Anti-War Movement Takes New Direction

by Danny Burridge

On Wednesday October 19, a delegation from the Pittsburgh Organizing Group (POG) came to Athens to give a presentation about the group’s campaign against military recruitment, which has achieved remarkable success in Pittsburgh over the past six months.

The event was sponsored by local progressive groups Positive Action, InterAct and the Athens Can’t Wait Coalition. The groups hoped the presentation would spark interest in, and give guidance to the counter recruitment campaign, which will be starting in Athens on November 2 in conjunction with the nationwide “World Can’t Wait: Drive Out the Bush Regime” movement.

Damon Krane, who coordinated POG’s visit for InterAct, explained: “InterAct is always trying to network with progressive activists from around the region. I’m originally from Pittsburgh. My brother Justin is a member of POG. So we’ve been following POG’s efforts for a while now. We were very impressed with what we saw in Pittsburgh and decided Athens activists could learn some valuable lessons from POG’s counter recruitment campaign.”

About 50 Ohio University students and Athens community members attended the presentation. It was followed by a lively discussion amongst all participants about the prospective obstacles and achievements of the Counter Recruitment Movement.

POG is a democratically governed group which promotes systemic change as a vehicle towards affecting economic and political justice in a global context. It was represented at this presentation by members: Alex Bradley, Marie Skoczylas, De’Anna Caliguiri, Justin Krane, and David Meieran.

POG has been involved in many anti-war actions, but in the past six months, it has concentrated its anti-war efforts on counter recruitment. This has entailed picketing in front of Pittsburgh military recruiting centers and actually shutting them down, thereby physically impeding U.S. citizens from being recruited.

During the pre sentation, the POG representatives provided the back-
ground and rationale behind the growing nationwide counter recruitment movement, as well as the impressive successes, harsh brutalities, and information war that has accompanied the specific counter recruitment campaign that POG has enacted in Pittsburgh.

In regard to the rationale of counter recruitment, De’Anna Caligiuri said, “Counter Recruitment is a way to be direct. I was tired of just holding a sign and crossing my fingers, hoping that things would change. Counter recruitment localizes the war issue, and actually limits recruiters’ access to students. If everyone participates in getting recruitment to stop, the movement will be effective.”

Throughout the night, POG representatives reiterated the idea that counter recruitment is a tangible way to combat the war. As Alex Bradley stated, “If the military cannot recruit new soldiers, the U.S. government cannot continue its war-based foreign policy.”
The military has missed its recruiting quota for 2005 by 25,000 soldiers, and according to the POG representatives, this shows that counter recruitment campaigns have already been a successful deterrent to the war effort.

Pittsburgh organizers also said that the effectiveness of counter recruitment can be clearly seen in the brutality, repression, and information manipulation that it has been met with as it becomes more influential and visible.

POG feels that anti-war activists that just hold signs, chant, and resign themselves to designated areas are too easily marginalized and ignored by police and policy makers. Counter recruitment activists, on the other hand, have unfortunately become the target of deplorable acts of police repression.

POG has had first hand experience with this.

On August 20, 2005 POG led a march down a main Pittsburgh street which culminated in a protest in front of the Pittsburgh military recruitment center. The center had already been closed down in anticipation of the protest.

Various cameramen, and other media representatives were on the scene, and one cameraman (later revealed to be employed by Fox News), accused a protester of hitting him. Police officers tried to arrest the alleged assailant, but he resisted and a violent scuffle ensued. This resulted in numerous arrests and the use of Taser stun-guns on two protesters. One was Caligiuri, who was Tased for an appalling 14 seconds. This barbaric scene was captured on camera by Athens filmmaker and activist, Roger Hill. Later that day, a sixty-eight year old woman was bitten by a police dog when police demanded that the sidewalk in front of the recruiting center be cleared.

Unfortunately, Caligiuri’s story and that of other Pittsburg activists is not unique. Counter recruitment activists all over the country have felt the heavy arm of the law coming down on them.

On September 29, 2005 at Holyoke Community College in Massachusetts, Charles Peterson, the Vice President of the college’s student senate and an outspoken war critic, was peppered sprayed and kicked off the campus for allegedly “grabbing and bruising an officer’s arm.” He was subsequently allowed to return to campus amid large student protests.

On the same day at George Mason University, a former Air Force pilot and current student at the university, Tarik Khan, was brutally assaulted by a police officer and a university assistant. Khan was tackled, put in a chokehold, and possibly subjected to other violence simply for standing next to a recruiting table with a sign taped to his shirt which said: “Recruiters lie; Don’t be deceived.” He is currently facing criminal charges.

Counter recruitment efforts have also been the object of what David Meieran called “information warfare.” He gave many examples in written publications and television news coverage which showed a distinct bias against counter recruitment activists. Meieran showed one news clip from a Pittsburgh network that focused on the plight of Samuel Muoio, the police officer who used his Taser stun-gun on Caligiuri. Muoio said he feared for the lives of himself and his family because his name and address had been posted to an online independent news outlet (Pittsburgh Indy Media www.pittsburgh.indymedia.org). No heed was paid to the violent and unwarranted act he had committed which had garnered him such attention.

POG representatives also stated that the counter recruitment campaign is not just about direct action, but educational efforts as well. They provide potential recruits, such as high school students, with information regarding the harsh realities of military enlistment. On their flyers, POG states that only 35% of soldiers get any GI bill money, and only 15% of soldiers actually receive a college degree. Especially frightening is the fact that 75% of women who join the military are subjected to sexual harassment. Also, there is a caveat attached to enlistment papers that states that the government does not have to follow up on any promises made by recruiters to enlistees.

The response by attendants to the POG presentation was very positive. Freshman Emily Hanlon said, “It was really inspiring to see so many people actually affecting change through counter recruitment. I protested in Washington D.C., but that was symbolic. This is direct action.” Lizzy Sullivan, also a freshman, echoed the same sentiments. When asked if she would participate in the counter recruitment efforts in Athens on November 2 she responded, “Definitely. I want to be involved with this movement. It is very important.”


Two weeks after POG’s presentation, the Athens Can’t Wait Coalition launched its local counter recruitment campaign with a march from OU’s College Green, down Court Street, to the Athen’s recruitment center at 25 Grosvenor St. With roughly 200 participants, the demonstration was the largest anti-war rally since the US invaded Iraq on March 19, 2003.

The atmosphere was electric as the march reached the center. A lone counter-protestor, Athens resident Monika Gasztonyi, awaited the group’s arrival. Gasztonyi physically barred the door of the recruitment center, waved the U.S. flag, and held signs that said such things as “U.S. Military: Duty, Honor, Country: You? Selfish SWINE.”

The protestors were not deterred. They formed a semi-circle around the recruitment center chanting slogans such as “Shut it down No recruiters in our town.”

Numerous people spoke, among them Associate Professor of Cultural Studies in Education at OU Jaylynne Hutchinson, former OU professor and World War II and Korean War veteran Chuck Overby, and peace activist Peggy Gish, who has spent much of the past three years working in Iraq.

The recruiting center itself did not shut down, but protestors certainly made enough commotion over the course of the two hour protest to keep the office from doing much recruiting. The event has also created a strong buzz in the Athens media about counter recruitment and the Athens Can’t Wait Coalition.

Jordan Rogoff, the liaison between Athens and the national office of World Can’t Wait said: “The Athens Can’t Wait Coalition is committed to opposing the Bush Regime, and counter recruitment efforts are a way to do that on the ground level. Counter recruitment will be one of our major focuses in the months to come.”