{"id":16998,"date":"2021-12-29T16:26:48","date_gmt":"2021-12-29T21:26:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/?p=16998"},"modified":"2021-12-29T16:26:48","modified_gmt":"2021-12-29T21:26:48","slug":"stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/29\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Stopping the War Machine for One Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Counterpunch, December 29, 2021<\/span><\/p>\n

Stopping the War Machine for One Day<\/a><\/h1>\n

by<\/span> James Bovard<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\"\"I\u2019ve attended most of the major antiwar protests in Washington since 9\/11. At a 2005 protest, a cop tried to whack me on the head<\/a> with a wooden pole. At a 2007 protest<\/a>, I snapped a picture showing George W. Bush swinging by<\/a> the U.S. Capitol. But my favorite protest was a potent little ruckus that I almost missed.<\/p>\n

On a sunny late summer day in 2013, I ambled to downtown Washington to hike with a bunch of friendly folks in a jaunt starting on the National Mall and heading towards the World War Two Monument and points beyond. But the hike was vexed from the start because someone invited along a \u201clicensed tourist guide.\u201d That short, pudgy fellow proceeded to bludgeon us with every known detail about the history, architecture, and rest room renovations of the Smithsonian Castle. He followed that up with a \u201cWikipedia on Amphetamines\u201d rendition on the National Museum of Natural History and then commenced rattling at high speed about the National Museum of American History.<\/p>\n

And that was when I was summoned by a cheap cigar. That dude\u2019s twaddle was another reminder of the peril of any government licensing program and gave me more sympathy than ever before for Washington tourists.<\/p>\n

I exited stage left and headed towards the White House. Admittedly, I didn\u2019t have an invitation for a late morning tea in the Oval Office. But I heard there might be some mayhem nearby that day.<\/p>\n

President Obama was saber rattling towards Syria after a chemical weapons attack had recently killed hundreds of civilians near Damascus. It was unclear who perpetrated the atrocity. Syrian rebels prevented United Nations inspectors from surveying the site to verify the details of the attack. That proved the Assad regime did it, according to the Obama administration. The CIA was financing terrorist groups in Syria to seek to overthrow the Assad regime \u2013 part of Obama\u2019s attempt to turn the Middle East into a paradise of democracy. Those terrorist groups had also used chemical weapons against civilians but atrocities by U.S. allies never show up on the radar screen inside the Beltway.<\/p>\n

The antiwar movement had been comatose for five years, ever since Obama ascended into the White House. All subsequent U.S. bombings and drone assassinations became presumptively progressive and thus not worth denouncing. But the potential of a new war in Syria was a defibrillator shock for moribund activists.<\/p>\n

With my Nikon camera flopping around my neck, I turned the corner from 15th<\/sup> Street onto Pennsylvania Avenue behind the White House. That stretch of the avenue had long been closed, with concrete barriers to prevent truck bombs and ice cream vendors from zipping down the way. In the distance, I saw a smattering of demonstrators.<\/p>\n

As I got closer, I saw a somber young guy with a crew cut, sunglasses, and an \u201cIraq Veterans Against the War\u201d t-shirt waving a sign denouncing \u201cObama the Warmonger.\u201d Some of his buddies were wearing Young Americans for Liberty t-shirts and their right-wing, antiwar fervor was one of the few positive legacies of the Bush administration. They were proudly hoisting hand-made signs that were legible at a distance of 12 feet or less. They meant well but I hoped that none of them were ever put in charge of the highway department\u2019s sign program.<\/p>\n

Code Pink \u2013 a feminist antiwar group \u2013 was on the scene with a cardboard full-size replica of a grinning Obama below a sign \u2013 \u201cI have all the evidence I need (just not the facts).\u201d Many activists feared Obama would repeat the Bush administration\u2019s rush to war in Iraq based on ludicrous claims that could not pass a laugh test.<\/p>\n

There were a few dozen Syrians on the scene, divided into two groups who passionately hated each other. Most of the Syrians hotly opposed bombing their country but a gaggle of folks were gung-ho for the U.S. government toppling the Assad regime. A couple shoving matches broke out between those demonstrators.<\/p>\n

