Exposing the Socialist Agenda of Antiwar Protestors in Fayetteville, NC (After Action Report)

Old North State Chapter | March 20, 2006 | Huber, et al.

[Huber]

Preparing to greet the commies - Early Saturday Morning
DStarr chooses a sign from her arsenal as she prepares to confront the leftist march.

This past Saturday, March 18, 2006 we conducted our third annual FReep in commemoration of the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. As in past years, leftists marched through the streets of Fayetteville, NC (home of Fort Bragg and Pope Airforce Base) and congregated in Rowan Park for their day of music and speeches, coordinated by NC Peace and Justice Coalition. The support the troops rally was conducted on the hillside overlooking Rowan Park.

Wolfpat's sound system

Wolfpat used a homemade sound system powered by a generator provided by CF_River_Rat to wonderful effect. (Lot's of folks admired WP's handcrafted speakers!) Those in the "American Zone" enjoyed the sounds of Lee Greenwood, Charlie Daniels, Johnny Cash and the Band of the Grenadiers playing Sousa Marches, The Ballad of the Green Berets and the Anthems of each branch of the Armed Forces. I particularly enjoyed observing the faces of some of the lefties as they passed rrrod and BufordP enjoying stogies with "When the Caissons Come Rolling Along" playing in the background.

Our back fence is decorated with various Americana messages from our own collections.

At one point during setup, we suggested the reporters play "count the flags on the other side of the street". They were shocked to see that there were no flags until one or two of the marchers brought them in.

The Revoked Permit

This year, the annual Fayetteville FReep would have had a drastically different complexion than in previous years. Members of the Old North State Chapter of the FreeRepublic Network had reserved Rowan Park in Fayetteville, NC, home of Ft Bragg (82nd Airborne) and Pope Air Force Base in order to host a large picnic in support of the troops on the 3rd anniversary of the launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom. However months after Fayetteville had cashed our check, they revoked our permit and gave the park to the "Anti-war" protestors who had held rallies there on the two previous anniversaries. As reported in the Fayetteville Observer:

If the counter-protesters had gotten their way, it would be them --not the antiwar crowd-- filling the park on the third anniversary of the Iraq invasion.

A member of Free Republic, a support-the-war (sic) group, reserved Rowan Park for this weekend immediately after last year's large antiwar rally at the park. The reservation was described as for a two-day picnic and required an $800 (sic) check covering fees and a deposit.

Six months later, the city returned the check, documents show.

A Sept. 27 letter from the city explained the cancelation "due to a greater programming need and security accommodations for a large public event." The letter, by Parks and Recreations Director Robert Barefoot, said the park's sheltered stage is "generally not used or rented for picnics." Barefoot offered other picnic shelters or indoor "air-conditioned multipurpose rooms" to accommodate their event.

Citizens of Fayetteville were furious to hear that the city had arbitrarily canceled a pro-troops event in favor of an "anti-war" event. It seemed pretty clear that there was a political motivation for this by some in the city government. This matter remains unresolved at this point.

We had about 55-60 supporters of the troops and their mission, including FReepers, members of Rolling Thunder, and local veterans and families. FReepers present included Wolfpat, DemoRat Watcher, Sara's Mom, Lurker Sara, DStarr (right), flib, Clyde Asbury, Metacomet04, TaxRelief, Kristinn, rrrod, BufordP, Huber, StoneColdTaxHater, TaxDeduction2 and GunsAreOK.

Why was the leftist turnout so low?

The actual number of leftists this year was around 400, based on the reports filed by the police on the scene. Magically, that number expanded to "not more than a thousand" when it was reported by the local press. We have a basic rule of thumb for estimates of leftist numbers reported by mainstream media. Simply divide by three!

One of the speakers attributed it to the fact that so many of the Peace and Justice community were down in New Orleans for the Veterans and Survivors March for Peace and Justice. Interestingly, here is a photo of that march taken by a New Orleans' fisherman. (Perhaps most of the marchers were unusually short of stature and could not be seen over the bridge railing?)

