Widespread Protests Mark 2nd Anniversary of Invasion of Iraq

Interview with Nancy Lessin, co-founder, Military Families Speak Out, conducted by Scott Harris

Wayne Coste, right, organizer of the "The Wall: In Memory of Those Who Died," holds a sign at the Hartford, Conn. march to Barnard Park. (Photo by Anna Manzo).

Two years after President Bush made the decision to invade Iraq, in defiance of international law and world opinion, Americans have turned against the war. A poll conducted by the Washington Post and ABC News in early March found that 53 percent of Americans said the war was not worth fighting, while 70 percent believed U.S. casualties, including more than 1,500 deaths, was an unacceptable price to pay. More than half of those surveyed believed, overall, the U.S. war in Iraq was a mistake.

On the weekend marking the second anniversary of the war, protests demanding an end to the U.S. occupation and the withdrawal of American troops were held across the world and the nation. Although smaller than similar demonstrations last year, anti-war protests and vigils were held in major cities in Europe, Asia, and Australia. In the U.S., more than 800 events were organized with tens of thousands of citizens opposed to the war participating in cities large and small. A demonstration in Fayetteville, N.C. home to the U.S. Army's Fort Bragg and five other military bases, drew 5,000 to an anti-war rally sponsored by Military Families Speak Out, Iraq Veterans Against the War and Gold Star Families for Peace. Many veterans and family members who lost loved ones in thewar that attended the Fayetteville protest, expressed strong support for the troops, while insisting they be brought home.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Military Families Speak Out co-founder Nancy Lessin, whose own son had been deployed to Iraq. She discusses the importance of the Fayetteville protest and the state of the anti-war movement across the nation.

Call Military Families Speak Out at (617) 522-9323 or visit their website at www.mfso.org

Related links:

United for Peace and Justice - www.unitedforpeace.org

International ANSWER - www.internationalanswer.org

March From Harlem to Central Park New York City Rally, contact www.troopsoutnow.org

March and Rally in Fayetteville, N.C., home of 6 Military Bases contact www.ncpeacejustice.org

Connecticut United for Peace Rally, Hartford, Conn.

Connecticut United for Peace March in Hartford, Conn. to Barnard Park, March 19, 2005 (Needs QuickTime)

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