Activists Fear Bombing At Berkeley Marine Recruiting Center

[leobold1]

Activists Fear Bombing At Berkeley Marine Recruiting Center - News Story - KNTV | San Francisco

POSTED: 1:08 pm PST March 6, 2008
UPDATED: 12:33 pm PST March 7, 2008

BERKELEY, Calif. -- After a bombing at a Marine recruiting center at Times Square in New York City, Bay Area military supporters came to Berkeley City Hall Thursday to express concerns that the city's Marine recruiting center could suffer a similar attack.

Melanie Morgan, a former talk show host at KSFO radio in San Francisco and member of the conservative grass roots political organization "Move America Forward," said she and her group are very concerned.

"This is an escalation, let there be no mistake. This is an escalation of hostility against our troops and their mission," said Morgan, co-founder of the group.

Morgan said she was calling on Berkeley mayor Tom Bates to ensure the recruiting center would be protected from a bombing of any kind.

She and other protesters visited Bates' office but he was not there.

"We are going to hold the city council of Berkeley and the Mayor, Thomas Bates, accountable for any blood that may be spilled here," said Morgan.

They spoke to City Council Member Gordon Wozniak, NBC11's Jodi Hernandez reported.

Wozniak told Morgan and her group that he felt the situation warranted extra security.

"We would not want something like this to happen in Berkeley," Wozniak said. "I think it deserves some additional protection."

NBC11 found several Berkeley police officers stationed in front of or near the Marine recruiting center Thursday.

Police have stepped up their patrols some, but had already increased security at the building since a series of protests surrounding a letter written by the city calling the Marines "unwanted invaders."

Recruiters Warned By Army After Times Square Blast

The Army advised recruiting stations across the country to use extra caution after the New York City blast.

The Pentagon said no official warning or higher state of alert has been issued. A spokesman said occasional vandalism does happen at recruiting stations "from time to time."

Berkeley has drawn heavy criticism nationally for giving the liberal grass-roots political group Code Pink a parking spot directly in front of the Marine recruiting station.

Code Pink has launched a "counter recruitment" plan at military recruitment centers throughout the country.

"This approach calls for creative, forceful tactics to confront a murderous, imperial, military machine that recruits youth like cannon fodder," a statement on the Code Pink Web site read. "Thousands of activists have responded to this call by forcefully demonstrating at recruitment centers, community events, and high schools where military recruiters often lie and deceive. Code Pink and Raging Grannies have occupied recruitment centers and student groups have tossed recruiters off campus, grabbing headlines while changing public opinion."

Code Pink was also in front of the Marine recruiting station Thursday, holding a small protest.

Code Pink's Zanne Joi insists her group is non-violent. "We want to end violence," Joi said. "That's our whole purpose is to end violence and we don't believe in ending violence with violence."

There have been no incidents of any kind in front of the Marine recruiting station.

Wozniak said he hoped it would stay that way.

There are 15 military recruiting stations in the greater Bay Area. One Marine official told Hernandez that they spent much of Thursday morning making sure that officials at each station knew about the situation at Time Square in New York.

Bloomberg Vows To Discover Attacker

During a news conference Thursday, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg vowed authorities will track down the person responsible for the incident.

The explosion caused minor damage and no injuries, but it prompted a huge police response that disrupted travel through and beneath Times Square.

"The fact this appears directed at a military recruiting station insults every one of our brave men and women in uniform stationed around the world fighting to defend this country we hold so dear," Bloomberg said during a Thursday morning news conference.

He called the person who conducted the bombing a "coward" and said it wouldn't stop New Yorkers or himself from going about their day.

New York Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly described the bomb used in the explosion as a "low-order explosive device." He said it was in a small ammunition box and detonated by an unknown means.

One witness saw a person riding on a bicycle on the pedestrian island shortly before the explosion acting in a "suspicious manner," Kelly said. The person was described as wearing dark clothing and a knitted hood.

Kelly said police have not been able to locate anybody who saw the explosive being placed outside the building.

The blast, which took place around 3:45 a.m. EST, blew out a window in front of a poster of Uncle Sam with the famous "I Want You" caption.

The small, triangular-shaped recruiting station is located on a pedestrian island at an intersection.

"If it is something that's directed toward American troops than it's something that's taken very seriously and is pretty unfortunate," said Army Capt. Charlie Jaquillard, who is the commander of Army recruiting in Manhattan.

One person was in the station, where the Marines, Air Force and Navy also recruit, during the blast. That person was not injured and was the first to locate the witness who described the suspect on a bicycle, Kelly said.

Members of the police department's bomb squad and fire officials gathered outside the recruiting station.

Witnesses staying at a hotel in the area said they heard a "big bang" and could feel the building shake. A large plume of smoke was also visible after the explosion, they said.

Police and emergency crews have sealed off the area for an investigation. The incident briefly disrupted subway service through Times Square but authorities said normal service has resumed.

Police cars and yellow tape blocked drivers -- most of them behind the wheels of taxicabs -- from entering one of the world's busiest crossroads in the early morning. Police began allowing some traffic through around the start of rush hour.

The recruiting station has occasionally been the site of anti-war demonstrations, ranging from silent vigils to loud rallies.

Police said it was too early to say if the blast may have been related to two other minor explosions in the city.

Two small explosive devices were thrown over a fence at the Mexican consulate in October, breaking three windows but causing no injuries. At the time, police were investigating a similar incident at the British consulate in May 2005.

Activists Fear Bombing At Berkeley Marine Recruiting Center

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[Woodmonkey]

I pray that nothing happens at this, or any other recruiting stations. All it seems to take is one and then others copy cat. It's resembling Viet Nam days in this country more and more.