Peace Groups Rally on Boston Common to Oppose Afghanistan Escalation

BOSTON/Boston Common - Approximately 200 people gathered on the corner of Park Street and Tremont Street on evening of December 2 to protest President Barack Obama's decision to send an additional 30 000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan. Protesters held lit candles and waved signs reading "War is Always a Defeat for Humanity" and "No We Can't " while speakers from Veterans for Peace Military Families Speak Out and other Boston-area peace groups addressed the crowd. The rally which was sponsored by United for Justice with Peace and Greater Boston Stop the Wars Coalition and was endorsed by Workers World Party attracted protesters of all ages who insisted an escalation of the Afghanistan war was not in the best interest of the United States or the Afghan people. Photos by Jesse Kirdahy-Scalia Nate Goldshlag an organizer with Veterans for Peace told the crowd America is spending money on wars when it is desperately needed for health care housing and creating jobs. "The wars and huge military budget are destroying our country. We need a peace budget. […] We bail out the banks and Wall Street with hundreds of billions of dollars but people are losing their homes and jobs in massive numbers." Rob Kearns also of Veterans for Peace told Open Media Boston "I think of lot of us […] especially a lot of folks that are in the peace movement wanted to believe that he was gonna put an end to this but sadly we were mistaken and we’re just pretty upset about it that […] we really believed that he was gonna not send more troops and obviously that’s not true so that’s why we’re here and we’ll continue to stay here." Maryam Shansab an Afghan-American graduate student and organizer with United for Justice with Peace recounted to the crowd her childhood experience of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and drew similarities between that event and the current U.S. occupation. The U.S. government and media give the same noble reasons for occupying Afghanistan that the Soviet Union did but Shansab questions these motives. "Is the presence of Taliban something the United States wants so they have a legitimate reason to be in Afghanistan?" Matthew Andrews an organizer with the Greater Boston Stop the Wars Coalition disagreed with President Obama's assertion that increased troop numbers is necessary to protect U.S. national security. "I don't think that it's necessary I don't think it's in our national interests or our legitimate national security interests. I think that the war can only create more problems for the people in Afghanistan and we really can't afford it. Those are resources that should be going towards health and human services here in the United States." In comments made to Open Media Boston Paul Shannon a staff member for the Peace and Security program of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) in Cambridge reflected an anti-interventionist sentiment many others shared that evening. "The assumption is that the purpose of sending the troops is to bring security to Afghanistan. […] Let's think back to what we thought going into Iraq was all about. Those were not the reasons." Instead Shannon said "The overarching reason is to maintain hegemony in that area and to make sure that the model of corporate globalization is maintained throughout the world." Shannon also expressed frustration with the lack of historical context in President Obama's speech to West Point cadets on December 1. "There's no understanding in that speech last night of what leads to this type of hatred and this type of organization against the United States and the use of such violence. […] You just say there's a bunch of bad guys you go kill them and your problem is solved. We really need to get beyond this type of analysis." Fran Roznowski of Chelsea Neighbors United Against the War told Open Media Boston what her organization is doing to oppose the war. "We do antimilitary recruitment at the high school and I think we definitely have to step up our efforts because if they’re looking at 30 000 troops they’re going to be getting them from communities like Chelsea in particular." Three high school students standing at the back of the crowd Tanasia Rosmayra and Jade talked with Open Media Boston about why they oppose the war. "My uncle is in the war and I want him to come home " Tanasia said. "My cousin is too " Rosmayra added. "War is not the answer. Our troops should come home " Jade finished. The three indicated students don't discuss the war much at school but opinions are varied. While some students at their school oppose the war Tanasia said some classmates in her ROTC class are excited for the opportunity to join when they can. "I don't think they should but they want to. It's their choice." Similar demonstrations against the war were held by community peace groups across Massachusetts New England and nationally over the past week. A partial listing is available on the United for Peace and Justice events calendar. Video by Ana Traynin Bookmark/Search this post with: Delicious Digg StumbleUpon Reddit Newsvine Facebook Google Yahoo Technorati