Three years into the Iraq War protesters in for the long haul

March 19, 2006 By Gordon Dritschilo Staff Writer

Vermonters opposed to the war in Iraq say they are not giving up hope.

More than 300 people came to Rutland from around Vermont Saturday to protest on the third anniversary of the war in Iraq. They lined up from the corner of West and Main Streets, stretching almost to Washington Street.

The statewide protest was put together by the Vermont Says No To War Coalition, and organizers said participants came from as far away at Burlington, Windham, Brattleboro and St. Johnsbury. The crowd was made up of people from small children to senior citizens.

A massive array of signs, flags and banners were visible, and four people wandered the line dressed as Iraqi women carrying bloodied children. Another man wore a Dick Cheney mask and carried a briefcase overflowing with fake money labeled "Halliburton."

At the corner of Main Street and Court Square, a drum circle formed and played through the protest. Signs around the crowd called for immediate withdrawal and the impeachment of President Bush. Some asked, "What have we become?" and proclaimed that the United States has become an aggressor state.

"We've had these protests in Montpelier and Burlington," organizer Don Gray of Pittsfield said. "Usually, there's a pretty good built-in clientele of liberal people there and it's preaching to the choir. This year we want to let regular Vermonters know the cost of the war, people going to the mall."

For the most part, passersby seemed receptive to the message. Some drivers honked as they went by, although one woman held out her hand in a "thumbs-down" gesture. Protesters said it was the most honks that protests at the corner had ever garnered.

"The people supporting us are mostly in Subarus, cars like that," said Patrick Farrow of Castleton, who held a sign calling on the government to "support our troops" by bringing them home. "It's the red pickup trucks we have to look out for."

Gray said he thought most Vermonters are against the war and that the anti-war movement is gaining momentum.

"I think absolutely people are much more aware of how we were misled," he said. "I think that's reflected in the negative numbers we see in the Bush administration. I see an incredible change in people's attitudes. My own attitudes have gelled, coalesced, making me much more of a pacifist. My big heroes now are Gandhi and people like that."

Gray said he does not think the United States can do anything to prevent an impending Civil War in Iraq, and that no government there would have legitimacy as long at the occupation continues.

"In a civil war, who are we going to support?" he asked. "We're setting ourselves up for Somalia magnified by 100."

Gray said when peace groups around the state protested the second anniversary of the war in 2005, he expected things now to be about where they are.

"We don't have any plans of leaving Iraq because we have these very permanent military bases," he said. "I do think the anti-war movement is making a dent. I think the situation in Iraq could force the administration to withdraw. That's what I will hope. But I also think the more the Bush administration is pushed against the wall, the more they will fight it."

He also said he isn't sure how much of the message is really getting through.

"I think the American public is numbed by the violence," he said. "If 20 or 30 people are killed in Iraq, it doesn't seem to mean much.

"Patricia Hunter of Rutland said she hopes the mid-term elections will bring changes to Congress that would make an end to the war possible.

"It will take a groundswell of the American public being opposed and pushing their legislators to alter the direction they are going," she said. "I'm hopeful. It happened around Vietnam. There's not much of another stance to take.

"Hunter said she does not see an exit plan in place.

"It seems like the situation in Iraq is so unstable, there are going to be ramifications for a long time to come," she said. "I'm finding people becoming more unhappy with the situation than they were in the beginning. I feel if people take a more vocal stance it can create a groundswell."

Jane Newton, a retired nurse from Londonderry, said she did not know what would get the government to end the war.

"I have the feeling they have no intention of withdrawing," she said. "I really think we're being snowed. They're spreading fog about getting out.

"Many signs listed the cost of the war, which was the theme of the protest.

"It is becoming clearer every day that, beside the terrible cost in lives, this war is taking resources from the most vulnerable in our society, reducing our ability to protect the environment and, most ominously, weakening the very structure of our democracy," organizer Joseph Gainza of Plainfield said in a prepared statement released before the protest.Some signs cited the more than 2,300 American troops killed; others an estimated 100,000 Iraqis. Financial costs were also mentioned. Gray estimated that Rutland County's share of the cost of the war would come to $20 million.

Protestors also elicited concern about the government's recent attitude toward Iran. One carried a sign saying "No War on Iraq" with an "n" markered in over the "q." Another carried a sign reading "I'm already against the next war."

"I'm hearing sounds about Iran I used to hear about Iraq," Hunter said. "I have a lot of concerns about that. I don't have a lot of confidence in this administration.

"Newton said she is not sure what good the protests are doing.

"If we got rid of this government, I'm afraid the foreign policy will stay the same," she said. "Maybe it just cheers us up a bit, being with people who are against the war in general. Still, you can't give up hope."

Contact Gordon Dritschilo at gordon.dritschilo@rutlandherald.com.