US citizens to protest at war on March 17th

An Irish-based anti-war group called the US Citizens in Ireland for Alternatives to War are planning to protest outside the US…

An Irish-based anti-war group called the US Citizens in Ireland for Alternatives to War are planning to protest outside the US Embassy in Dublin on St Patrick's Day.

The group said their vigil at the embassy will allow US citizens in Ireland to express their opposition to a war on Iraq.

"The latest opinion poll published in the Washington Poston March 4th demonstrates the 39 per cent of US Citizens totally oppose this war," said Ms Van Lieshout, a native of Wisconsin. "According to the latest US census, that means over 100 million US citizens are against this war and do not support the president".

New Yorker Mr Harry Browne said this "overwhelming opposition" to war is evidence that "ordinary Americans do not want to be part of a rapacious empire".

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Elsewhere, students at three schools in Blanchardstown, west Dublin, are staging a walkout today over the same issue.

The action, by students from Hartstown, Blakestown and Coolmine Community Schools, is being organised by Youth Against War (YAW).

YAW is staging a national day of walkouts tomorrow in protest at what they described as the Government's "slavish support" for a US-led war on Iraq.

"The Government cannot ignore these protests like they ignored the 100,000 protest in Dublin last month," said YAW spokesman Mr Cillian Gillespie.

Around 300 students from St Aidan's CBS - where the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, was educated - walked out of classes on Tuesday. Last week, 10,000 students in Northern Ireland staged similar protests.