
Bianca Jagger
Bianca Jagger is a Nicaraguan-born social and human rights advocate and a former actress and model...
, Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
veteran Tony Benn
Tony Benn
Anthony Neil Wedgwood "Tony" Benn, PC is a British Labour Party politician and a former MP and Cabinet Minister.His successful campaign to renounce his hereditary peerage was instrumental in the creation of the Peerage Act 1963...
, Labour MP George Galloway
George Galloway
George Galloway is a British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster who was a Member of Parliament from 1987 to 2010. He was formerly an MP for the Labour Party, first for Glasgow Hillhead and later for Glasgow Kelvin, before his expulsion from the party in October 2003, the same year...
, and speakers of Muslim faith.
Member of Parliament Paul Marsden told the rally:
Organiser Lindsey German said the bombing campaign had done nothing to tackle international terrorism.
At the time the protest was the largest peace demonstration in more than twenty years.
2002
On April 20, 2002, 75,000 people marched in Washington, D.C. against U.S. militarismMilitarism
Militarism is defined as: the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests....
and foreign policy in the largest peace presence since the war began the previous fall. The April 20th Mobilization to Stop the War, a coalition of many groups, held a rally just south of the Washington Monument
Washington Monument
The Washington Monument is an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington...
. Another protest focusing on Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people was held near the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, while a third protest focusing on the policies of the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
and the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
took place near the headquarters of those institutions. The three rallies then converged together in a march up Pennsylvania Avenue
Pennsylvania Avenue
Pennsylvania Avenue is a street in Washington, D.C. that joins the White House and the United States Capitol. Called "America's Main Street", it is the location of official parades and processions, as well as protest marches...
to the United States Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
in the largest anti-war demonstration to take place in Washington since the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
more than a decade ago.
Protesters denounced the bombing of Afghan civilians and carried signs and banners reading, "No blank check for endless war," "Criminals in the White House again" and "War without an end. Not in our name."
Some of the most moving speeches opposing the U.S.'s aggression were given by family members of victims of the terrorist attacks on September 11. Derril Bodley, who lost a daughter on September 11, said he had travelled to Afghanistan to call for an end to the "barbarous bombing campaign there." Just a few days after his daughter’s death he spoke out against the possibility of war, saying, "Don’t kill more innocent people in the name of my daughter." He said thousands were suffering and dying by the "perpetration of an aimless war."
Another speaker, Michael Ratner
Michael Ratner
Michael Ratner is an attorney, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights , a non-profit human rights litigation organization based in New York, New York and president of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights based in Berlin.Ratner is known for his human rights...
, a human rights lawyer and president of the Center for Constitutional Rights
Center for Constitutional Rights
Al Odah v. United States:Al Odah is the latest in a series of habeas corpus petitions on behalf of people imprisoned at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. The case challenges the Military Commissions system’s suitability as a habeas corpus substitute and the legality, in general, of detention at...
, denounced the conditions in which hundreds of prisoners captured in Afghanistan were being held at the U.S.'s military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
:
Another 15,000 to 20,000 people marched in San Francisco in a simultaneous protest on the West Coast, and demonstrations also took place in a number of other American cities.
