MPScholle
20 Sep 2004, 10:19 AM
Kerry And The Three Weeks Of Protest
Massachusetts Senator John Kerry was one of the architects of what Newsweek magazine called the "three week Washington demonstration season" in 1971. Kerry's Vietnam Veterans Against the War joined forces with several protest organizations including a wing of the Socialist Workers Party and other radical groups.
The New York Times called Kerry's group the "vanguard" of the mass protests. Time magazine outlined "the main events scheduled for the three weeks of protest: Operations Dewey Canyon 3, a rally on the Ellipse and march down Pennsylvania Avenue, workshops and lobbying at various Government agencies by the People's Coalition for Peace and Justice, and large-scale civil disobedience and disruption."
According to newspaper accounts of the day, the following is what occurred during the period of time that Kerry was known to have been present.
Protesters violated a U.S. Supreme Court order against illegally camping on the National Mall. John Kerry personally announced that the veterans would break the law. Mock search and destroy missions were carried out with protesters forcing their way into Congressional offices, throwing simulated blood and frightening staffers. Congressional hearings were disrupted, public property was destroyed, and illegal drugs were used freely. American flag poles around the Washington monument were torn down and burned. The Viet Cong and North Vietnamese flags were carried proudly by protesters while the U.S. flag was hung upside down in a show of disrespect.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg. To get the complete story, read the dozens of quotations from newspaper accounts that were written long before the partisan press had any inkling that Kerry would one day run for president here.
These were the news stories of the day that John Kerry doesn't want you to know about.
Massachusetts Senator John Kerry was one of the architects of what Newsweek magazine called the "three week Washington demonstration season" in 1971. Kerry's Vietnam Veterans Against the War joined forces with several protest organizations including a wing of the Socialist Workers Party and other radical groups.
The New York Times called Kerry's group the "vanguard" of the mass protests. Time magazine outlined "the main events scheduled for the three weeks of protest: Operations Dewey Canyon 3, a rally on the Ellipse and march down Pennsylvania Avenue, workshops and lobbying at various Government agencies by the People's Coalition for Peace and Justice, and large-scale civil disobedience and disruption."
According to newspaper accounts of the day, the following is what occurred during the period of time that Kerry was known to have been present.
Protesters violated a U.S. Supreme Court order against illegally camping on the National Mall. John Kerry personally announced that the veterans would break the law. Mock search and destroy missions were carried out with protesters forcing their way into Congressional offices, throwing simulated blood and frightening staffers. Congressional hearings were disrupted, public property was destroyed, and illegal drugs were used freely. American flag poles around the Washington monument were torn down and burned. The Viet Cong and North Vietnamese flags were carried proudly by protesters while the U.S. flag was hung upside down in a show of disrespect.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg. To get the complete story, read the dozens of quotations from newspaper accounts that were written long before the partisan press had any inkling that Kerry would one day run for president here.
These were the news stories of the day that John Kerry doesn't want you to know about.