The protest was little more than the distant buzzing of a gnat, barely perceptible on the other side of the high metal fence surrounding the White House.<\/p>\n

And then the U.S. Cavalry arrived for the antiwar activists. Okay, it wasn\u2019t the U.S. Cavalry \u2013 it was a bunch of hardcore leftists from Baltimore. A busload of 60 protestors arrived and poured into the streets carrying superb signs and brilliant banners identifying them as supporters of ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) . They quickly deployed a glorious bold red NO WAR ON SYRIA! banner, and I photographed four of them hoisting it with the White House in the background. Those protesters marched in an oval while chanting \u201chands off Syria.\u201d That group knew how to make itself heard raising hell.<\/p>\n

The Park Police and Secret Service had mostly ignored the protestors as long as they were a scattered rabble. But the Baltimore team changed the game and officialdom began its intimidation efforts. An overfed Park Police officer waddled into the middle of the street and began ostentatiously videotaping all the protestors. From his vapid visage, I guessed he was named either Wilbur or Clarence. Would the images he captured fatten up secret federal dossiers on the activists? Every few years, another scandal erupts over law enforcement agencies illegally surveilling peaceful demonstrators. Political appointees promise it will never happen again and then the abuse resumes after the spotlight shifts away.<\/p>\n

Word circulated among the protestors that Obama would be making a major statement on Syria at 1:15 pm \u2013 less than an hour later. Pundits expected that Obama would announce that he had launched a cruise missile attack on Syria. The leader of the ANSWER protestors implored her cadre: \u201cCNN says the antiwar rally is being heard inside the White House \u2013 keep chanting and louder!\u201d<\/p>\n

As I loitered in the street taking photos and chewing on a cheap cigar, I spoke with conservative military veterans who were far better informed on foreign policy than most Washingtonians. I also palavered with a couple ANSWER zealots about a legendary Baltimore German brewery that had recently gone belly-up.<\/p>\n

And then the other U.S. Cavalry arrived \u2013 a squadron of mounted Park Police wearing bright blue helmets who practically charged into the peaceful crowd. Some of the Park Police had attached black strips to their badges to hide their identification numbers. I thought that was brazenly illegal but maybe not because they were THE LAW. Covering badge numbers would make it far more difficult for demonstrators to identify specific officers who abused them.<\/p>\n

As the horses began to scatter demonstrators, a large truck backed up to the scene and a newly-arrived pack of Park Police began unloading segments of metal fences which they carried forward. Police initially connected the metal fences around the outskirts of the demonstrators on the street and on the sidewalk next to the White House fence. Then, a few minutes later, cops began moving the fence lines towards each other. Politico<\/em> reported later that day: \u201cAbout 100 peace activists were fenced into a protest zone<\/a> on the sidewalk in front of the White House\u2026 Police officers blocked other protesters \u2014 and a reporter \u2014 from entering the protest zone, saying the one opening was an exit only.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Obama administration was reviving an odious Bush administration legacy \u2013 free speech zones. After the 9\/11 attacks, preventing Lese Majeste <\/em>\u2013 any affront to the dignity of the supreme ruler \u2013 trumped the First Amendment. When Bush traveled around the nation to speak, the Secret Service would browbeat police into setting up \u201cfree speech zones\u201d where dissidents could be quarantined far from the media and public view. I wrote one of the first expos\u00e9s of this censorship charade<\/a> in late 2003. Anyone who quietly held up a the \u201cNo War for Oil\u201d sign outside the \u201cfree speech zone\u201d could be jailed. The feds lost several court battles but the abusive practice continued because few protest groups could afford to fight the World\u2019s Largest law firm, the U.S. Justice Department.<\/p>\n

I was standing in the middle of the area being cordoned off, watching free speech being eradicated yard-by-yard in real time. As the fence line came closer to me, I felt like I was watching G-men hammer nails into the coffin of the First Amendment. Judges had deferred so many times that police could do as they please, confident that no federal official would be jailed regardless of how many constitutional rights they trampled.<\/p>\n

As the \u201cfree speech zone\u201d narrowed, police began menacing anyone who refused to leave the street. After I was repeatedly threatened with arrest, I foot-dragged towards Lafayette Park, moving just fast enough to avoid getting handcuffed. A dozen years into the federal supremacy era after the 9\/11 attacks, anyone who did not instantly obey arbitrary commands was now guilty of \u201cdisturbing the peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