2003
On October 12, 2003, an estimated 150,000 demonstrators took part in a peace march in PerugiaPerugia
Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the River Tiber, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
to protest war. Colleen Kelly, who lost her brother Bill, 30, in the September 11 terrorist attacks two years before and founded the Peaceful Tomorrows organization said:
2005
On August 17, 2005, over 1,000 people took part in a vigil in Minneapolis-Saint Paul to protest the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Organizers estimated the number at 1,200. Catherine Statz, who lost her sister on September 11, 2001, said:2006
On September 23, 2006, tens of thousands of people marched in ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, UK, against the presence of UK troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Organizers estimated that about 30,000 people participated. Police put the figure at about 20,000. Speakers at a rally accused Prime Minister Tony Blair of following the United States into illegal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
On Saturday October 28, 2006, thousands of protesters opposed to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's participation in the war in Afghanistan rallied in 40 cities and towns. Under the slogan "Support our troops, bring 'em home", as many as 500 demonstrators marched through downtown Ottawa to Parliament Hill to protest the military mission and demand the return of Canadian troops. Hundreds of protesters in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and Montreal, 200 in Halifax, 100 in Edmonton, more than a 100 in Calgary, and more than 500 in Vancouver also took to the streets. Themes of the demonstrations included demands that the troops be brought home from Afghanistan and demands that the mission of the Canadian Forces in that country shift from a combat role to a peace keeping and humanitarian presence. Placards expressed such sentiments as "Build Homes Not Bombs," "Drop Tuition Not Bombs" and "Is This Really Peacekeeping". A total of 42 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat had so far been killed in Afghanistan.
Thousands of Pakistani tribesmen near the border with Afghanistan held a rally to protest against a missile attack that killed 80 people. About 5,000 tribesman held a protest march in Khar, the capital town of Bajaur tribal district, some 10 km south-east of the scene of the attack. The tribesmen said the dead, housed in a seminary, were merely students and that their families should be compensated. The effigies of U.S. president George Bush and Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...
were paraded on mules before being set on fire. Since the U.S. air-strike on the school, thousands of local people have taken part in protests against Islamabad's alliance with the US.
2007
On February 23, 2007, hundreds of Canadians braved wind, rain, and snow to take part in rallies in cities across Canada to protest their country's military operation in Afghanistan, urging their government to bring Canadian troops home. In VancouverVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, about 600 people rallied and marched through the downtown core. In Toronto, hundreds of protesters held a rally outside the U.S. consulate. Nearly 500 people marched through downtown Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. About 200 people gathered in front of city hall in Halifax. Demonstrations also took place in Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
, and St. John's, Newfoundland
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
.
On April 30, 2007, thousands of Afghans staged a protest accusing U.S.-led coalition and Afghan troops of killing civilians in the western province of Herat. The protesters stormed a government district headquarters in Shindand, south of Herat city, where Western troops have a large base. The anti-U.S. protest came a day after an angry demonstration in eastern Nangahar province over the killing of civilians by coalition and Afghan forces there.
On June 22, 2007, protesters in Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
took part in a march to denounce the Canadian military involvement in Afghanistan and the deployment of additional troops to Kandahar province
Kandahar Province
Kandahar or Qandahar is one of the largest of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is located in southern Afghanistan, between Helmand, Oruzgan and Zabul provinces. Its capital is the city of Kandahar, which is located on the Arghandab River. The province has a population of nearly...
.
On Saturday October 27, 2007, rallies took place in 22 different Canadian cities to protest against the Canadian military mission in Afghanistan. In Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, around 300 protesters marched despite heavy rain, while protests in Toronto and Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
numbered around 200. At the time, 70 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat had been killed in Afghanistan.
2008
On March 15, 2008, thousands of protesters gathered in London and GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
to call for the withdrawal of UK troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. Police said there were 10,000 people on the streets in London but organizers put the crowds at between 30,000 to 40,000. In Glasgow, there 1,000 to 1,500 people took part in the march, according to police estimates.
On September 20, 2008, thousands of people in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
took to the streets calling for soldiers deployed in Afghanistan to be brought home. More than 5,000 people took to the streets in the German cities of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
to protest against the decision to prolong the deployment of German troops in Afghanistan. According to police estimates, over 3,300 people in Berlin, and over 2,000 people in Stuttgart took part in the rallies, while event organizers put the total figure at 7,000 people.
In France, marches took place in about 10 cities. Around 3,000 people took part in the largest march in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. At the time of the protests, around 30 German troops and 24 French troops had been killed in Afghanistan.
In the United Kingdom thousands of anti-war demonstrators staged a noisy protest in Manchester to deliver an anti-war message to the government. Over 5,000 people joined in the march to call for the withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan and Iraq. At the time, 120 British soldiers had died in Afghanistan, and 176 had died in Iraq.
