Downtown protesters mark 9/11, seek end of Iraq war
by Garry Duffy on Sep. 12, 2007, under Local, Nation/World, Special
Carolyn Rashti (left) of the Raging Grannies and Mel Layton join about 35 other people in front of the Joel D. Valdez Main Library downtown to protest the war in Iraq and remember the victims of the 9/11 attacks.
The sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon was marked by protesters downtown who called for a new investigation into the events of that day and an end to the war in Iraq.
About 35 demonstrators held placards and handed out literature Tuesday in the hot noon sun to passers-by in front of the Joel D. Valdez Main Library, 101 N. Stone Ave., for about three hours, observed by a handful of police.
The demonstration was one of hundreds across the nation to remember the victims of Sept. 11, 2001, and the casualties of the wars that followed.
Many participants downtown said they believe that the Sept. 11 attacks were known about in advance, or even orchestrated, by the Bush administration, which was intent of creating a disaster that would whip the public into a war fervor.
A Zogby International poll conducted last week showed that 51 percent of respondents said they want Congress to probe the administration’s actions “before, during and after the 9/11 attacks.”
The poll was commissioned by 9/11Truth.org, a national organization that wants a new investigation of the terror attacks.
The poll shows that Americans are unsatisfied with the official government theory of the events of the day, Robert Kahl, a group co-founder and investment banker, said.
“The biggest thing is to pop as many bubbles as possible,” said J.T. Waldron, a Tucson video and audio production company co-owner who joined in the event.
Some downtown workers who ate lunch nearby dismissed the idea of a government conspiracy.
“A successful conspiracy depends on an efficient government,” Joel Feinman, a law clerk, said. “This government can’t keep anything secret.”
For some, the demonstration hit close to home.
“I lost two nephews in Iraq last year,” Carolyn Rashti, a member of the anti-war group Raging Grannies, said. “It’s enough already. It’s time to get out of Iraq.”
Retired U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. José Lopez served two tours in the Vietnam War.
“It’s a free country,” he said. “We fought for freedom of speech.”
