By MIKE BILLINGTON
The News Journal
03/12/2006
Anti-war protesters will stretch a 400-foot-long rope decorated with hundreds of black, white and red ribbons along a section of Concord Pike on Saturday to mark the third anniversary of the Iraq invasion.
The black ribbons represent the more than 2,400 American soldiers, civilian contractors and journalists killed during the fighting, protest coordinator June Eisley said.
"The red ribbons stand for the over 16,000 U.S. soldiers who have been wounded, and the white ribbons symbolize over 30,000 Iraqi civilians who have been killed," she said.
The protest in Brandywine Hundred is sponsored by the September 11th Coalition for Just and Peaceful Initiatives. The coalition is a project of Pacem in Terris, a Wilmington-based anti-war organization.
The coalition has staged a series of public protests aimed at trying to force the Bush administration to end the Iraq war.
"It's probably the most effective and direct way we have of reaching a large number of people. A lot of people, more and more of them, drive by and honk in support and that's gratifying," protester Ed Mulready, of Newark, said. "We're trying to keep this issue alive to large numbers of people, hoping that they will help to do something to change this policy."
Protesters want President Bush to begin immediately withdrawing troops from Iraq. They also oppose handing out billions of dollars to U.S. companies for the reconstruction work.
"This war is being waged at a huge financial cost. It's robbing the poor over here and not helping the poor over there. All it's doing is creating more widows and orphans," said Pacem in Terris executive director Sally Milbury-Steen.
"When we withdraw our troops, we have a deep moral obligation to help with reconstruction, but not by giving U.S. companies big contracts and keeping the Iraqi work force unemployed. That's a recipe for disaster," she said. "We have to give them the money to rebuild their own country. If we do that, they'll have a reason to defend it against insurgents."
The war has taken a terrible human toll, Eisley said. Iraqi civilian casualty figures are hard to determine, she said, but estimates run from about 30,000 to more than 100,000.
"What is indisputable is that each person killed has left behind grieving hearts and broken circles of family," she said. "They should never have died in this unnecessary, immoral and illegal war. It is time for the killing of U.S. troops and Iraqis to stop."
Multiple choices
That's why Mulready and others said they have stood outside in both good and bad weather with signs and banners for nearly three years.
"It's really worth doing because this war must end," Mulready said.
Milbury-Steen said protesters are also trying to help people realize that there are more than two choices when it comes to war policy.
"So many politicians give us a false choice: either stay the course or cut and run. Those are not the only choices," she said. "This war has to be won politically now, through negotiation. It can't be won militarily."
The protest, which will be held on the sidewalk at Concord Square Shopping Center, gives people an opportunity to exercise some control over their country's policies, Milbury-Steen said.
"The act of witnessing publicly is very fulfilling and very hope giving," she said. "People can become despondent and sink into despair because they feel there's nothing they can do about things these days. This is a chance to do something."
Contact Mike Billington at 324-2761 or mbillington@delawareonline.com.