By Nereida Moreno
Protesters marched Saturday morning in an effort to shut down the Hollywood Army Recruitment Center on the 11-year anniversary of the war and occupation of Afghanistan.
CBS8.com, Oct. 8, 2012: Several community groups held a march and rally downtown Sunday to mark 11 years of war in Afghanistan. Occupy San Diego and The San Diego Coalition For Peace And Justice were just two of the groups calling on the government to end the conflict and help re-build Afghanistan. (Photo: News 8)
Fight Back! News: On Oct. 5, about 50 students and community members rallied at Florida State University (FSU) to protest on the 11th anniversary of the war on Afghanistan. Demonstrators highlighted the imperialist nature of the war in Afghanistan by chanting, “No blood for oil! U.S. off Afghani soil!” They also highlighted the rising rates of suicide and PTSD in U.S. soldiers. (Photo: Fight Back! News/Staff)
The recruitment center was closed for the day, with police guarding the front entrances from the crowd of more than 100 people.
Several groups, including Occupy Los Angeles and Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER), in Los Angeles, gathered at the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue before beginning the march to the center.
The protesters were comprised of students, war veterans and military families who are demanding an end to U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and other parts of the Middle East.
They called for the complete withdrawal of all troops from Afghanistan, an end to drone attacks and the redirection of all funding for wars to jobs, housing, education and health care.
Protesters said the U.S. spends over $400 million on the wars per day and said they believe that military recruiters take advantage of students and youth to send them to die for Wall Street.
There was also a demand for an end to the U.S. intervention in Syria’s internal affairs. The protesters called for the government to allow the Syrian people the right to decide their own future.
U.S. Army veteran Kevin Baker told Press TV that some of his friends and family members had been recruited and sent to “a war that the wealthy have created, that the wealthy have waged and they are not willing to partake in.”
The protesters held speeches outside of the recruitment center, in front of imitation coffins with flags representing the different nations affected by the war. It was deemed a success by the demonstrators, who have protested the war on its Oct. 6 anniversary for ten years in a row.