Attendees at the Fayetteville march were not unaware of the dismal attendance. AP News reported the following quote:

"This is pitiful," Raleigh lawyer Brian Upchurch said as he waited at a staging point with about 300 people before the march. By the time protesters got moving, several hundred more had joined the route under the eye of local police.

"Part of it is lack of media attention. If you're not in the peace and justice community, you're not going to know about it. That, plus typical American apathy - many want to be home cutting their lawns," he said.

Undoubtedly there are a number of factors including protest fatigue and lack of novelty, but grass cutting-- in the middle of March--is not one of them. Perhaps reduced momentum in the aftermath of the Danish cartoon fatwahs and other atrocities that have clarified the character of this struggle with Islamofascism has allowed the truth to sink in to people's hearts?

The efforts of FReepers and others over the past several years have exposed the leftist organizers for what they are. Unlike in the sixties, the dossiers of the organizers and speakers, and the character of the marchers have been held up for scrutiny. As the leftist's speeches and writings become part of the public record, it is simply a matter of compiling this information and making it available at the rallies. A "peace activist" who argues that "peace will be achieved when soldiers stop obeying their superiors just as they did in Viet Nam" may maintain credibility with a hardcore audience including the International Socialist Workers Party and anarchist organizations, but such statements will only alienate most Americans.

Likewise, while MSM photos may zoom in on the handful of normal looking protestors in the crowd, we photograph the radicals in all their unwashed, pierced, misanthropic glory. These marches do not comprise large numbers of average American families, but rather a core group of hardcore radicals who hate and seek to overturn Western civilization, accompanied by fellow-travellers and some naive folks who may have been sucked in, not realizing with whom they were keeping company. As Justice Louis Brandeis famously said, "Sunlight is the best disinfectant." Our FReeps shine a bright light of factual information on these infections in our society. The leftists are no longer able to maintain the illusion of a kumbaya love fest for peace: Their hatred becomes clear for all to see, and the positive "peace-vibe" goes the way of the other myths of the 60's.

The Twin Towers and the Pentagon of Peace.

We were not sure what to make of these. Perhaps the radicals were concluding that conscientious and appropriate "Citizen Action!" involved flying airliners into buildings for peace. Some inspired soul did manage to leave a message inside the Pentagon of Peace that "Freedom is not Free!" Here is babbling, bogus explanation provided by the NC Peace and Justice Coalition:

THE TWIN TOWERS OF DEMOCRACY
These 17 ft. tall towers, constructed of recycled refrigerator boxes and rubbings of historical plaques, remind us that the tragic destruction at the Twin Towers in NYC is not justification for undermining the Twin Towers of our Democracy, Citizen Action and Civil Liberties. Unfortunately war has historically been used as an excuse to dismantle the political and legal gains made by non-violent champions of 'Liberty and Justice for All' that are honored on the towers.

THE PEACE PENTAGON
Which is the more powerful tool for preserving our freedom, The "Five Freedoms" of the First Amendment represented by the five sides of this mobile Monument for Peace, or the power of the military represented by the five walls of the Pentagon in Washington D.C.? Many of our founding fathers feared that a large permanent military and involvement in foreign wars would undermine the Constitutional system of checks and balances they saw as most essential to preserving our freedom.

Note: Many of our founding fathers specifically feared that rabble like the "peace protestors" would make our country ungovernable!

Somehow this crowd seems to have missed the 10 million purple fingers of democracy, citizen action and civil liberties in Iraq.

The description of the Statue of Liberty particularly poignant:

HELP RECONSTRUCT LADY LIBERTY
The Statue of Liberty is in America, but she was built by two countries born of the Enlightenment--France and the United States-and has been seen by people throughout the world as a hopeful symbol lighting the way out of oppression and insecurity and toward freedom and fulfillment. For many people, observing recent betrayals of our higher ideals, especially the pictures of torture from Abu Ghraib, has been like watching Lady Liberty toppled over and violently dismembered. We need to work through a process of mourning, but many of us have been stuck in shock or denial. We have created a huge colorful modular statue of Liberty that we reassemble in ritual fashion. Members of your group can express their feelings of loss on white paper "tears," affirm their commitment to Enlightenment ideals on green paper "torches," and take affirmative action by filling out red paper "stop torture" postcards to hang on the statue.

