Connecticut Post - March 20, 2008
TONY SPINELLI and PETER URBAN
A rainy, gloomy day just before the start of spring was the setting Wednesday for dozens of anti-war protesters around the state who marked the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq with pickets and vigils.
"We didn't want to have one single event in the state, so we had several of them around the state, and we'll continue this weekend," said John Murphy, a leader of Connecticut Opposes the War, a group he said has 50 member organizations.
The protest in Bridgeport at 10 Middle St., in front of Rep. Christopher Shays' office, drew about 20 protesters, including 13-year-old Eli Parker-Burgard, of Monroe.
"I was at a protest before, in my old state of Illinois," the young man said as he held a sign in front of Shays' office with the lyrics from a John Lennon song: "Give Peace a Chance."
"Constituents are always welcome in our office," said Shays, R-4, referring to the protesters.
Shays left for the Middle East Wednesday. He plans to visit Iraq later in the week for what would be his 20th trip since the war began.
While the Bridgeport protesters were rather subdued, that wasn't the case at the protest in Hartford where five people were arrested Wednesday for blocking the front door of a federal courthouse.
Among the five were Jim Barron, 80, of New Haven, and his minister, the Rev. Kathleen McTigue. Also arrested were Caroline Bridgeman-Rees, 80, of Hamden, and father and daughter Mark and Keely Colville, of New Haven.
Police charged the five with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct. They were led to police cruisers amid applause from about 100 other protesters gathered on the sidewalk.
Earlier Wednesday, the protesters gathered with signs and umbrellas in driving rain at Center Church in Hartford. Pairs of combat boots on the church steps represented 39 military members and two civilians with Connecticut ties who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan since the wars began in 2002. A pile of stones represented the thousands of others killed in the war, including civilians.
In Greenwich more than 40 anti-war protesters gathered in front of a downtown post office despite the pouring rain.
"This is a great turnout considering the weather," said Patricia Eggert, 60, of Greenwich, a self-described "English hippie" who wore the same peace sign earrings she bought for the 1960s protests. "This is better turnout than I thought."
"Five years is too much," protester Bernard Traphan shouted out to no one in particular.
Among the old-time anti-war protesters in Greenwich were some who were new to the movement, including Wayne Wright, a Korean War-era Navy veteran who described himself as a former lifelong Republican and two-time President Bush voter who recently became a Democrat because of his disenchantment with the Iraq war.
"They went along with it," Wright said of the Republicans. "To say they ought to be ashamed of themselves is to understate it."
Connecticut lawmakers who oppose the Iraq war issued statements Wednesday that paid homage to the men and women who have served in that war while criticizing Bush's strategy there.
"It is unfair — even unconscionable — to continue to call on their service without a clear plan for Iraq," said Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn. "The president's approach has brought almost no political progress," Dodd added. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3, praised the "selfless service of the men and women of our Armed Forces" as she once again called for an end to the war.
"It is time to bring this endless war to an end so we can force Iraq and its neighbors to make responsible decisions, and so we deploy our forces to achieve greater security," she said.
Unlike Dodd, DeLauro voted against giving President Bush the authority to wage war against Iraq. Rep. Chris Murphy, D-5, who was not in Congress when the war began, recognized the sacrifices of members of the National Guard and Reserve, who have served extended deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
"They have done so with honor and bravery," he said.
Murphy said the anniversary should also serve as a time to reflect "on the true cost of this war — in lives lost or forever altered, in dollars spent by the government to wage this protracted struggle, and the toll it has taken on our national security and our reputation around the world."
Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman was in Iraq earlier in the week with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. He was in Israel Wednesday, according to his staff.
Greenwich Time staff writer Hoa Nguyen and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
