Twenty-three non-violent peace activists calling for an end to the US war in Afghanistan were violently pushed and dragged away from a White House gate by Secret Service officers this afternoon. The activists, participating in a larger demonstration of over 300 people organized by the National Campaign for Non-Violent Resistance, had sent a letter to President Obama last month requesting a meeting today to discuss their opposition to the war.

by Ed Kinane
At around 12:30 p.m. Monday, October 5, 2009, about 22 of us (members of the combined Peace Action and the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance affinity groups) left the main demonstration on the “postcard zone” sidewalk on Pennsylvania Ave in front of the White House and walked west to the nearby entrances of
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Dear Senator Kerry,

I am unsure whether you remember me when I visited you during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on May 21st of this year. Admiral Mike Mullen was testifying about the current status of our government’s entanglement in Afghanistan.

Last Friday I was found guilty of Disruption of Congress. A nonviolent and victimless crime committed in order to prevent a much greater crime perpetrated every single day in Afghanistan.

I was pleading for you and your colleagues on the committee to realize the futility of this 8-year-old war, which was based on revenge and has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Afghan civilians and a thousand honorable American men and women. I believe this war is immoral and unlawful and serves absolutely no interest of the American people. Polls now show a majority of Americans agree with me.