CRISIS IN THE PERSIAN GULF : 200 Rally to Oppose Buildup in Mideast

More than 200 protesters joined in front of the Federal Building downtown Friday evening to protest the deployment of U.S. forces in the Middle East.

The group was a curious melange of the old and young, environmental and peace activists, and petitioners and placard-carriers angry that American forces have been sent to to the Persian Gulf in response to Iraq’s takeover of Kuwait.

About 20 organizations participated, from the Green Party to the Alliance for Survival to the Peace Resource Center.

The common theme was expressed by one speaker, Tim Johnston:

“I am not willing to risk human lives just to fill my gas tank at a low price.”

Many of the placards in the crowd said roughly the same thing. “No Blood for Oil,” said one, carried by a protester who charged, as many of the others did, that the deployment is centered--or self-centered, they said--on the United States’ dependence on and concern over Middle East oil.

The rally also mixed peace and environmental activism. One example was provided by Rick Nadeau, a protest organizer and former San Diego director of Greenpeace, who drew on both arguments as he spoke.

“When are we going to get off this addiction to fossil fuels?” said Nadeau, who was also the rally’s master of ceremonies. “We don’t have money for our schools . . . but we got the money to go to war, don’t we?”

The protest began shortly before 5 p.m., as representatives of the varied groups spoke on a raised stage. They were followed by a guitar sing-along and a play that ridiculed America’s dependence on foreign oil.

At the end of the rally, the protesters marched around the sculpture next to the Federal Building.

Petitions were passed around, and two Hare Krishnas draped in their orange robes handed out booklets. About eight San Diego policemen ringed the crowd, looking on.

One woman stood silently with a placard asking why the United States would help a region that, by Western standards, treats women as second-class citizens.

One speaker said the U.S. press has been portraying the public reaction to the deployment in a biased way that favors the Bush Administration. She said newspapers and TV inaccurately make the buildup seem to be something Americans support.

“As you can see,” said Debbie Rowson of the Chaparral chapter of the Green Party, pointing to the crowd after her speech, “that’s not the case.

“We are not giving those nations time to work out the problem. We didn’t have to escalate so quickly.

“The present course affords us all an opportunity to examine our values and come together in the name of peace.”

Johnston, 41, who said he fought with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division in Vietnam, said the United States is making some of the same mistakes.

“We have a lack of understanding of the culture of those places,” Johnston said. “We jump in there without knowing about the people who live there.

“Bush says, ‘Might doesn’t make right,’ but you couldn’t tell that by his actions.”

Behind the speakers, two men, who both said they were in the service, were the lone counter-demonstrators.

“They got their opinion, and we got ours,” said Tim Powell of San Diego, who said he is in the Army Reserve.

“We don’t need all of this negative (stuff) going on like in Vietnam. Our soldiers don’t need to hear about protests.”

Next to him stood Joseph Giardiello.

“No more sellouts like Vietnam,” said Giardiello, 25, a petty officer 2nd class at Coronado Naval Amphibious Base, who held a placard that said, “Peace Through Strength.”

“We represent real America,” he said.