[Marxism] Vigils calling for end to Iraq war begin

["Charles Brown" <cbrown@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Vigils calling for end to Iraq war begin

By ANGELA K. BROWN
Associated Press Writer

CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) -- As the sun dipped behind the pastures around the
campsite near President Bush's ranch, more than 200 people clutched candles
and gathered silently around a flag-draped coffin.

The vigil calling for an end to the war in Iraq was among hundreds
nationwide Wednesday, part of an effort spurred by Cindy Sheehan's anti-war
protest in memory of her son Casey, killed in Iraq last year.

"For the more than 1,800 who have come home this way in flag-draped coffins,
each one ... was a son or a daughter, not cannon fodder to be used so
recklessly," Sheehan said. "Each one is a valuable human life that is missed
so desperately."

The organizers - liberal advocacy groups MoveOn.org, TrueMajority and
Democracy for America - said tens of thousands of people had signed up for
more than 1,600 vigils from coast to coast. A vigil was also held in France
at Paris' Peace Wall, a glass monument near the Eiffel Tower that says
"peace" in 32 languages.

        

Marie Evans said she attended a gathering at the state Capitol in Oklahoma
City to make her opposition to the war heard.

"There was no question in my mind that we needed to make a statement in
Oklahoma, which is a very conservative state," she said, holding a sign that
read, "Every day President Bush plays in Crawford our young men die."

Demonstrators in Nashville, Tenn., carried candles, flags and banners of
protest, including one that read: "Thank you for your courage Cindy."

"This is a good example of how one person can make a difference," said Gigi
Gaskins, 44, of Nashville.

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Candlelight Vigils
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Sheehan, of Vacaville, Calif., has said she won't leave Texas until Bush's
monthlong vacation ends or he meets with her and other grieving families.

Bush has said he sympathizes with Sheehan but has made no indication he will
meet with her. Two top Bush administration officials talked to Sheehan the
day she started her camp, and she and other families met with Bush shortly
after her son's death and before she became a vocal opponent of the war.

Critics say Sheehan is exploiting her son's death to promote a left-wing
agenda.

Before the Crawford vigil began, Gary Qualls, of Temple, walked to the
protesters' memorial to fallen U.S. soldiers and removed a wooden cross
bearing his son's name. Qualls said he supports the war effort even though
his 20-year-old son, Louis, was killed last fall serving with the Marine
Reserves.

"I don't believe in some of the things happening here," he said. "I find it
disrespectful."

Those backing Sheehan, though, voiced their support across the country.

"I'm a mother who has a 20-year-old son. I did not spend 20 years of my life
raising someone to be squandered in a war," Joan Schatzman said at a vigil
in Charlottesville, Va.

In Minnesota, about 1,000 protesters stood on a bridge linking Minneapolis
and St. Paul. "This war has been disgraceful, with trumped-up reasons," Sue
Ann Martinson said. "There were no weapons of mass destruction and the
Iraqis didn't have anything to do with 9-11."

Members of the two sides had a heated exchange over who was more patriotic
as a group called FreeRepublic.com held a pro-Bush rally in the same
Washington park where 300 people had gathered for a candlelight vigil.

"If they don't want to support it, they don't have to support it," Iraq war
veteran Kevin Pannell, whose legs were amputated after a grenade attack last
year in Baghdad, said of the war opponents. "That's the reason I lost my
legs."

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On the Net:

http://www.moveon.org/

http://www.freerepublic.com/home.htm <http://www.freerepublic.com/home.htm>


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