Gainesville Residents Protest U.S. Attack on Iran
Sunday evening, around 100 people gathered at Depot Park to voice their dissent to the United States' bombing of Iran in a protest organized by the Gainesville chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL).
Sunday morning, Pentagon officials announced they bombed three nuclear sites in Iran in a mission they called “Operation Midnight Hammer.” The move came shortly after Israel bombed Iran claiming they are developing a nuclear weapon.
U.S. President Donald Trump called the operation a success but Iran reported that the sites were evacuated of nuclear material and early U.S. intel suggests the strikes only set back Iran's nuclear program by a few months.
International law professor Donald Rothwell said the U.S. bombing of Iran violated United Nations Charters; however, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Mark Rutte said the bombing was legal because “Iran must not develop a nuclear weapon.”
Several members of local activist groups spoke out against the U.S. military’s operations.
PSL member Quinton Cooper said “Our military should be used for the benefit and the defense of our country rather than imperialist aggression across the Middle East, across Africa, across all the Americas, and across the world.”
North Florida Veterans for Peace Vice President Damian Niolet gave a speech to protesters about the reasons he and many other Americans joined the U.S. military, and encouraged active duty service members to learn how to recognize and disobey unlawful orders.
Niolet, an Air Force veteran, said he joined the military due to financial and societal pressure. “I had to pay for two loans that I took out for college. Transparently, I thought it would make me a man. This was post-9/11, and in the midst of the lies regarding weapons of mass destruction leading up to the Iraq war in 2004. Basically, that made me a key demographic, and they definitely wanted me in the military… Everything was telling me that the Air Force wasn't only my best option, but my only option.”
Niolet went on to say that Americans should encourage active duty service members to disobey unlawful orders. “Let them know it is everyone's duty to disobey orders in the face of tyranny and injustice… We don't need a repeat of the Vietnam War. We know that our leaders are going to lie to us. That's a given. But don't take that anger out on those who thought they were doing the right thing by obeying orders. Support them for being caught in the middle. Encourage them to question their orders, and stand by them when they choose to disobey those orders. I guarantee you most active duty military joined because of the benefits, and they're not going to even consider disobeying orders if they see no benefits as a possibility once they separate. Let's not only tell them they have options, let's show them they have options with easy access to training, better paying jobs, and ongoing support networks.”
After the protest built up to a crowd of about 100, protesters marched from Depot Park to the Hippodrome theater chanting their support for Iran.
A day after the protest, Trump announced on social media that Iran and Israel had agreed to a ceasefire that would go into effect in six hours.
Attacks continued after the scheduled start time, with both sides accusing each other of violating the ceasefire.
As of Tuesday evening, Iran and Israel have gone a little over one day without attacking each other, and several major news outlets are reporting their ceasefire is "holding" but that tensions are still high.
