Code Pink staging antiwar protests but says Dems mum on Biden’s hawkish moves at Russia

The liberal activist group Code Pink is galvanizing its antiwar activists in more than 60 U.S. cities to rally this weekend in opposition to President Biden’s war footing against Russia, though prominent Democratic groups such as MoveOn are shunning the protests.

Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin said some of its liberal allies are giving the antiwar movement the cold shoulder now that Mr. Biden is in charge and Democrats are running Congress.

“I think that the Democrats are very afraid to be labeled as pro-Putin and they see everything through the lens of U.S. good, Russia evil,” Ms. Benjamin told The Washington Times. “We see it through the lens of war is evil, diplomacy good.”

Ms. Benjamin noted that the liberal advocacy group MoveOn is sitting on the sidelines. She said that while the liberal group Indivisible has members planning to participate in various cities, the organization itself had not taken a position. 

Neither MoveOn nor Indivisible responded to requests for comment.

Mr. Biden this week ordered close to 2,000 troops to forward locations in Poland and another 1,000 troops to Romania. Both Poland and Romania border Ukraine, where the U.S. and its NATO allies are locked in a tense standoff with Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has amassed an estimated 100,000 troops on his country’s border with Ukraine, stoking fears of an imminent invasion.

The “No War with Russia Rally” protests get underway on Friday evening in places such as Ann Arbor, Michigan, home to the University of Michigan; and in Sacramento, California, according to Code Pink’s website. More of Code Pinks rallies dubbed “Peace with Russia Day of Action” kick off Saturday in places such as Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington.

Another of Code Pink’s antiwar rallies is planned in Berlin. 

Ms. Benjamin had a stern rebuke for critics who accuse antiwar activists of parroting pro-Russia propaganda.

“I say don’t believe government propaganda no matter where it’s coming from, whether it’s Russia or the U.S.,” Ms. Benjamin said. 

She pointed to a hot exchange this week between State Department spokesperson Ned Price and an Associated Press reporter who repeatedly asked for evidence to back up the Biden administration’s claim that Russia is planning a false flag operation to justify its actions against Ukraine.

“I remember WMDs in Iraq,” said the reporter.

Ms. Benjamin said she hoped such sentiments would become the antiwar movement’s mantra against U.S. intervention in Ukraine.

She also found fault with NATO for what she called its expansionism, with the U.S. for meddling in foreign affairs, and with Russia for its aggression toward Ukraine.  

After Saturday’s rallies, Code Pink will evaluate its actions and plan its next steps Sunday. Ms. Benjamin said the group will determine how regularly to protest and where to gather, taking into consideration such things as coronavirus and cost. 

However, Ms. Benjamin said the rallies were the start of new antiwar activism in 2022 and not a one-off protest. 

“We’re really telling people that this is just the beginning,” she said.