Without dwelling on the fact that the American and Scottish Enlightments were dramatically different from the French, It would be interesting to see the protestors place their green paper "torches" in Tehran, or Jedda (after all, they would not even be allowed into Mecca), Damascus, Havana, or Beijing.

A Conversation with Rashad the Pharmacist and an Interactive Encounter with Code Pink

Dr Rashad Zidan, according to the organizers' handouts, "worked as a pharmacist for the government in hospitals and with the national distribution system. In 1993, she opened a private pharmacy in Baghdad, which remained open until the invasion in 2003. She sold her pharmacy in 2005 so that she could devote all of her energies to the women's organization that she helped to found which provides aid to victims of war, especially orphans and widows... Zidan is one of seven Iraqi women who converged in New York on Sunday, March 5th to begin a speaking tour to educate Americans about the reality in Iraq and to meet with UN and US officials to call for a peace plan to end the escalating spiral of violence... 'These women are not politicians, but ordinary Iraqis who are desperate (sic) to see an end to the violence and are taking great personal risk to come to the US,' says Medea Benjamin, cofounder of the CODEPINK and Global Exchange, the two groups organizing the delegation."

During an interview in Raleigh this weekend News and Observer, Greensboro, Dr. Zidan expressed the opinion "We have no electricity, no security, no water, no education, no medical care," she said. "So what's the freedom of the democracy the United States (has) given to us?" [Perhaps Kristinn will have the chance to explain to Code Pink that the definition of "democracy" is not "a political system with free services".]

During the CODEPINK introduction, FReepers began chanting the now familiar "Swim to Cuba" followed by "Code Pink, Red Stink". This persisted as long as the CODEPINK crowd was on the bandshell stage in the park. This provoked an emotional response from the PINKo's on stage, who began shouting louder and more shrilly as the Cuba chant continued. They lost it. As the PINKo's exited the stage, Kristinn explained to the "peace activists" that the reason for the chant was that CODEPINK regularly disrupts speakers that they disagree with, and also that CODEPINK had planned a visit to Cuba to celebrate the anniversary of the Marxist revolution there. He further explained that CODEPINK was not a women's rights organization but an international Marxist organization. Several "peace activists" stared for a while, and then wandered back to their hollow.


As Dr. Zidan spoke, one of the FReeper guests began a conversation with her using the megaphone."Free Iraqi women from male opression!" our guest exhorted. "Shed the burkhas: Shed the bras!" Dr. Zidan replied from the bandshell, "Do you know who you are speaking to?" "Yes", replied the troop supporter, "How much is CODEPINK paying you to speak today, $25,000?" At this point, Zidan's response was becoming unintelligible, so the supporter responded, $24,000?". Zidan's words suddenly came faster and shriller, at which point a CODEPINK organizer with a clipboard moved toward the American Zone and a distraction of our troop supporter, "Can I talk to her? Who is she?" she demanded to know. The PINKo then approached our guest and yelled "Can I talk to you?" to which the supporter replied, "Yes, after I finish speaking with Rashad." (It's only polite to wait one's turn, is it not?)

Well, at this point, according to one witness, the CODEPINK organizer began "roaring like a bull and screaching like a heavy metal singer." Unfortunately, when the supporter completed her conversation with Rashad, the CODEPINK organizer had left (Young people today have no patience).

The MOABS

For the uninitiated, MOAB stands for MOther of All Banners, and is a large banner with a message large and bold enough to be read from afar.

As the marchers approached their festival site, they were greeted by the Old North State Chapter's first MOAB with its simple but effective 8' message, "So you're anti-war protestors. Isn't that cute." (Even some of the marchers couldn't resist chuckling at the implied slap at their maturity levels.)

