Pentagon protest of War on St Pats Day!!
 

This weekend marks the unfortunate fourth year anniversary of our declared war in Iraq. I went thru the protests duirng Vietnam and whether we made a difference, we still felt we let those in so called Leadership positions hear our voices...

Saturday March 17th is the date for the Pentagon Protest and please at least go to this site and decide if you would like to add your voice about this long raging war or at least see what a true protest with celebrities and political leaders and well known speakers is all about

the Pentagon protest site is

http://answer.pephost.org/site/Page Server?pagename=m17_hompage

And then when you are done, toast the event with Green Beer so you wont forget it also is St Patrick's Day..and the Irish were some of the historical ancestors who had a lot to struggle thru and would appreciate the good intentions of those at the Pentagon to let the government know "enough is enough."

Hard to believe this war has lasted longer than World War II ....four years whew???

Hopefully the protests are more respectful than some of the Vietnam ones; my dad still tells stories of people calling him a "baby killer" when he returned from his tour in Vietnam.

WWII lasted from 1939 until 1945. The US involvement was shorter (12/7/41 - 8/14/45). I am assuming that's what you are trying to say.

Incorrect information for propaganda purposes does not help a cause.

What the hell? This war has nothing to do with St. Patrick's day. Plus March 17th is the single day of the year when the most amount of fundraising for the IRA (read: terrorism) is done. Ironic, I think?
This war hasn't been longer than WW2, sorry to disappoint.

Someone's into something green - and it ain't beer.

We still have bases in Europe as a result of WWII... so we still haven't brought the boys home from that engagement. Our involvement in WWII is going on 66 years now.

Clearly you are not Irish.

I thought Irish people like war?!! :confused: :p :eek:

We also like spelling! And punctuation! And parochial school!

But not the English.

I think it's just that the Saturday (and therefore ideal day for a protest) closest to the anniversary of the start of the war (March 20) happens to fall on St. Patrick's Day this year.

And WWII's 6-year length aside, we are no longer at war with Iraq. We are still occupying Iraq (just like we occupied parts of Europe after 1945) and we are fighting insurgents in Iraq, but we are not at war with Iraq. So if it's going to be compared to WWII, you have to do what Kevin did and look at occupation/involvement after the war itself ended. Otherwise, apples =/= oranges.

I would go read a history book before you start spouting this off at your protest rallies.

WWII had its roots in Asia in 1937 when the Soviets and Japan went to war in Manchuria....nearly two years before Germany invaded Poland and effectively started the war on the European front. Japan formally surrendered all military operations in early September 1945

July 1937 + September 1935 = 8 years, 2 months.

Thanks.

And let's not even get in to how much lower the loss of life has been in the present conflict, particularly in American lives.

Hazelle,

What do you think will happen when the war ends?

Somebody forgot to send my ancestors the memo about the English!

And comparing the current US involvement in the Middle East to Viet Nam is naive, at best. Have an Irish Coffee and mellow out on Saturday instead.

:rolleyes:

Better update the memo-the English and the Irish no longer hate each other. Now we all collectively hate the French instead. It works out better for all of us.

And it makes much more sense, n'est-ce pas?

But I think Honeychile meant the memo about spelling, punctuation and parochial school, not the one about Anglo-Irish animosity. (But does an English public school count as a parochial school equivalent?)

Possibly-they're more likely the equivalent of just plain private schools here. I went to a christian secondary school, I knew a Roman Catholic primary school, all were state schools.
This is my old school: http://www.st-bedes.surrey.sch.uk/

I think my relatives on ye olde sod would disagree with that assessment.

I haven't met one Irish person with any animosity towards the English-except perhaps during the football world cup.

FWIW, my family didn't get the memo on the Anglo-Gaelic animosity. The best quote is from a history book where almost 200 years of English ancestors are touted, until two of the daughters married Matthew & John McCue. In its own little paragraph stands the damning phrase: "The McCues were Irish."

Not even a "bless their hearts" to tone it down a little!

They all did get the memo on grammar and private schools, though. Didn't want to mix with the riff-raff, don't you know? ;)

I have. My family was from Ulster until our kind was not welcome there anymore.

I'm going to a big protest. Its happening in Savannah. We're going to protest Bush's policies by getting drunk and singing Red Haired Mary and Tim Finnegan's Wake. Hopefully that'll let the administration know precisely how we feel.

Yes, but to be completely fair, there were some also powerful and yet respectful protests as well.

I'm pleased that you said "some."

It was a very complex time.

I also said four years ago that I saw a lot of parallels between this conflict and Vietnam. I still do.

And this situation is complex as well.

An understatement.

Hungover?

Certainly; I wouldn't characterize everyone by the actions of a few.

I understand it was a complex time; it was certainly complex when my dad, who had served his country for a year overseas, returned home at the age of 21 and was greeted with taunts as a "baby-killer" and other similar chants. I understand some protests were peaceful, but there were others that were not, that targeted the soldiers who fought.

I'm glad to see that most of the protests today do not repeat those mistakes.

Agreed. My husband still has many relatives in Belfast, and while I don't pretend to understand all the intricacies of the conflict, I've seen the animosity firsthand.

True this was bad. But it might be amusing to see some protestors set themselves on fire with gasoline. Might knock Anna Nicole out of the news for a while.

Morrissey says...
 

Irish blood, English heart
this I'm made of
there is no one on earth
I'm afraid of
and no regime
can buy or sell me now

I've been dreaming of a time when
to be English
is not to be baneful
to be standing by the flag not feeling
shameful, racist or partial

Irish blood, English heart
this I'm made of
there is no one on earth
I'm afraid of
and I will die
with both of my hands untied

I've been dreaming of a time when
the English are sick to death of Labour
and Tories
and spit upon the name Oliver Cromwell
and denounce this royal line that still salutes him
and will salute him
forever

I know.