On Saturday, October 18, 2008, hundreds of Canadians marched in rallies held in 16 different cities across Canada to protest the country's military involvement in Afghanistan. In Toronto, more than 300 people gathered at Queen's Park to send Prime Minister Stephen Harper a clear message: Bring our troops home, now. In Montreal, hundreds of people turned out to demand Canadian troops be brought home and to shine a light on the dollars-and-cents costs of a growing defence establishment. In Ottawa, around 150 people marched at a rally on Parliament Hill demanding that Prime Minister Stephen Harper bring the troops home. A total of 97 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat had so far been killed in Afghanistan.
On December 18, 2008, more than 10,000 people in Pakistan protested their government's logistical support for U.S. and NATO military operations in Afghanistan and demanded an end to U.S. missile strikes into Pakistan along the Afghan border. In Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
, up to 5,000 people joined the protest as they marched in the streets of the city.
On December 20, 2008, Canadians in Montreal and Toronto threw shoes at posters of George Bush in front of their respective U.S. consulates during protests against the U.S. military occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, and against Canada's involvement in the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.
2009
On March 20, 2009, in the first large demonstration in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
since Barack Obama became President, thousands of Americans, some bearing mock coffins to protest war casualties, took the streets on the sixth anniversary of the 2003 Iraq invasion to protest the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
More than 10,000 people marched on the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
. Led by a contingent of Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans, the protesters proceeded on to the headquarters of major military-industrial corporations such as Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
, Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
, General Dynamics
General Dynamics
General Dynamics Corporation is a U.S. defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2008 it is the fifth largest defense contractor in the world. Its headquarters are in West Falls Church , unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Falls Church area.The company has...
, and KBR
KBR
KBR can stand for:* KBR - American engineering and construction company* Key-based routing* Royal Library of Belgium* The ISO 639 linguistic identifier code for the Ethiopian language Kaffa ....
, corporations that the demonstrators characterized as "merchants of death" and to which they sought to deliver symbolic coffins.
In Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, thousands marched down Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard
-Revitalization:In recent years successful efforts have been made at cleaning up Hollywood Blvd., as the street had gained a reputation for crime and seediness. Central to these efforts was the construction of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center and adjacent Kodak Theatre in 2001...
to call for all U.S. troops to be brought home. A 4,000-strong crowd took part in the "Stop the Wars" march and rally.
Another 4,000 people demonstrated in San Francisco. Rallies against the wars similarly took place in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, San Diego, Saint Paul, Minneapolis, and other American cities.
On March 28, 2009, up to 15,000 protesters marched through central London to demonstrate ahead of the G20 summit of world leaders. The Put People First march, organized by an alliance of more than 150 anti-war, environment, charity, labour, student, faith, and development groups, included calls for Western troops to pull out of Afghanistan and protesters chanting "What do we want? Jobs not bombs."
On October 7, 2009, Students for a Democratic Society
Students for a Democratic Society (2006 organization)
Students for a Democratic Society is a United States student organization representing left wing beliefs. It takes its name and inspiration from the original SDS of 1960-1969, then the largest radical student organization in US history...
called a national day of action against the war in Afghanistan. Over 25 chapters of SDS planned and held various actions around the country. A "Funk the War" march led by Rochester
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
SDS was forcibly ended by the police, with 12 of the 60 marchers arrested and later released or bailed out.
On the weekend of October 17–18, 2009, anti-war protests took place in 50 cities across the United States. In Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, hundreds of protesters gathered at Copley Square
Copley Square
Copley Square is a public square located in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, named for the donor of the land on which it was developed. The square is named for John Singleton Copley, a famous portrait painter of the late 18th century and native of Boston. A bronze statue of...
to protest the war in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq. Zoya, a 28-year-old Afghan woman spoke against the U.S.-led war in her country, saying her homeland does not need more foreign occupation. Suzette Abbot, carrying a sign that read "Yes We Can Get Out of Afghanistan", said "Obama needs to make good on his promises. We all worked to get him elected. Now he needs to earn that peace prize."