At 1:15 p.m., Obama stepped up to the microphone in the Rose Garden in what the New York Times<\/em> called a \u201churriedly organized appearance\u2026 as American destroyers armed with Tomahawk missiles waited<\/a> in the Mediterranean Sea.\u201d As antiwar chants could be heard in the background, Obama stunned the media by announcing that, though he had decided to attack Syria, he would seek congressional authorization before launching the missiles. Obama declared, \u201cI\u2019m confident in the case our government has made without waiting for U.N. inspectors.\u201d<\/p>\n

That protest and Obama\u2019s declaration spurred me to write an article that the USA Today<\/em> headlined: \u201cWe Can\u2019t Trust White House Syria Claims<\/a>.\u201d The editors added a sub-headline that made me burst out laughing: \u201cThe administration needs to learn from the past and tell the whole truth.\u201d Ya, I was sitting on the edge of my chair awaiting the whole truth from the feds. Scoffing at the secrecy surrounding Obama\u2019s drone assassination program, my piece asked: \u201cIf the Obama administration feels entitled to withhold details on its killing of Americans, why should anyone expect full disclosure regarding a foreign regime\u2019s alleged killing of its own citizens?\u201d The article concluded, \u201cAmerica cannot afford another \u2018trust me\u2019 war based on secret evidence\u2026. Citizens are left clueless about perils until it is too late for the nation to pull back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Happily, American public sentiment strongly opposed plunging into another Middle East quagmire and Congress never greenlighted Obama\u2019s attack on the Assad regime. Obama promised 16 times that he would never put U.S. \u201cboots on the ground\u201d in the Syrian civil war. He quietly abandoned that pledge and, starting in 2014, launched more than 5,000 airstrikes that dropped more than 15,000 bombs on terrorist groups in Syria. But the U.S. government might have intervened far more aggressively without the courage and caterwauling of White House protestors along with many other Americans who pushed back against the warmongers.<\/p>\n

An earlier version of this piece was published by the Libertarian Institute.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

