13 Arrested in War Protest at Pentagon

Anti-war demonstrators today splashed a Pentagon doorway with what they said was blood and oil, symbols of their opposition to the war in the oil-rich gulf.

Pentagon police said 13 people were arrested after trying to block entrances and dig graves on the lawn.

The group of about 50 protesters from the Atlantic Life Community, including some children, tried to stop Pentagon workers from entering the building by sitting in a driveway.

Police cleared the way, arresting several, and then detained two others with shovels trying to dig graves in a lawn outside the building.

The demonstrators also spray-painted the words “Bush-Terrorist” in red and black on a wall near the Pentagon building.

A liquid the protesters said was a mixture of blood and oil was thrown on a side entrance to the building. Pentagon police earlier put plastic around pillars at main doorways in anticipation of demonstrators with paint.

The State Department late Wednesday issued rules requiring most Americans to get government permission to travel to Iraq or Kuwait. The travel advisories carried warnings that violators faced a possibility of prosecution and imprisonment.

U.S. passports are no longer valid for travel to, in or through Iraq and Kuwait. They “may not be used for that purpose unless a special validation has been obtained,” the advisories said.

Americans seeking exemptions from the restrictions must apply in writing to the passport services office of the State Department for permission.

For example, Americans who were living in Iraq and Kuwait are eligible for exemption from the restrictions and the threat of punishment.

So are travelers in four categories: professional journalists, Red Cross representatives, humanitarian cases, such as a critical illness in the family, and people making trips judged “to be in the national interest.”

Few Americans have visited Iraq since the war began, other than journalists and some anti-war activists.