Is that a shrub in your pocket...
Monday, October 01, 2007
Active duty soldiers from Fort Drum in Northern NY took part in a regional peace rally in Syracuse Saturday September 29th, along with 3,000 other protesters in what was described as the city's largest peace rally since the Vietnam era.
Among those speaking in opposition to the Iraq occupation were active-duty members of the 10th Mountain Division (which currently has two brigades of 7,500 troops in Iraq; 93 Fort Drum soldiers have been killed there, so far).
The event was initiated by Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), and endorsed by some 60 organizations statewide. Bus loads of anti-war protesters came from Albany, Rochester, Buffalo and New York City. Protesters called for an immediate withdrawal of troops, and full health benefits for returning veterans.
The demonstration began with a rally on the plaza outside the Everson Museum of Art in downtown Syracuse followed by a march to the Syracuse University (SU) campus for a second rally. The demonstration concluded with a panel discussion at SU's Hendricks Chapel which included former chief UN weapons inspector in Iraq, Scott Ritter, former Marine Jimmy Massey, a founding member of IVAW, and Dr. Dahlia Wasfi.
A slideshow of some of the photos I took is here.