In Minneapolis, 400 people marched, calling for an end to the U.S. war in Afghanistan and an end to the continued U.S. occupation of Iraq.
The organizers in Minneapolis stated:
On October 24, 2009, more than 10,000 people marched through the streets of London in protest against the war, which they said is a futile and unwinnable conflict. Protesters called for the withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan, gathering first at Speakers Corner, Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
, before marching to Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...
. The number of British soldiers killed in the eight-year-long war was 222 at the time of the protest.
Lance Cpl. Joe Glenton defied orders from his commanding officer to become the first serving soldier to openly attend a national anti-war demonstration. He stated:
Paul McGuirk, who served in Afghanistan until April 2008 but left the Army because he could not support the war in Afghanistan, said:
The oldest protester taking part in the march, Hetty Bower, 104, lived through both World Wars and said she felt nothing has been learnt. She recalled seeing cheering young men as they marched to the trenches when she was nine-years-old.
On Saturday, November 14, 2009, around 1,000 people demonstrated against the war as NATO's parliamentary met in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
while at the same time a poll showed that the majority 71% of Britons want British military forces withdrawn from Afghanistan within 12 months.
On the same day, about 200 South Koreans in Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
protested their government's plan to send troops to Afghanistan. Lee Jung-hee, a lawmaker with the opposition Democratic Labor Party said: "We should not fall into the swamp of the U.S. anti-terror war."
2010
On Saturday March 20, 2010, an estimated 10,000 demonstrators marched through downtown Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
to protest the U.S.-led invasions and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The crowd, stretching about four blocks long, started at Lafayette Square, stopping in front of Halliburton
Halliburton
Halliburton is the world's second largest oilfield services corporation with operations in more than 70 countries. It has hundreds of subsidiaries, affiliates, branches, brands and divisions worldwide and employs over 50,000 people....
's offices and the Mortgage Bankers Association's building, and ended at the White House. Protesters contrasted the financial funding of the two American wars to the lack of money for health care, job growth, and cash-strapped local governments and school systems. Protest signs included "Healthcare not warfare" and "Drop tuition, not bombs", and marchers shouted:
On Saturday November 20, 2010, protesters led by military families held a 10,000-strong demonstration march through London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
against the war in Afghanistan.
On the same day NATO announced that it had signed a deal with Afghan president Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
to ensure NATO's long-term military presence in that country even after it formally ends combat operations, ostensibly in 2015, conditions permitting, when its troops would then shift to training Afghan combat forces. A senior U.S. official, however, stated that some combat troops would remain beyond that time.
At the NATO military summit in Lisbon, British prime minister David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
promised that the withdrawal of British combat troops from Afghanistan by 2015 was a "firm deadline" that would be met.
A speaker at the demonstration, Seamus Milne, a commentator for the Guardian, told the crowd that NATO's announcement of its goal to withdraw combat-involved troops in five years time was "a sham" and pointed out:
Protester Clara Torres said British troops should be brought home from Afghanistan now, not in five years in 2015, saying: "They shouldn't be there in the first place."
Joe Glenton, a British veteran who had been jailed six months for refusing to serve in Afghanistan, and had returned his medals to Downing Street the day before, criticised the government's continued spending on the war in the face of large government spending cuts:
The executive director of War on Want
War on Want
War on Want is an anti-poverty charity based in London, England. It seeks to highlight the needs of poverty-stricken areas around the world and lobbies governments and international agencies to tackle problems as well as raising public awareness of the concerns of developing nations while...
, John Hilary, also decried the diversion of British taxpayer money from needs at home to warfare in Afghanistan:
At the time of the protest against the war, the number of British soldiers killed by the war since 2001 stood at 345.
