Two days ahead of the fifth anniversary of the start of the US- and UK-led invasion of Iraq, commando engineers sensitively staged a recruitment event in northwest London. Three anti-war protesters went along to try and persuade locals not to make the biggest mistake of their lives.
The recruitment event took place at the Territorial Army centre on Honeypot Lane, Kingsbury on the evening of Tuesday 18 March, 2008. The three protesters, all from the local borough of Brent, stood at the gates holding anti-war placards and engaging, or attempting to engage would-be recruits and military guards in conversation.
The soldiers, on a charm offensive it seemed, repeatedly offered the protesters tea and biscuits, and did their best to try and justify the deaths of hundreds of British personnel and hundreds of thousands, if not millions of civilians in military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The protesters also read out the names, details and circumstances of death of all 264 British servicemen and women known to have died as a result of these wars of aggression. They then lay flowers at the gates and observed a minute’s silence. The protesters were interviewed and filmed by a pair of local journalists.
The mayors of both Brent and Harrow, who were attending the recruitment event, were among those who saw the protest as they left the venue in their chauffeur-driven vehicles. The protesters, who braved the cold for over 2 hours, ended their vigil after the last of the dozen or so would-be recruits had left.
The soldiers, on a charm offensive it seemed, repeatedly offered the protesters tea and biscuits, and did their best to try and justify the deaths of hundreds of British personnel and hundreds of thousands, if not millions of civilians in military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The protesters also read out the names, details and circumstances of death of all 264 British servicemen and women known to have died as a result of these wars of aggression. They then lay flowers at the gates and observed a minute’s silence. The protesters were interviewed and filmed by a pair of local journalists.
The mayors of both Brent and Harrow, who were attending the recruitment event, were among those who saw the protest as they left the venue in their chauffeur-driven vehicles. The protesters, who braved the cold for over 2 hours, ended their vigil after the last of the dozen or so would-be recruits had left.
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