A downtown protest Sunday was the first in Atlanta after the U.S. military strikes on Iran.
About 50 demonstrators with the Party for Socialism and Liberation gathered at Centennial Olympic Park, denouncing the U.S. government’s support for Israel’s ongoing campaign against Iran.
Saturday night, B-2 stealth bombers targeted three suspected nuclear sites under orders from President Donald Trump.
Demonstrators accused the administration of using false claims about weapons of mass destruction and abandoning “America First” promises to justify deeper Middle East involvement.
“What I want to say to working-class people in Atlanta, in Georgia and the United States is no war in Iran,” said Miles Weatherington, a coordinator for protests.
“This is the money that should be going to our schools, to our public education, to health care, to transportation.”
Others spoke about their frustrations on U.S. foreign policy. Among them was Linda Winters, who spoke on how war spending takes away from Georgians and criticized the Trump administration’s priorities.
“We have more in common with the people who are being bombed in Gaza and Iran than we have in common with the people who are doing the bombing, which is the billionaire class,” Winters said. “This money should not go to kill others. It should go to help us here in Georgia.”
Credit: Zaire Breedlove
Credit: Zaire Breedlove
Protester Kaylene Chassie said she found out about the initial strikes through social media.
“I was at home, and I saw it on social media, and I just couldn’t believe it. First of all, that it was announced via social media. It’s so bizarre that we’re in an age where that would happen,” Chassie said.
Chassie said escalation in the war is bound to happen. She said Georgians should talk to their friends and family about the possibility.
“I think that [education] a good starting point. Obviously, get in the streets, use your voice, even just share on social media. Talk to your friends and family, because this affects everyone. It’s not just people in Middle East,” Chassie said.
The Trump administration defended its decision to bomb Iran, on network Sunday morning programs.
“What we did is we destroyed the Iranian nuclear program,” Vice President JD Vance told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “I think we set that program back substantially, and we did it without endangering the lives of the American pilots.”
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