Surge Protection Brigade

Mission Accomplished for Today.

Written by Linda of CodePink Portland....

"Mission Accomplished for today," says the Surge Protection Brigade, as their planned protest at the military recruitment center in Portland, Oregon, on NE Broadway and 13th apparently caused the center to shut down for the day. The group gathered at the center this morning at 11:45 and stayed until 1:30.

One recruiter came to the center toward the end of the protest, saying he had paperwork to do. He refused to let them in and locked the door as a couple of the protesters tried to force their way in.

A group of grandmothers from the Brigade visited the office Thursday and attempted to dialogue with the recruiters. Many of the women's questions about the health and safety of recruits went unanswered, and the recruiters admitted that they did not offer any information to potential recruits about depleted uranium exposure or the risks involved in a tour of duty in Iraq.

The Brigade has chosen to protest at recruiting centers because we consider it criminal to tell half-truths and recruit our young men and women to fight in an illegal, immoral occupation. Sara Graham of the Surge Protection Brigade said, "One of my son's friends was killed in Iraq and another is changed irreparably; and the effect goes beyond those directly involved. All of our members know people who've been psychologically shattered by their experiences in Iraq."

Another member, Karen Saal Boyer, said a friend of hers who served in Iraq "experiences a lot of stress and sleeplessness; and the most stress he's experienced is trying to get help from the VA."

Of course, the Police have to stop by... That's my CP Sister, Linda in the pink scarf)

The Surge Protection Brigade is committed to escalating nonviolent civil resistance if our government is not responsive to the majority of American voters who want this occupation to end.