Protesters mark Iraq war's 5th anniversary
Protesting a controversial war week after week on a downtown street may seem futile, but activists at an anti-war rally said after five years of protest they’ve seen a shift in the public’s support for the Iraq war.
About 250 people gathered on O Street, between Centennial Mall and 16th Street, Wednesday to mark the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war. Peace activists have staged anti-war vigils at the site every week since the war started.
As honking cars drove by Wednesday, expressing their support for the protesters, the vigil seemed more like a rally. Two women thumped on drums in the center of the large crowd.
People of all ages spread across the large block, waving peace flags, holding up signs with slogans like: “Bring the Troops Home,” “Vote for Peace” and “Less Bushes, More Trees.”
Now that nationwide public support for the war has declined, some protesters wondered why an unpopular war was moving into its fifth year, seemingly unabated.
“A Democratic Congress was elected a year ago on an anti-war platform, and they are still funding the war, even after their constituencies have changed their minds,” Susan Alleman of Lincoln said at the rally.
Despite the change in public opinion, Alleman said President Bush still makes people feel unpatriotic if they oppose it.
Alleman — who has attended the weekly Wednesday peace vigils since the war began — said she plans to keep coming until the troops are home.
Some people ask if she believes the protests change anything, she said. Even though it doesn’t seem like much, standing outside each week forces drivers to remember the war is still happening, Alleman said.
“The more we’re out here, we’re keeping it in peoples’ minds,” she said.
Sitaram Jaswal, a professor emeritus at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, shares Alleman’s commitment to end the Iraq war.
He said the war has eviscerated the United States’ support in the international community and soiled America’s image through debacles like the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib.
“We had a moral standing in the world at one time,” he said. “Now we don’t.”
With public opinion on the anti-war activists’ side, why hasn’t the war ended?
“People are disengaged,” he said. “If people would come down here and stand outside like this every week, the war would end.”
Jaswal said it’s important for him to match his convictions with action, regardless of what is popular.
Over five years of protesting the Iraq war, he’s seen supporters for peace increase — more honks on the streets and fewer “fingers” in the unofficial weekly poll of O Street drivers.
As the war marches on, Jaswal said he hopes there won’t need to be a sixth year of vigils.
Said Alleman: “Five years is a long time. Even people that were originally for the war have changed their minds. Everyone realizes it’s a quagmire.”
Reach Lisa Munger at lmunger@journalstar.com.
About 250 people gathered on O Street, between Centennial Mall and 16th Street, Wednesday to mark the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war. Peace activists have staged anti-war vigils at the site every week since the war started.
As honking cars drove by Wednesday, expressing their support for the protesters, the vigil seemed more like a rally. Two women thumped on drums in the center of the large crowd.
People of all ages spread across the large block, waving peace flags, holding up signs with slogans like: “Bring the Troops Home,” “Vote for Peace” and “Less Bushes, More Trees.”
Now that nationwide public support for the war has declined, some protesters wondered why an unpopular war was moving into its fifth year, seemingly unabated.
“A Democratic Congress was elected a year ago on an anti-war platform, and they are still funding the war, even after their constituencies have changed their minds,” Susan Alleman of Lincoln said at the rally.
Despite the change in public opinion, Alleman said President Bush still makes people feel unpatriotic if they oppose it.
Alleman — who has attended the weekly Wednesday peace vigils since the war began — said she plans to keep coming until the troops are home.
Some people ask if she believes the protests change anything, she said. Even though it doesn’t seem like much, standing outside each week forces drivers to remember the war is still happening, Alleman said.
“The more we’re out here, we’re keeping it in peoples’ minds,” she said.
Sitaram Jaswal, a professor emeritus at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, shares Alleman’s commitment to end the Iraq war.
He said the war has eviscerated the United States’ support in the international community and soiled America’s image through debacles like the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib.
“We had a moral standing in the world at one time,” he said. “Now we don’t.”
With public opinion on the anti-war activists’ side, why hasn’t the war ended?
“People are disengaged,” he said. “If people would come down here and stand outside like this every week, the war would end.”
Jaswal said it’s important for him to match his convictions with action, regardless of what is popular.
Over five years of protesting the Iraq war, he’s seen supporters for peace increase — more honks on the streets and fewer “fingers” in the unofficial weekly poll of O Street drivers.
As the war marches on, Jaswal said he hopes there won’t need to be a sixth year of vigils.
Said Alleman: “Five years is a long time. Even people that were originally for the war have changed their minds. Everyone realizes it’s a quagmire.”
Reach Lisa Munger at lmunger@journalstar.com.
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