War

Bill Keller on Bush's coalition (New York Times, 3/22/03):

[M]uch as I respect Estonia and El Salvador, there is something ridiculous about the list of our "partners" -- a coalition of the anonymous, the dependent, the halfhearted and the uninvolved, whose lukewarm support supposedly confers some moral authority. This is like -- oh, I don't know, wresting a dubious election victory in Florida and claiming a mandate. It lacks a certain verisimilitude.

Jonathan Freedland on the impact of the antiwar movement (Guardian, 3/22/03):

[T]here may be another motive for the initial preference for short-and-sweet over shock-and-awe. The US might have wanted to avoid a wave of worldwide revulsion. A series of tight, well-aimed strikes at the regime would have confounded the global fear of colossal Iraqi civilian casualties. It's as if Washington had heard the peace movement's objection to this war -- that too many innocents would die -- and was attempting to heed it. (Now the US can, at least, say it tried its best, but that it didn't bring instant results). . . .

Critics have railed against Washington for its gunslinging unilateralism, lambasting the US for playing the lone ranger. So the first sentence of George Bush's TV address on Wednesday night referred to "coalition forces". Of course he spoiled the multilateralist feel of the phrase by preceding it with "on my orders" -- suggesting he is in charge even of the British army -- but the thought was there.

And perhaps the clearest proof of the anti-war camp's efforts came from our own prime minister: "I know this course of action has produced deep divisions of opinion in our country," he said, just seconds into his own TV message to the nation. No leader wants to go into a war admitting such a thing. But Blair had no choice. As with much else, the peace movement has changed the landscape for this conflict -- and the men of war are having to deal with it.

Second-day protests in Britain, Germany, Greece, Egypt, Argentina, Ecuador, Japan, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and the United States. (Guardian, 3/21/03)

More protest coverage: Egypt, Yemen, Italy, Germany, France, Jordan, Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait, Gaza (Toronto Star, 3/21/03)

More protest coverage: Australia, Japan, Malaysia, India, Thailand, China, Pakistan, Indonesia, Australia, Greece, Germany, Bangladesh, and the United States. (New York Times, 3/21/03)

Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times (3/21/03): Thousands of protesters (police estimate: 10,000) block rush-hour Loop traffic; 543 arrests on March 20. More arrests to protect traffic flow this morning. Demonstrations scheduled for 5:00 PM today and noon tomorrow.

Yemen: Two die, dozens injured as 30,000 protesters demonstrate at the US embassy in San'a (San Jose Mercury News, 3/21/03)

Great Britain (The Independent, 3/21/03):

Thousands of demonstrators staged sit-down protests, blocked roads and stopped trains yesterday as the outcry against the start of war in Iraq spread across the country.

In Parliament Square, London, there were scuffles and missiles were thrown at police lines as about 5,000 protesters, including many schoolchildren, resisted attempts to clear them from roads. Statues in Whitehall were daubed with graffiti. Under the statue of the Victorian statesman Viscount Palmerston were written the words: "Another warmonger."

Minneapolis: Protests include large numbers of high school students (Star Tribune, 3/21/03):

About 1,800 Minneapolis high school students walked out of classes, the district estimated. That's nearly 17 percent of the district's 10,600 high school students.

At South High School, hundreds of students walked out of classes at 10:30 a.m. and carpooled or took public buses to the university for a noon rally.

"This is great -- it's tons of people," said Elianne Farhat, 18, a senior, a South High organizer, as she watched students leave school.

"We're not blaming this school for the war, but how can you go on when the whole world is falling apart?" asked senior Savannah Rhomberg.

About 600 of the approximately 1,300 students at Washburn High School in Minneapolis walked out, officials said, the district's highest walkout percentage.

Minneapolis students who left were given unexcused absences even if parents sent a note, said Melissa Winter, a district spokeswoman.

Roundup of the first protests in Arab and Moslem countries as the war began (Washington Post, 3/20/03)

Mikhail Gorbachev condemns the war (Daily Yomiuri, 3/20/03):

It seems that the United States considers the world is its own province. But that is nothing but an illusion. I doubt the leadership of the United States. True leadership is far away from today's action. I say the United States would be exercising leadership if it announced ratification of Kyoto Protocol or the abolition of its nuclear weapons. . . .

However, I believe many American people are on our side. I believe they also want a different world, where problems are solved through a democratic process, not by force.