Protesters denounce U.S. as "war machine" at Washington rally

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of protesters on Sunday afternoon slammed America's role of "war machine" in overseas wars at a rally before the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Organizers said the anti-war rally was planned to protest against massive money funneling into Ukraine, as well as America's role in the Russia-Ukraine conflicts.

"Billions of taxpayers' dollars are being torched at the altar of U.S. hegemony, the military-industrial complex, and a corrupt Congress," a release read.

Jimmy Dore, American political commentator and media personality, spoke at Sunday's rally, echoing that America is "corrupt."

"Do you know we could end this war today through diplomacy?" Dore said. "But our politicians want to enrich weapons manufacturers, so they keep donating to them."

"The overarching goal of this rally is to stop the war in Ukraine," Cat McGuire, a protester from New York City, told Xinhua.

"People have to wake up," McGuire said. "There's massive warmongering propaganda and, unfortunately, too many people have bought into it."

Other speakers and protesters also lashed out at America's military-industrial complex, a powerful interest group made of the military, private defense contractors and politicians.

The protesters then marched to the White House after the rally, chanting slogans like "No NATO, no war."

Eric Reeves, a protester from Texas, said that the military-industrial complex, which has a huge influence on Washington's decision-makers, is "way out of control."

The U.S. government is "not doing the will of the American people," and "making decisions without consulting us," he complained.