A21 REPORT - 40th. anniversary of the Harrisburg 7 Trial - F.B.I. attempt to destroy Catholic Resistance to Vietnam War

by 40 years on Sun Apr 22, 2012 20:09

(*see photo - 40 years ago Daniel Elsberg was out there in solidarity for the "Harrisburg 7". Today he's out there for Bradley Manning!!!!!!!

BY BOB FORD

I did not get invited to speak at Saturday's commemoration of the “Harrisburg Seven” trial, but I certainly agree with the recent op-ed pieces that the nation was riveted by this event. Indeed, I was a little riveted myself.
vietnam_hbg_protest.JPGIn this April 1, 1972 photo, Daniel Ellsberg, chief defendant in the Pentagon Papers case, addresses a crowd at the state Capitol in Harrisburg following an anti-war parade.

Until the day before the trial began, I was slated to be the first witness. At the last minute, the government decided to put a Philadelphia police officer on first to establish the damage done to one of our draft boards, and I became the second witness in perhaps the most famous trial ever held in Harrisburg.

It is probably difficult for younger readers to realize that for a while in 1972 central Pennsylvania had become the national focal point for one of the greatest combinations of political and street theater, which at its core was the country’s division over the war in Vietnam and the volatile fuel that propelled it, the draft, which compelled young men to be sent to this decadelong war.

ARTICLE CONTINUED........
http://tinyurl.com/7srhhh9