Reader Dr. Zoo sends photos of the Move America Forward pro-troops rally at the Marine recruiting center in Berkeley. More coming. Wonderful sight to see the Code Pinkos outnumbered and outflagged on “their” turf. Kudos to Melanie Morgan, our vets, and all the supporters who came to counter the recruiter-bashers:
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Meanwhile, the city government of Berkeley continues to wage war on the recruitment center:
“It’s very unfortunate that they opened a recruitment office in Berkeley,” said City Councilmember Linda Maio. “I don’t think it’s appropriate for this town. I don’t think it reflects the sentiments of the citizens.”
The City Council plans to voice its disapproval of the center’s mission through its Peace and Justice Commission, which is spearheading a proposal to make Berkeley a sanctuary for officers who choose not to serve in the Iraq conflict, meaning the city would not assist in locating or prosecuting war resisters.
“Berkeley already had resolutions passed in the ‘80s and ‘90s that involved making it a sanctuary for conscientious objectors,” said Commissioner Bob Meola. “The most patriotic thing a person in the U.S. military could do today would be to refuse to fight, because the war in Iraq violates international and U.S. laws, it’s unconstitutional.”
The proposal reaffirms a year-old city resolution in support of Ehren Watada, an Army First Lieutenant who refused to deploy to Iraq may face a court martial.
“There’s a growing number of the military and members of the armed forces who are seeing that the Iraq war is immoral,” said Steve Freedkin, chair of the city commission. “As we saw in Vietnam, when there starts to be a strong opposition in the military, it has a huge impact on public policy.”
Despite the opposition, the center has no plans to relocate, said head recruiter and Marine Capt. Richard Lund.
“I think the vast majority of people understand that my mission of helping college students become Marine Corps officers is not somehow driven by the conflict in Iraq,” he said. “This office was functioning before the war and it will continue to function long after the war.”
Lund said he chose to move the Marine Recruiting Center from its previous location in Alameda in order to be close to UC Berkeley.