In a war of words the MOAB can be powerful on multiple levels. If its message is well targeted, it will undermine the false pretense of legitimacy and seriousness of the left-wing action. Lack of legitimacy is exposed by drawing attention to the true agenda of the left--international socialism--while the illusion of seriousness is uncovered by exposing their half-baked arguments like "Bush is the world's biggest terrorist" and "It's all about Halliburton". When a well worded MOAB undermines the left effectively, it tends to provoke a shrill reaction, which further undermines their position.

The DC Chapter's MOAB was launched a little later due to hardware challenges, but rrrod came through and, once unfurled, its Club Gitmo theme had the desired effect. Both MOABs were featured on the evening news!

---

Freepers in action

Wolfpat and GunsareOK model one of JumpinJack's excellent signs.

    
The picket line prepares to advance.

Live Action thread being typed into a Blackberry.

Press and TV Coverage.

WRAL, News14 Carolina, and ABC-11 all gave reasonably balanced coverage of the two sides. FReepers and members of Rolling Thunder were represented by coherent and meaningful sound bites, rather than all too common practice by the MSM of selecting an inarticulate section of any interview with a conservative for airing. (We did our part by ensuring that all representatives of our side shaved their unibrows, replaced missing teeth and wiped drool off their shirts prior to being interviewed.) The soundbites airing on TV included statements that "the protesters across the street were not advocating peace but were merely seeking to demoralize and undermine American resolve" and "while our troops are fighting overseas, we are watching their backs over here." FReeper chants captured on air included "You never marched on Saddam, you never marched on Osama." The MOABS both appeared on the news, along with one of my favorite signs, which read "Welcome Home Troops, Excuse the Idiots."

The local paper, the Fayetteville Observer, gave only brief mention to our side, along with ample coverage of the leftists, including a silly Q&A entitled "Who is Chuck Fager?" The Observer did, however, run the story earlier in the week breaking the news about the city cancelling our permit and awarding it to the the protesters.

Rolling Thunder

It would be difficult to say enough good things about this group. Rolling Thunder is a local motorcycle club of military vets. They are active in local community service and in support of the military and veteran community. They obtained the permit for the counter-protest on the hill above the park, showed up and set up early, brought great signs and flags, and stayed to the very end.

During the first Fayetteville FReep three years ago, RT members were able to line up their motorcycles in our area across from the park, and periodically rev'd their hogs at strategic times to make a joyful noise in contrast to the whining and anti-American rhetoric in the park. Fayetteville's finest took a dim view of this and advised the club to cease and desist, but in all fairness to Fayetteville's finest, these wonderful choppers were weapons of mass disruption. Putting an amplified "We are the World" against a revving Harley is like trying to use a 1970 VW Microbus to face down a tank. This year, the joyful noise was expressed by RT members buzzing down the highway directly behind our area, to a somewhat more muted effect.

Fayetteville Police Dept

The Fayetteville PD and guests from other LEAs did an exceptional job of keeping the peace. The police presence was massive, and as usual, they were all facing the collection of anarchists, socialists, hippies, druggies and Islamofascist sympathizers in the park. The police inspected every backpack, and used wands and dogs to check for any other contraband. Police were also mounted on horseback.

The lefties made several attempts to infiltrate our area. One lady wearing a T shirt advertising the local communist channel on sattelite TV persisted for quite some time, approaching different individuals in our area and each time being turned away. For those who have not been to a FReep, these infiltrations, often posed as invitations for dialog, are usually intended solely as distractions, opportunities to get to the kids, or as opportunities to position someone for a physical attack, as occurred last year against FReeper Bert.

It is unrealistic to presume that someone wearing a leftist slogan on their T-shirt is open to logical debate on the merits of different political philosophies. It is simply a waste of time, and no good will come of it.

