FREEDOM OF SPEECH

Americans pay price for speaking out

He's a Vietnam War hero from a proud lineage of warriors who served the United States, so he never expected to be called a traitor.
After 39 years in the Marines, including commands in Somalia and Iraq, Gen. Anthony Zinni never imagined he would be tagged "turncoat."
The epithets are not from the uniforms but the suits — "senior officers at the Pentagon," the now-retired general says from his home in Williamsburg, Va.
"They want to question my patriotism?" he demands testily.
Across the United States, hundreds of Americans have been arrested for protesting the war. The American Civil Liberties Union has documented more than 300 allegations of wrongful arrest and police brutality from demonstrators at anti-war rallies in Washington and New York.
Even the silent, peaceful vigils of Women in Black — held regularly in almost every state — have prompted threats of arrest by American police.