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Tanks on the streets of Los Angeles, CA?

The Postman

By The Postman
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The Postman

The Postman

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tank_in_los_angeles.jpg

LOS ANGELES, November 9, 2004 - At 7:50 PM two armored tanks showed up at an anti-war protest in front of the federal building in Westwood. The tanks circled the block twice, the second time parking themselves in the street and directly in front of the area where most of the protesters were gathered. Enraged, some of the people attempted to block the tanks, but police quickly cleared the street. The people continued to protest the presence of the tanks, but about ten minutes the tanks drove off. It is unclear as to why the tanks were deployed to this location.

http://www.la.indymedia.org/news/2004/11/118865.php

Oh boy! Anyone got a secondary source for this? Why didn't I hear about this on the 9th? It seems pretty extreme for just a peace rally.

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The Postman

The Postman

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someone has been visiting DU :D

oh and btw.. tanks have tracks.. not wheels... just fyi

An enclosed, heavily armored combat vehicle that is armed with cannon and machine guns and moves on continuous tracks.

Light Armored Vehicles at a peace rally. Whatever you say it's pretty fucked up. For your information I didn't visit DU, but thanks for contributing. :roll:

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Urban

Urban

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so hostile.. well.. i cant look at it from your view (cause i dont see what the big deal is)... they wernt shooting at people.. nor where they even point rifles/machine guns/turrets at them... what i dont agree with is these people stepping infront of it.. in my eyes.. these are the same people that spit on soliders coming home from war... and to me.. lose all respect..

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The Postman

The Postman

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Were these people spitting on them? If you watched the video they were only shouting that they wanted the troops home, which is a pretty nice thing to want for the troops, isn't it? I see it as intimidation more than anything. They don't need to be firing ammunition to make a presence or show hostility.

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Fletch

Fletch

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Jesus Christ, we're having a discussion about semantics isnteasd of what happened: two military vehicles deployed by the United States Government specifically designed for a violent purpose drove up to an anti-war rally to intimidate protestors.

As per Urban's comment about not seeing the big deal, this big deal is the First Ammendment. The government is not uspposed to be abridging the right to peacefully assemble and speak their mind. They weren't doing anything wrong. They were peacefully assembling and expressing their ideas. In response, the government sent military vehicles to scare them off. That's not right.

Secondly, don't make general statements like "they were the ones spitting on troops." First of all, it's not true. Secondly, it's a piss poor arguement. It would be equivalent to me saying that everybody that opposes gay marriage were the ones who beat Matthew Shepard to death. You can't associate an entire group of people to the actions of a very small and select sub-group. The people who spit on soldiers are assholes, just like people who beat up gays.

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Urban

Urban

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http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-tank12nov12,1,3910246.story?coll=la-headlines-california

Military's Presence at Antiwar Rally Is Called a Coincidence

LOS ANGELES

TANKS MILITARY

PARADES

LOS ANGELES PARADES TANKS MILITARY PARADES

By Wendy Thermos, Times Staff Writer

Photos and a video posted on the Internet this week depicting tanks at an antiwar demonstration in front of the Federal Building in Westwood provoked hundreds of outraged postings.

But police and witnesses said the armored vehicles were on their way to a Veterans Day event at the nearby Veterans Affairs grounds on Wilshire Boulevard, stopping only for a red light near the Federal Building.

"It's a whole lot of nothing," said Officer Kathy Simpson, a Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman. "The 'tanks' were there for Veterans Day. They ride in the parade and wave."

The antiwar protest, sponsored by the group Act Now to Stop War & End Racism, was held Tuesday evening near the VA grounds, where a parade and exhibit were staged Wednesday.

Blurred photos posted on the Internet showed military personnel in battle gear standing at their hatches, behind gun turrets mounted on two tank-like vehicles rolling through traffic. Closer inspection showed the vehicles were not tanks but light-armored vehicles, which are smaller than tanks and ride on rubber tires instead of treads.

Several websites denounced the vehicles' presence and accused the military of trying to intimidate peaceful protesters. "There was absolutely no excuse to deploy tanks against a law-abiding crowd," said one site.

A statement posted Wednesday by Answer said, "It is an outrage to see tanks rolling through the streets of Los Angeles."

By Thursday, however, a representative fielding phone calls for the nonprofit group was considerably calmer. "I can't speak for everybody, but I think people are overreacting a little bit," said Darrin Downey, who saw the vehicles driving by. "It didn't seem hostile. I believe they were just going around the corner."

The demonstration was already over, he added.

It's not clear which branch of the military the vehicles belonged to. A Camp Pendleton spokesman said he believed his base sent one or two armored vehicles to the exhibit and parade, which celebrated Veterans Day and the Marine Corps' 229th birthday Wednesday. "I can guarantee you we didn't send them over there to scare a bunch of protesters," Sgt. Mark Ledesma said.

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