This guy tried to break into the American zone. Note his innocent, disingenous expression as he feigns an inability to comprehend why the police will not let him through. The baby in his backpack was in hysterics after he continued to challenge the police, who after politely informing him that he would not be allowed into the American Zone, surrounded him and informed him more insistently that his best option was to walk away if he wished not to be arrested.

Our guess, based on his obliviousness or callousness to the emotional state of the infant, was that it was a loaner baby that he borrowed to appear less threatening and also to place the police in a difficult position by using the baby as a form of human shield. (It becomes more difficult to arrest someone when a struggle might cause injury to an innocent!)

FReeper Fellowship

FReepers got together for food and fellowship on Friday evening, Saturday evening and Sunday brunch. (We were at a bit of a loss to explain why we were enjoying St. Paddy's day in an Italian pizza place, and it was interesting that the waitress offered Heiniken as a possible choice when we inquired about whether they had any Irish beer!) There is no finer bunch with which to spend time. While we did not finalize our selection of the next republican presidential candidate on behalf of the rest of the country, we made good progress. If your time allows when travelling for a FReep, take the time to enjoy the company of our great network across the country.

[Huber]

Link to Live Thread with some photos: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1598738/posts

If you could all re-post your after action reports here, it would be much appreciated.

[msnimje]

How did that baby slip through the leftists mass murder campaign against children?

[Huber]

===============Images from around the world=================

Iraq War supporter Danielle Ballard expresses her opposition to a nearby anti-war protest in Reno, Nev., Sunday, March 19, 2006. Peace activists, and counter-demonstrators, rallied around the country to mark the third anniversary Yahoo News
===========================

Polish people hold banners during an anti-war demonstration in Warsaw, Poland, Sunday March 19, 2006. Some 1000 Poles took part in a protest against the involvement of Polish troops in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. (AP)
===========================

People carry large puppets, signs and flags as thousands of Iraq war protesters gather in downtown Portland, Ore., Sunday, March 19, 2006, to protest on the war's third anniversary. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)
===========================

AP Sat Mar 18, 6:28 PM ET Ali Mujahid of Brooklyn, NY, carries a sign during an anti-war protest in New York. Thousands of Americans took to the streets in nationwide protests against the US-led war in Iraq, a light turnout despite rising public
===========================

Anti-war protesters make their way through Roxbury, a neighborhood in Boston, Saturday, March 18, 2006 during an Iraq war protest.Thousands of anti-war protesters took to the streets around the world Saturday, marking the third anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq with demands that coalition troops leave immediately. (AP Photo/Lisa Poole)
===========================

AP - Fri Mar 17, 11:58 PM ET A man tries to hand out an anti-war newspaper at a peaceful protest in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, March 18, 2006. Around 500 protesters marched through central Sydney on the anti-war rally, marking the third anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq with a demand that coalition troops pull out. (AP Photo/Andrew Caballero-Reynolds)
===========================

Protesters carry a picture upside down of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and wave the country's flag as they demonstrate outside the United Nations in New York, Friday March 17, 2006. The Iranian Community of New York members and their supporters chanted 'no war, no appeasement, democratic change by resistance,' as they rally in protest against the Iranian government, calling on the United Nations Security Council to impose immediate sanctions against the Iranian regime. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
===========================

Protesters hold up a picture of Maryam Rajavi, president of the National Council of Resistance of Iran who is exiled in Paris, France, as they demonstrate in New York outside the United Nations Friday March 17, 2006. The Iranian Community of New York members and their supporters chanted 'no war, no appeasement, democratic change by resistance,' as they rally in protest against the Iranian government, calling on the United Nations Security Council to impose immediate sanctions against the Iranian regime. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

===========================

AP - Sat Mar 11, 12:08 PM ET Leftist demonstrators chant anti-American slogans as the protester in the front holds a banner reading 'Solution is in socialism not in media,' during a protest in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, March 11, 2006. Hundreds of Turkish women gathering for Women's Day demonstrations in an Istanbul square protested the war in Iraq. (AP Photo/Osman Orsal)
===========================

