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Hundreds protest war with Iraq
March 20, 2003

Washington, DC — Anti-war protesters blocked morning traffic in Washington, San Francisco and Philadelphia and chanted "no blood for oil" outside the White House on Thursday in reaction to U.S. military strikes against Iraq.

As many as 150 demonstrators temporarily shut down the inbound travel lanes of one of Washington's Potomac River crossings, snarling rush-hour traffic. Some 50 demonstrators bicycled through downtown Washington carrying signs that said, "Bikes not Bombs." Three people were arrested.

"There are many, many people here and around the world that are opposed to this war," said Dana Hubbard, 54, of Washington.

Outside the White House, about 50 anti-war protesters gathered in the chilly rain, shouting "no blood for oil!" Police blocked Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House to protesters and pedestrians.

In San Francisco, at least 175 protesters were arrested after blocking streets and snarling traffic across the city, police said. Police and firefighters used power saws to separate protesters linked with metal pipes.

Protesters in Philadelphia blocked the entrances to the downtown federal building, forcing police to detour motorists around the area. About 100 were arrested.

"I'm here because this war is going to lead to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi citizens solely because of the United States' greed for oil," said one demonstrator, Rebecca Johnson, 23, of Philadelphia.

Not every demonstrator opposed the military action. While many students at Brown University in Providence, R.I., held signs denouncing war, Alec O'Neill stood at the edge of the crowd, wearing a handmade T-shirt that read, "I am threatened by Iraq." On the back were the words "Regime change now."

"We are taking on a real and present threat," said O'Neill, 21, of Red Hook, N.Y. Several polls taken before the strikes began found that about two-thirds of Americans supported the war, but most preferred winning U.N. support before an attack.

Just outside of Washington, more than 2,000 students walked out of classes at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Md. They circled the school playing drums, guitars and even a trombone.

"These demonstrations are going to go on and on and on," said Nathan Paulsen, 23, as he gathered for a rally at the University of Minnesota. "We're going to raise the social and political costs of this war so high that they are going to have to put down the guns and stop the bombing raids eventually."

The call for protests, walkouts and marches Thursday followed a day of intense anti-war rallying by people in small towns, big cities and rural outposts decrying war just hours before the United States began its attack.

"I am very ashamed to be an American right now," Lydia Riley, 63, of Washington said Wednesday. "There's been nothing but lies and misrepresentations by the Bush administration."

Riley joined about 200 demonstrators, some wearing red dye on their faces and clothes to represent anticipated Iraqi civilian casualties, blocking rush hour traffic as they marched from a park near the White House to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's house in Northwest Washington.

Demonstrators were arrested after sitting down on the street in front of the White House and blocking entrances to government buildings in other cities.

In Carson City, Nev., hundreds of flag-waving veterans and others gathered outside the state's legislative building to back U.S. military personnel poised to attack Iraq.

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