Thousands protest Iraq War troop increase

Chanting "bring our troops home," around 150,000 anti-war protesters rallied in front of the US Capitol on Jan. 27 to pressure the government to withdraw from Iraq. Veterans and military families joined peace groups, some lawmakers and actors including Jane Fonda to urge Congress and President Bush to stop funding the war and pull troops from Iraq. For more than two hours, speakers atop a stage that also held a flag-draped coffin criticized Bush and the US presence in Iraq before protesters marched around the Capitol. Fernando Braga, a 24-year-old Bronx native who is a member of the Army National Guard, said that he was skeptical of the war before it started. Braga said his views hardened into opposition while he served in Iraq from March 2004 through January 2005. "My own commander told us when we arrived that if we thought we were there for any reason other than oil then we had another thing coming," he said. "I realized even commanding officers were against it but following orders." Michael McPhearson, executive director of Veterans for Peace, said there were more than 100 veterans from the Iraq War participating in the march and several hundred veterans from previous wars attending as well. In the crowd, a group of families of soldiers killed in Iraq held pictures of their loved ones, including one photo of a soldier in full dress uniform lying in a coffin. Bush's approval ratings have dropped to some of the weakest of his presidency and polls show a majority of US citizens disapprove of his plan to send another 21,500 troops to Iraq. But Bush said he has no intention of backing off his plan. The demonstrations come amid growing efforts by lawmakers to protest Bush's plans in Iraq. The Senate Foreign Relations committee passed a resolution on Jan. 24 opposing the plan to send more troops. Protesters are trying to send Bush and Congress a message that US citizens do not support the war. "I'm convinced this is Bush's war. He has his own agenda there," said Anne Chay, holding a sign with a picture of her 19-year-old son, John, who is serving in Iraq. "We're serving no purpose there." Bob Watada, 67, of Honolulu, Hawaii, who said his Army officer son, Ehren, was to be court-martialed next month for refusing to deploy to Iraq, said: "So many thousands of our own have died and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and for what? And still we are having to push Congress to block the president." Fonda, who was criticized for her opposition to the Vietnam War, drew huge cheers when she addressed the crowd. She noted that she had not spoken at an anti-war rally in 34 years. "Silence is no longer an option," she said. "I'm so sad we have to do this–that we did not learn from the lessons of the Vietnam War." The protest was largely organized by the group United for Peace and Justice, a coalition of 1,400 local and national organizations. Included in the coalition are the National Organization for Women, United Church of Christ, the American Friends Service Committee, Military Families Speak Out, Iraq Veterans Against the War, CodePink, MoveOn.org and September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows. The protest was one of several held around the United States. Some 3,000 to 5,000 protesters marched through the streets of San Francisco in a passionate condemnation of the administration's handling of the war effort. Thousands of people also rallied in Seattle against the war in Iraq.