James Bovard<\/em><\/strong> is the author of <\/em>Attention Deficit Democracy<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>The Bush Betrayal<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Terrorism and Tyranny<\/em><\/a>, and other books.\u00a0Bovard is on the\u00a0USA Today Board of Contributors. He is on Twitter at @jimbovard. His website is at <\/em>www.jimbovard.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Counterpunch, December 29, 2021 Stopping the War Machine for One Day by James Bovard I\u2019ve attended most of the major antiwar protests in Washington since 9\/11. At a 2005 protest, a cop tried to whack me on the head with a wooden pole. At a 2007 protest, I snapped a picture showing George W. Bush […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16977,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3126,2263,3129,3125,137,38,140,262,1401],"class_list":["post-16998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-answer","tag-assad","tag-drone-attacks","tag-free-speech-zone","tag-george-w-bush","tag-obama","tag-protests","tag-syria","tag-white-house"],"yoast_head":"\nStopping the War Machine for One Day - James Bovard<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"White House protestors in 2013 might have deterred Obama from launching a cruise missile attack on Syria\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/29\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Stopping the War Machine for One Day - James Bovard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"White House protestors in 2013 might have deterred Obama from launching a cruise missile attack on Syria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/29\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"James Bovard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jim.bovard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-12-29T21:26:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/syria-protest-banner-jpb-DSC_1030.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"798\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jim\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@jimbovard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jim\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/29\\\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/29\\\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jim\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f\"},\"headline\":\"Stopping the War Machine for One Day\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-29T21:26:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/29\\\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1866,\"commentCount\":1,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/29\\\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/syria-protest-banner-jpb-DSC_1030.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"ANSWER\",\"Assad\",\"drone attacks\",\"free speech zone\",\"George W. Bush\",\"Obama\",\"protests\",\"syria\",\"White House\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/29\\\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/29\\\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/29\\\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\\\/\",\"name\":\"Stopping the War Machine for One Day - James Bovard\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/29\\\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/29\\\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/syria-protest-banner-jpb-DSC_1030.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-29T21:26:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f\"},\"description\":\"White House protestors in 2013 might have deterred Obama from launching a cruise missile attack on Syria\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/29\\\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/29\\\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/29\\\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/syria-protest-banner-jpb-DSC_1030.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/syria-protest-banner-jpb-DSC_1030.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":798},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/29\\\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Stopping the War Machine for One Day\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"James Bovard\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f\",\"name\":\"Jim\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Jim\"},\"description\":\"Bovard's homepage is at http:\\\/\\\/www.jimbovard.com He can be contacted at jim@jimbovard.com James Bovard is the author of ten books. The Wall Street Journal called Bovard \\\"the roving inspector general of the modern state\\\" and Washington Post columnist George Will called him a \\\"one-man truth squad.\\\" His 1994 book, Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty, received the Free Press Association\u2019s Mencken Award as Book of the Year. His Terrorism & Tyranny won the Lysander Spooner \\\"Best Book on Liberty in 2003\\\" award. He received the Thomas Szasz Award for Civil Liberties work, awarded by the Center for Independent Thought and the Freedom Fund Award from the Firearms Civil Rights Defense Fund of the National Rifle Association. Bovard\u2019s writings have been publicly denounced by FBI director Louis Freeh, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Postmaster General, and the chiefs of the U.S. International Trade Commission, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as by many congressmen and other malcontents.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.jimbovard.com\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/jim.bovard\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/jimbovard\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Stopping the War Machine for One Day - James Bovard","description":"White House protestors in 2013 might have deterred Obama from launching a cruise missile attack on Syria","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/29\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Stopping the War Machine for One Day - James Bovard","og_description":"White House protestors in 2013 might have deterred Obama from launching a cruise missile attack on Syria","og_url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/29\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\/","og_site_name":"James Bovard","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jim.bovard","article_published_time":"2021-12-29T21:26:48+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":798,"url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/syria-protest-banner-jpb-DSC_1030.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jim","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@jimbovard","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jim","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/29\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/29\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\/"},"author":{"name":"Jim","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f"},"headline":"Stopping the War Machine for One Day","datePublished":"2021-12-29T21:26:48+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/29\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\/"},"wordCount":1866,"commentCount":1,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/29\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/syria-protest-banner-jpb-DSC_1030.jpg","keywords":["ANSWER","Assad","drone attacks","free speech zone","George W. Bush","Obama","protests","syria","White House"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/29\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/29\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\/","url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/29\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\/","name":"Stopping the War Machine for One Day - James Bovard","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/29\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/29\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/syria-protest-banner-jpb-DSC_1030.jpg","datePublished":"2021-12-29T21:26:48+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f"},"description":"White House protestors in 2013 might have deterred Obama from launching a cruise missile attack on Syria","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/29\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/29\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/29\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/syria-protest-banner-jpb-DSC_1030.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/syria-protest-banner-jpb-DSC_1030.jpg","width":1200,"height":798},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/29\/stopping-the-war-machine-for-one-day\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Stopping the War Machine for One Day"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/","name":"James Bovard","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f","name":"Jim","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r","caption":"Jim"},"description":"Bovard's homepage is at http:\/\/www.jimbovard.com He can be contacted at jim@jimbovard.com James Bovard is the author of ten books. The Wall Street Journal called Bovard \"the roving inspector general of the modern state\" and Washington Post columnist George Will called him a \"one-man truth squad.\" His 1994 book, Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty, received the Free Press Association\u2019s Mencken Award as Book of the Year. His Terrorism & Tyranny won the Lysander Spooner \"Best Book on Liberty in 2003\" award. He received the Thomas Szasz Award for Civil Liberties work, awarded by the Center for Independent Thought and the Freedom Fund Award from the Firearms Civil Rights Defense Fund of the National Rifle Association. Bovard\u2019s writings have been publicly denounced by FBI director Louis Freeh, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Postmaster General, and the chiefs of the U.S. International Trade Commission, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as by many congressmen and other malcontents.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.jimbovard.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jim.bovard","https:\/\/x.com\/jimbovard"],"url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16998"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16998\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16999,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16998\/revisions\/16999"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}