A poster depicting U.S. President George W. Bush is held up during a protest outside the U.S. embassy in Caracas March 8, 2006. Several thousand supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez marched to the U.S. embassy on Wednesday during the commemoration of International Women's Day to protest against the Iraq war. REUTERS/Jorge Silva
===========================

AP - Wed Mar 8, 12:04 PM ET A poster negatively depicting George W. Bush is carried by a supporter of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez during a rally in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, March 8, 2006. Supporters of Chavez marched to the U.S Embassy to protest the war in Iraq, carrying a petition demanding an immediate pullout of U.S. troops. Chavez has called the war a glaring example of U.S. imperialism.(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

[areafiftyone]

So these Stupid Liberals have been doing march after anti-war march for the past three years and where does it get them??? Nowhere. 99% of the rest of the public ignores them or thinks they are crazy and are totally annoyed by them but they keep doing it hoping one day someone will notice them and give them some attention. NO ONE CARES!!! Last time they had an anti-war rally here in NYC a bunch of people asked me if it was a holiday in NYC because of the way people were dressed in the march. I ALMOST DIED LAUGHING because most of the people I talked to didn't even bother to read the signs they only laugh at the way they dressed. I told them what it was and they were disappointed and just went "oh".

Maybe they should just stick to sitting in a circle singing Kumbaya!

[BufordP]

Those in the "American Zone" enjoyed the sounds of Lee Greenwood, Charlie Daniels, Johnny Cash and the Band of the Grenadiers...

And my favorite - The Right Brothers

[BufordP]

...(We did our part by ensuring that all representatives of our side shaved their unibrows, replaced missing teeth and wiped drool off their shirts prior to being interviewed.)...

Oh crap! I didn't get the memo! Who forgot to give me the memo?

[BufordP]

I forgot to mention our new Freeper, flib, came up with the "Code Pink, Red Stink" chant as well as quite a few other chants that had me laughing most of the time.

[thebaron512]

Kumbaya mentions The Lord, so would not be found in their songs books.

[Huber]

NC *Ping*

Please FRmail Constitution Day, Alia OR TaxRelief if you want to be added to or removed from this North Carolina ping list.

[Diva Betsy Ross]

Great job! Sorry I had to miss you all.

[areafiftyone]

Ah true! Didn't think of that.

[Constitution Day]

Outstanding! Wish I could have joined you. Definitely next year.

[PeteB570]

Sorry I had to miss this one. I made the anti Kerry FReep at the same spot but had to be out of town this weekend.

The anti Cindy protest at the Market House was fun also.

I will be at the park next year rain or shine.

[Huber]

NOTE TO ALL:

In case you are having difficulty viewing a few of the images in the thread, this is because some of the images are hosted on Webshots, and it looks like we may have exceeded their bandwidth. We are going to rehost the elusive photos onto Photobucket as soon as we can. In the interim, to view the blank photos, right click on the white frames, copy the web address, open a new window on your browser, and paste the address directly into the address field. Depending on what browser you are using, the shots may concurrently open in the thread at the same time as they go into your computer's cache.

[Sisku Hanne]

The A(ssclown)P(osse) really laps up those "evil Bush" posters, don't they? Just can't wait to spread them all around the wire- unlike certain photos of proud patriots, falling men, and muhammed cartoons.

PS- Go Iranians, go! Regime change begins at home!!

[JWinNC]

BUMP

[Huber]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1599511/posts

The Real Reasons behind the Peace Movement
The American Thinker ^ | March 20, 2006 | Vasko Kohlmayer

Posted on 03/20/2006 8:25:16 AM EST by Quilla

The third anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was marked over the weekend by a wave of protests around the world. Most of the marches in America were spearheaded by United for Peace and Justice, the nation’s largest anti-war coalition.

United for Peace and Justice is a large umbrella association of more than thirteen hundred local and national groups who have joined together to protest the immoral and disastrous Iraq War and oppose our government’s policy of permanent warfare and empire-building.

