North San Diego County Times: Anti-war activists protest Bush visit

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Thursday, December 9, 2004

Anti-war activists protest Bush visit

By: LOUISE CANNON - Staff Writer

OCEANSIDE ---- About 80 demonstrators stood along the road leading to Camp Pendleton's main gate to protest the war in Iraq, as President George W. Bush dined with Marines on base Tuesday.

And many of the protesters said that, unlike the scene they had expected, most of the passing motorists did not seem to care about the small line of demonstrators carrying signs and shouting anti-Bush slogans and making anti-war speeches.

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Walking in a procession with signs declaring, "Support our troops, bring them home" while blaring "Bush ... not my president! Not my president!" over a loudspeaker, a few of them saw opposition from people driving by.

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When demonstrators arrived near the gate, they were greeted by a man in an Iraqi soldier's uniform from the Saddam regime. Paul, a former Marine who refused to give his last name, said he was wearing the black jumpsuit with the Iraqi flag insignia and Iraqi helmet to show protesters that the more they display their objection to the war, the worse it gets for U.S. troops risking their lives in Iraq.

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A banner displaying the names of more than 1,000 troops killed since the war began took up a majority of space in the picket line. Some protesters carried little wooden crosses and photographs of coffins draped in American flags.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/12/09/news/coastal/21_01_5412_7_04.txt

Contact staff writer Louise Cannon at [phone] or [e-mail].




Bill Parry of Cardiff holds a photo of U.S. casualties returning to America in flag-draped caskets during an anti-war rally near the front gate of Camp Pendleton Tuesday.