2011
On February 12, 2011, the British newspaper The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
published a letter from the NGO War on Want
War on Want
War on Want is an anti-poverty charity based in London, England. It seeks to highlight the needs of poverty-stricken areas around the world and lobbies governments and international agencies to tackle problems as well as raising public awareness of the concerns of developing nations while...
and others, asking its readers to email the word "Yes" to register that they want their country to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan. The campaign is ongoing and the charity plans to present the names received to the British government as a sign of the British public's opposition to the war.
On October 7, 2011, the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, over 200 protesters demonstrated outside the White House, denouncing the war, carrying model drones
Unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
, and demanding an immediate pullout of the Western military forces from that country.
Hundreds of American war veterans and their families and anti-war protesters marched to Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial is located in West Potomac Park in Washington, D.C., southwest of the National Mall . The memorial is America's 395th national park...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, carrying signs saying "Fund jobs, not war!" and "Wars are poor chisels for peaceful tomorrows." Speakers included three women from Afghanistan representing the group "Afghans for Peace".
In Los Angeles, around 100 people marched downtown to call for an end to the war in Afghanistan on its 10th anniversary. The demonstration started with a prayer service at a church followed by a march to a civic center federal building. 14 peace activists were arrested by authorities for blocking traffic in planned civil disobedience
Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
.
Among those attending the protest was actor Mike Farrell
Mike Farrell
Michael Joseph "Mike" Farrell is an American actor, best known for his role as Captain B.J. Hunnicutt on the television series M*A*S*H . He is an activist for politically liberal causes....
from M*A*S*H who said he believed the war has wasted billions of dollars without significantly affecting terrorism. Farrell also stated his disappointment that President Barack Obama, who was given a Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
, had continued the war in Afghanistan.
In New York City, a protest against the war took place in Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
. Led by the Granny Peace Brigade
Granny Peace Brigade
The Granny Peace Brigade [GPB] is an active anti-war demonstration group in New York City made up of senior citizens. The GPB frequently collaborates with Code Pink, The Raging Grannies and Peace Action and is one of many local activist groups seeking a peaceful world.While having been arrested...
, they called for the war in Afghanistan to be ended immediately and troops to be brought home.
In New Jersey, around 70 people led by Princeton
Princeton
-Princeton, New Jersey:*Borough of Princeton, New Jersey*Princeton Township, New Jersey*Princeton, New Jersey -Other places in New Jersey:*Princeton Junction, New Jersey*Princeton Meadows, New Jersey...
-based Coalition of Peace Action demonstrated in Trenton
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
to protest the war in Afghanistan on its 10th anniversary - the longest war waged by the United States in its history. Rev. Robert Moore called for American troops to be brought home now, rather than in 2014, in order to save Afghan civilian lives, the lives of American soldiers, and billions of dollars needed at home:
Jean Athey, head of an activist group in Maryland, who recently visited Afghanistan, spoke of the impact of the war imposed on Afghans:
On October 8, 2011, anti-war protesters at the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
's National Air and Space Museum
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...
in Washington, D.C. were pepper-spray
Pepper spray
Pepper spray, also known as OC spray , OC gas, and capsicum spray, is a lachrymatory agent that is used in riot control, crowd control and personal self-defense, including defense against dogs and bears...
ed by security forces and the museum was closed early. The protesters, estimated at 100 to 200 people, had planned to participate in a "die-in
Die-in
A die-in is a form of protest where participants simulate being dead.- Overview :In the simplest form of a die-in, protesters simply lie down on the ground and pretend to be dead, sometimes covering themselves with signs or banners...
" at the museum's "Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicles"
Unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
exhibit to protest the massive military spending and the U.S. use of unmanned military drones against civilians in the war in Afghanistan. Under the Obama administration, drone strikes quadrupled from less than 50 under the Bush administration to more than 220 in the past three years. Dozens of protesters were sickened by the pepper spray, and several people fell to the ground in agony.
In Chicago, a crowd of around 700 people gathered downtown to protest the decade-long war in Afghanistan. The rally began at noon at Congress Parkway and Michigan Avenue, before the anti-war protest marched through downtown Chicago to call for an end to U.S. military action in Afghanistan. Stopping at President Obama's campaign headquarters for the 2012 presidential election, protesters likened Obama to many of his Republican predecessors in his policies on the war and economy.
