Petrelis Files

SF Registers for DoD 9/11 Freedom Walk; NY, NJ, CT Not Participating

To commemorate the fifth anniversary of the tragic events that took place on American soil on September 11, the Defense Department one month from today is organizing Freedom Walks across the country.

The first Freedom Walk, held in Washington last year, was subject to much controversy over the tight restrictions placed on the agenda and goals of the event by the Pentagon, not to mention excluding pro-peace activists from the walk.

I'm all in favor of people participating in demonstrating their public support for the troops, and you can count me as someone who backs our servicemen and women, but I'm also a citizen who wants to see our troops in Iraq brought home on a reasonable time-table.

This is why I've registered to organize a Freedom Walk in San Francisco. As of today, only four walks are scheduled for California, none in my home town.

If the Pentagon allows me to organize a Freedom Walk in San Francisco, I intend to pull together a march and rally on September 11, starting at City Hall then proceeding a few block north up Polk Street to the Federal Building on Golden Gate Avenue.

I see no reason why San Francisco shouldn't be permitted by DoD to participate in the September 11 walks, and that we'll be able to express support for the troops, call for them to come home, and demand things like the resignation of Rumsfeld.

Take a look at the map of where walks are planned in twenty-four states and the District of Columbia. Notice that many other states lack a Freedom Walk for September 11, including, believe it or not, New York, where the World Trade Center used to stand, and New Jersey and Connecticut, states where many of those killed on that tragic day lived.

Says something about the public's support for this Pentagon effort one month from today, when three of the hardest-hit states on September 11 are not yet on board for the Freedom Walks.

I'll let you know when the Pentagon responds to my registering as the San Francisco organizer for Freedom Walks.