The organization’s recent press release tells us of a massive effort planned for the week of March 15 – 22 during which it planned to be coordinating local events ‘as part of a nationwide week of action to end the Iraq war.’ More than 500 events were planned in all 50 states.

Needless to say, United for Peace and Justice has been responsible for some of the most visible peace campaigns in recent memory. Its website boasts that since its inception in October 2002, it has spurred hundreds of protests and rallies around the country and organized the two largest demonstrations against the Iraq war.

Despite the variety of causes its member groups ostensibly espouse, most of them are well known for their enmity toward America and her capitalist society. They are led by such anti-establishment outfits as the Communist Party USA, Anti-Capitalist Convergence, Socialist Party USA, Anti-Imperialist News Service, Black Radical Congress and Workers Party.

There is something suspicious in all this. Why have all these radicals flocked to the peace movement when peacefulness has never been in their nature? In fact, they habitually advocate aggression as part and parcel of their campaigns. Their past behavior makes it indeed difficult to accept their present activism at face value. Clearly, there must be something else that appeals to them in this cause.

Whatever it is, we can be absolutely certain that it is not the good of this society which they make no secret of loathing. After all, these are the same people whose stated objective is the overthrow of the American system, which, they charge, is unjust, corrupt and generally injurious to everything that is wholesome in life. Their mission statements make this starkly clear:

• ‘We seek an end to the oppressive and destructive capitalist system’ (Anti-Capitalist Convergence).

• ‘We aim at overthrowing the capitalist-imperialist system altogether. The American people have no choice but to oppose U.S. imperialism’ (Workers Party USA).

• ‘Socialism is our vision for America’s future. We believe that socialism is the best replacement for a capitalist system that has served its purpose’ (Communist Party USA).

• ‘We will fight to advance beyond capitalism, which has demonstrated its structural incapacity to address basic human needs’ (Black Radical Congress).

• ‘To achieve a more just society, many structures of our government and economy must be radically transformed’ (Democratic Socialists of America).

• The imperialist ruling clique has made the U.S. into the world’s number one rogue state. In order to completely get rid of imperialist wars, the people will have to get rid of the imperialist system (International League of People’s Struggle).

Such subversive hopes were for a long time doomed to frustration. The fact that America gave rise to the most prosperous society in history translated into electoral stability which consigned extreme groups to the fringes of her politics.

But then an event took place which gave them new hope. On September 11, 2001, a band of Islamic fanatics managed to shake America to her foundations. The nation convulsed with chaos and fear as the World Center Towers tumbled down and New York became engulfed in a cloud of dust.

The devastation was not confined to that fateful day, however, but continued to mount for many months afterwards. So did the doubt and uncertainty. The plunge in the stock market set the country on a downward slide into recession at great cost in wealth and jobs.

But the material loss was only part of the damage, for the hijackers also struck at the very foundation of our system. Our bedrock principles – freedom, openness, trust – were also singed by the flames of those exploding airplanes. Even before the rubble was cleared, we had to reconsider some of our cherished assumptions and alter the way we go about our lives. The inherent danger is impossible to overstate, because this directly endangers the survival of American society as we know it.

With one audacious act, then, nineteen Arabic hijackers managed to rock the United States beyond the wildest dreams of even the boldest domestic radicals. This gave them new hope, for they suddenly realized that the country is not as invulnerable as it seemed. In a flash, Islamist fundamentalists became their closest ally in the anti-establishment crusade.

Recognizing the danger, the Bush administration mounted a relentless response and within three years destroyed most of al-Qaeda’s original leadership. But realizing that terrorism is only the symptom of a larger problem, the administration turned its attention to the breeding grounds from which its springs – repressive Middle-Eastern regimes. As it did so, it made it clear that it will use all means at its disposal – including war – to achieve its objective.

It is not surprising that our domestic radicals should be unsettled by this tough approach, given that Islamism represents their best chance of disrupting American society. It is therefore only natural that they would do everything in their power to oppose the administration’s effort. Hence their improbable zeal for the anti-war movement.