Speaking to the crowd, Dennis Kosuth, an emergency room nurse, said:
Also on October 8, 2011, up to 5,000 people participated in a mass assembly in Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...
, London to protest 10 years of war in Afghanistan. Speakers addressing the crowds included musician Brian Eno, 106-year-old anti-war campaigner Hetty Bower, award-winning journalist John Pilger
John Pilger
John Richard Pilger is an Australian journalist and documentary maker, based in London. He has twice won Britain's Journalist of the Year Award, and his documentaries have received academy awards in Britain and the US....
, Wikileaks
Wikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
founder Julian Assange
Julian Assange
Julian Paul Assange is an Australian publisher, journalist, writer, computer programmer and Internet activist. He is the editor in chief of WikiLeaks, a whistleblower website and conduit for worldwide news leaks with the stated purpose of creating open governments.WikiLeaks has published material...
, writer and socialite Jemima Khan
Jemima Khan
Jemima Marcelle Khan is a British writer and campaigner. She is associate editor of the New Statesman and European editor-at-large for Vanity Fair. She has worked as a charity fundraiser, human rights campaigner and contributing writer for British newspapers and magazines...
, and a number of members of the British Parliament.
Lauren Booth, sister-in-law of former Prime Minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
, read out the names of British soldiers killed in the decade-long war.
A poll published the day before, on the 10th anniversary of the start of the U.S. bombing campaign in 2001, showed that the majority 57% of Britons want Western troops withdrawn from Afghanistan immediately.
Following the rally, the protesters marched along Whitehall
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road in Westminster, in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square...
to Downing Street
Downing Street
Downing Street in London, England has for over two hundred years housed the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers: the First Lord of the Treasury, an office now synonymous with that of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the Second Lord of the Treasury, an...
where a delegation called on the British prime minister for the immediate withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan, delivering a letter from British military families asking him to bring the troops home and spare other families the tragedies they have suffered. The death toll for British soldiers in the war stood at 382.
At the rally, musician Brian Eno blasted the war that costs British taxpayers £12-million a day, saying:
See also
- Opposition to the War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
- International public opinion on the war in AfghanistanInternational public opinion on the war in AfghanistanInternational public opinion is largely opposed to the war in Afghanistan. A 47-nation global survey of public opinion conducted in June 2007 by the Pew Global Attitudes Project found considerable opposition to the U.S. and NATO military operations in Afghanistan...
- Civilian casualties of the War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
- Coalition casualties in AfghanistanCoalition casualties in AfghanistanAs of November 30, 2011, there have been 2,744 coalition deaths in Afghanistan as part of ongoing coalition operations since the invasion in 2001. In this total, the American figure is for deaths "In and Around Afghanistan" which, as defined by the U.S...
- British casualties in Afghanistan since 2001
- Canadian Forces casualties in AfghanistanCanadian Forces casualties in AfghanistanThe number of Canadian Forces' fatalities resulting from Canadian military activities in Afghanistan is the largest for any single Canadian military mission since the Korean War between 1950 and 1953...
- German Armed Forces casualties in AfghanistanGerman Armed Forces casualties in AfghanistanWith a contingent of 5,350 soldiers and policemen, Germany is one of the main contributors of troops to coalition operations in Afghanistan. Although German troops mainly operate in the comparatively quiet north of the country, the Bundeswehr has suffered a number of casualties during participation...
- Bagram torture and prisoner abuseBagram torture and prisoner abuseIn 2005, The New York Times obtained a 2,000-page United States Army report concerning the homicides of two unarmed civilian Afghan prisoners by U.S. armed forces in 2002 at the Bagram Theater Internment Facility in Bagram, Afghanistan. The prisoners, Habibullah and Dilawar, were chained to the...
