Some 135 anti-war protesters have been arrested in front of the White House in one of the largest mass detentions in the United States.

A Missouri-based veterans group organized the protesters, who marched up to the White House gates on Thursday and refused to disperse.
Among those arrested was a famous whistleblower of the Vietnam-era war, Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers as an act of protest in 1971.
Although the arrests were appropriately peaceful, some protesters went limp, forcing police to carry them to the loaned Metrobuses waiting to take them to a booking facility. A protester attached himself to the gate with a bicycle lock.
All were charged with failure to obey lawful order, a misdemeanor, said Park Police spokesman David Schlosser.
Schlosser said the protesters would be released after either forfeiting USD 100 or accepting an assigned court date.
A new poll shows that a substantial majority of Americans agree with the protesters on some main issues.
The protests on Thursday coincided with the White House's release of its annual report on the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan.
U.S. President Barack Obama claimed that the U.S. made some progress against the Taliban and al-Qaeda, but strategic positioning is unsustainable as the Taliban have increased attacks in the west and other areas.
“We will never waiver from our goal of disrupting and dismantling and ultimately defeating the al-Qaeda,” President Obama said.
“We will continue to do everything in our power to ensure the security and safety of the American people,” Obama added.
(Source: Press TV)
Photo: Anti-war protesters in front of White House, Washington DC, December 16, 2010.
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