Protests denounce U.S.-NATO wars

Washington, D.C.

Over 2,500 antiwar activists converged in front of the White House on March 18. The main demand of the action was to put an end to the U.S./NATO proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. Coalitions representing the most active antiwar and anti-imperialist movements cooperated to organize this countrywide demonstration.

The date is the 20th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq by U.S. and British imperialism, which began a lengthy U.S. occupation of that country and resulted in a disaster for the Iraqi people. 

Numerous speakers at the rally in Washington demanded that the Biden administration stop providing ever-increasing billions for the Ukraine War, that NATO be abolished, that U.S. militarism and sanctions end, and funds for people’s needs not the war machine.

They called for a halt to the U.S. push for war against China, an end to U.S. aid to racist apartheid Israel, to fight racism and bigotry at home not other peoples, to end U.S. colonial activities against the Haitian people and to dissolve AFRICOM, the entity directing U.S. intervention in Africa.

Groups calling the demonstration included the United National Antiwar Coalition, ANSWER, Code Pink, Black Alliance for Peace and Veterans for Peace. Over 200 organizations, including Workers World Party, endorsed the action.

From the White House, people chanting and holding signs and banners marched to the headquarters of The Washington Post (which demonstrators called “the Pentagon Post,” due to its pro-militarist line) for a short protest in front of their locked doors. The day’s events ended with another rally inside the New York Ave. Presbyterian Church.

San Francisco

A similar broad coalition of antiwar forces held a rally on March 18 at 24th and Mission Streets in San Francisco, followed by a march through the city’s Mission District. An estimated 250 to 300 took part in the spirited action.

Among the speakers were David Newton, a longshore worker and executive board member of International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 10 and a nephew of Black Panther co-founder Huey P. Newton, and Dave Welsh, a retired postal letter carrier representing Workers World Party. 

While the coalition focused its mobilization on Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, WW received reports from some other cities.

Seattle

About 150 demonstrators rallied in downtown Seattle March 18, a step forward in the struggle against the U.S.-led war against Russia. The action was called by ANSWER and several other supporting organizations.

Speakers, including from Veterans for Peace, the Black Panther Party, ANSWER, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, La Resistencia and the Progressive Student Union at the University of Washington, represented a broad range of struggles.

Amy of Resist U.S.-Led War announced a “March on Boeing,” whose nearby factories produce both commercial and war planes, scheduled for March 26 at the Boeing Museum of Flight. The protest will demand the University of Washington cut ties with Boeing, the war profiteer, as UW students resist Boeing’s war production.

Alon from Students for Palestinian Equality and Return at the University of Washington condemned the U.S./Israeli occupation of Palestine, the Zionist regime’s murders of 88 Palestinians so far this year and the attempt to denounce opposition to Zionism by equating it with anti-Semitism.

Atlanta

In response to a call by Atlanta International Action Center, a multigenerational, multinational crowd gathered for a visibility protest at the busy intersection of Moreland Ave. and Freedom Parkway on March 18, to mark the 20th anniversary of the U.S. war on Iraq. The activists carried banners and signs denouncing U.S. imperialist wars abroad and at home. The main theme was: “Fund human needs, not war.” Endorsing groups included Black Alliance for Peace, Community Movement Builders, Atlantans for Peace in Ukraine, Answer and Georgia Detention Watch, among others.

Contributing to this article were Dave Welsh, Jim MacMahon and Dianne Mathiowetz.