- Canadian Afghan detainee abuse scandalCanadian Afghan detainee abuse scandalThe Canadian Afghan detainee issue concerns whether or not the Government of Canada and/or the Canadian Forces had knowledge about alleged abusive treatment of detainees in Afghanistan...
- Criticism of the War on TerrorismCriticism of the War on TerrorismCriticism of the War on Terror addresses the issues, morals, ethics, efficiency, economics, and other questions surrounding the War on Terror...
- Bertie LewisBertie LewisHubert "Bertie" Lewis was a World War II RAF airman who went on to become a peace campaigner in the UK. Bertie Lewis became well known for his opposition to nuclear weapons and the wars in which his adopted and his native country were engaged.- Early life :Born Hubert Lewis on 22 July 1920 in...
Further reading
- Stop the War: the story of Britain's biggest mass movement, Andrew Murray and Lindsey GermanLindsey GermanLindsey German is the convenor of the British anti-war organisation Stop the War Coalition and a former member of the central committee of the Socialist Workers Party. She was editor of Socialist Review for twenty years until 2004...
, ISBN 1-905192-00-2
External links
- Rethink Afghanistan, a ground-breaking documentary focusing on key issues surrounding the war, available for free online.
- Part 1: Troops Part 2: Pakistan Part 3: Cost of the War Part 4: Civilian Casualties Part 5: Women Part 6: Security
- Democracy Now! interview with Norman Solomon, Institute for Public Accuracy Online video and transcript, September 15, 2009
- Who Are the Taliban? The Afghan War Deciphered by Anand Gopal, December 9, 2008
- The US has Returned Fundamentalism to Afghanistan April 10, 2007 speech by Afghan member of parliament Malalai JoyaMalalai JoyaMalalai Joya is an activist, writer and a former politician from Afghanistan. She served as a Parliamentarian in the National Assembly of Afghanistan from 2005 until early 2007, after being dismissed for publicly denouncing the presence of what she considered to be warlords and war criminals in...
at the University of Los Angeles - Men With Guns, in Kabul and Washington by Norman SolomonNorman SolomonNorman Solomon is an American journalist, media critic, antiwar activist, and current candidate for the United States House of Representatives. Solomon is a longtime associate of the media watch group Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting...
, September 8, 2009 - Afghanistan by the Numbers - Measuring a War Gone to Hell by Tom Engelhardt, September 8, 2009
- 4 Deadly Delusions About Afghanistan Held by Obama's Top Advisors by Conn Hallinan, Foreign Policy in Focus, September 14, 2009
- West ignores lessons of Soviet humiliation in Afghanistan by Victor Sebestyen, July 19, 2009
- West should vote with its feet by Gwynne DyerGwynne DyerGwynne Dyer, OC is a London-based independent Canadian journalist, syndicated columnist and military historian.Dyer was born in St. John's, Newfoundland and joined the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve at the age of sixteen...
, September 15, 2009 - What good friends left behind
- What lies beneath the war in Afghanistan by Eric MargolisEric MargolisEric S. Margolis is an American-born journalist and writer. For 27 years, ending in 2010, he was a contributing editor to the Toronto Sun chain of newspapers, writing mainly about the Middle East, South Asia and Islam. He contributes to the Huffington Post and appears frequently on Canadian...
, October 11, 2009 - An Open Letter to President Obama by William R. PolkWilliam R. PolkWilliam Roe Polk is a veteran foreign policy consultant, author, and relation of president James K. Polk. He was born in Fort Worth, Texas and grew up on a ranch in west Texas. He attended public school in Fort Worth and the New Mexico Military Institute...
, September 30, 2009 - A letter from Afghanistan that every American must read September 10, 2009 resignation letter from Matthew Hoh
- The British Army overwhelmed by Afghan warriors - in 1842. So can we learn the lessons of history? by William Dalrymple, June 17, 2010
- The Afghan puppet government is crumbling before our eyes. We must talk to the Taliban by William Dalrymple, June 18, 2010