Protests Against The Invasion Of Afghanistan

The proposed invasion of Afghanistan prompted protests with mass demonstrations in the days leading up to the official launch of the war on October 7, 2001. The continuation of the war in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021 lead to further protest and opposition to hostilities.

2001

On September 29, 2001, as many as 20,000 people demonstrated in Washington, D.C., United States, denouncing the impending United States invasion of Afghanistan. The protests were organized by the recently formed A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition. Thousands gathered at Meridian Hill Park (Malcolm X Park) and marched downtown, while elsewhere members of the Anti-Capitalist Convergence clashed briefly with police on their way to Edward R. Murrow Park, across from the headquarters of the World Bank and the IMF. Both groups of marchers converged on a rally at the Freedom Plaza.

In San Francisco almost 10,000 people converged on a park in San Francisco's Mission District to denounce the Bush administration's plans for military intervention in Afghanistan.

In Los Angeles roughly 2,500 protesters marched through the streets of Westwood.

In New York City 3,000 to 5,000 people took part in a peace march at Union Square.

In Barcelona, Spain, 5,000 people attended a rally and marched behind a banner that read: "No More Victims – For Peace." The protesters urged the Spanish government not to support any US military intervention or NATO retaliation.

On October 1, 2001, several thousand protesters demonstrated in New York City against any military offensive in response to the September 11 attacks in New York and near Washington. Sporting buttons that said "Don't Turn Tragedy into War" and "Our Grief Is Not a Cry for War", many protesters argued that the attacks were not an act of war but a criminal act to be dealt with through the international justice system.

On October 7, 2001, 10,000 to 12,000 people turned out in New York City to oppose the Bush administration's so-called war on terror. The group marched from Union Square to Times Square, cheering the police at the beginning of the march. The list of about twelve speakers was cut to three or four by the police, and they were herded at the end into a one-lane-wide "bullpen".

On October 13, 2001, more than 20,000 people joined the UK's biggest protest yet against military action in Afghanistan by the United States and its allies. Turn-out was twice as big as had been expected by organisers, with the noisy but peaceful march through London culminating in a rally at Trafalgar Square.

In Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, around 1,500 people gathered in George Square for a rally against the military action in Afghanistan.

In Germany more than 25,000 protesters took to the streets in cities across the country. In Berlin, the largest demonstration drew 15,000 people to the central square in a rally that followed several marches throughout the city under the banner "No war – stand up for peace".

In Sweden the biggest demonstration took place in Gothenburg, where more than 2,500 people marched through the city.

In San Francisco 10,000 people took to the streets, while a rally in Washington Square in New York City attracted some 700 people.

In Australia, thousands of people demonstrated in the cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide.

On October 14, 2001, hundreds of thousands of peace protesters in Italy and India called for an end to the bombing of Afghanistan. More than 200,000 demonstrators took part in the peace march from the central Italian town of Perugia to Assisi, with protesters shouting "Stop the terrorism against Afghanistan", "We want peace not war", and chanting slogans attacking George W. Bush, the U.S. president.

In India, 70,000 people in Calcutta staged the biggest anti-war protest the country had ever seen. The protesters marched more than 7.5 miles through the city, entertained by performers who sang anti-war folk songs.

On November 10, 2001, after weeks of bombing, hundreds of protesters took to the streets across the United Kingdom to call for an end to the bombing of Afghanistan. In Bolton 250 people gathered in the town's Victoria Square. In York, about 200 protesters called for an end to the war during a two-hour demonstration. A vigil was held in London.

On November 18, 2001, thousands – police estimated 15,000, organizers estimated 100,000 – from all over the UK took part in a march in London to demonstrate again against the war in Afghanistan.

Many protesters waved placards reading "Stop the War" and "Not in My Name". As the demonstration fell during Ramadan, an element of prayer was included in the final rally to allow pious Muslims to observe their faith. Headlining speakers included human rights campaigner Bianca Jagger, Labour Party veteran Tony Benn, Labour MP George Galloway, and speakers of Muslim faith.

Member of Parliament Paul Marsden told the rally:

Organiser Lindsey German said the bombing campaign had done nothing to tackle international terrorism.

At the time the protest was the largest peace demonstration in more than twenty years.

2002

On April 20, 2002, 75,000 people marched in Washington, D.C. against U.S. militarism and foreign policy in the largest peace presence since the war began the previous fall. The April 20th Mobilization to Stop the War, a coalition of many groups, held a rally just south of the Washington Monument. Another protest focusing on perceived Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people was held near the White House, while a third protest focusing on the policies of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund took place near the headquarters of those institutions. The three rallies then converged together in a march up Pennsylvania Avenue to the United States Capitol in the largest anti-war demonstration to take place in Washington since the Gulf War more than a decade ago.

Protesters denounced the bombing of Afghan civilians and carried signs and banners reading, "No blank check for endless war," "Criminals in the White House again" and "War without an end. Not in our name."

Some of the most moving speeches opposing the U.S.'s aggression were given by family members of victims of the terrorist attacks on September 11. Derril Bodley, who lost a daughter on September 11, said he had travelled to Afghanistan to call for an end to the "barbarous bombing campaign there." Just a few days after his daughter's death he spoke out against the possibility of war, saying, "Don't kill more innocent people in the name of my daughter." He said thousands were suffering and dying by the "perpetration of an aimless war."

Another speaker, Michael Ratner, a human rights lawyer and president of the Center for Constitutional Rights

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