No one should be deceived about their real objective, which is not peace, but the protection of those who have the ability to destabilize the United States by terrorist subversion. By organizing large-scale protests, they try to weaken the government’s resolve to defend the system they themselves seek to undermine. The peace crusade – backed by nearly all of this country’s radical groups – is nothing more than a deliberate attempt to pursue their anti-American agenda under a veil of moral righteousness. This behavior is not unexpected, given that by virtue of their shared goal militant Islamists and this country’s radicals are operational allies.

We saw clear evidence of this in the pre-election message of Usama bin Laden which sounded almost like a rehash of Fahrenheit 9/11, the anti-war documentary by Michael Moore. So obvious was the resemblance that Moore taunted the President in an open letter posted on his website:

Hey, did you get the feeling that he had a bootleg of my movie? Are there DVD players in those caves in Afghanistan?

It is highly instructive that the man whose life’s mission is America’s destruction used the arguments of one of America’s loudest anti-war voices as the basis for his diatribe. But rather than feeling ashamed of this sordid rapport, Michael Moore was proud of it.

How have we arrived at this absurd situation? How is it that one of America’s most visible war opponents and the world’s most dangerous terrorist find themselves in such thorough agreement? Why do they both denounce the man who has been working so conscientiously to keep America from another terrorist inferno? And why is Michael Moore the more venomous of the two in his censure of Bush? How could have he become the propagandist for an apocalyptic psychopath who inflicted such a grievous injury on Moore’s own country? And how can Moore boast about providing talking points to the man who has cold-bloodedly murdered more than three thousand of his fellow citizens and would kill countless more if only he could?

The fact that the two espouse different ideologies does not stand in the way of this grotesque alliance born out of a shared hatred of America. All that matters at the moment is that in order to implement their respective visions the present establishment must be toppled first.

Moore’s movies and books make it clear that he is a radical socialist whose views are as extreme as those of the groups quoted above. His personal quest is fuelled by an all-consuming loathing of America’s capitalistic society which he dreams of bringing down. This is what makes bin Laden such a convenient ally. No one has expressed this truth better than bin Laden himself when he said:

The interests of Muslims and the interests of the socialists coincide in the war against the crusaders.

On 9/11 bin Laden and his cohorts showed an ability to destabilize the United States, which is why Moore and his friends at United for Peace and Justice are so intent on protecting them. The peace movement is their attempt to shackle those who want to fight back.

In the very country he seeks to obliterate, bin Laden has allies who share his views about its alleged wickedness. In one of his missives he told us:

You are the worst civilization witnessed by the history of mankind. The U.S. government is unjust, criminal and tyrannical.

Michael Moore could not agree more. After all, this is precisely what he has been telling us for the last five years, and nowhere has he said it more forcefully than in Fahrenheit 9/11. Is it any surprise, then, that bin Laden is such a fan?

It is understandable why many well-meaning citizens are worried about the course of this war, but they should carefully consider the manner in which they express their concerns. Above all, they should not fall for ploys of domestic radicals who seek to subvert America by limiting the government’s ability to fight the enemy whose consuming goal is our destruction.
---------------------------------------------------
Links to MSM coverage of Fayetteville:

http://www.wwaytv3.com/Global/story.asp?S=4650442&nav=menu70_2

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=local&id=4004688

http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/419183.html

http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/419864.html

http://rdu.news14.com/content/your_news/fayetteville/?AC=&ArID=81996&SecID=32

http://www.fayettevillenc.com/article?id=228909

http://www.nbc17.com/news/8102876/detail.html

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=local&id=4004213

[Huber]

BREAKING: 5:00PM Monday 3/20/06!
FReeper Kristinn about to appear on HardBall on MSNBC!
Tune in NOW!

[clyde asbury]

There were at least two "peace" protesters who I saw with American flags - literally wearing them like Superman wears his cape!

Rather than being shocking or offensive to see, they just looked imbecilic and sad.