Area opponents of Iraq war hoping to change hearts in Washington

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Area opponents of Iraq war hoping to change hearts in Washington
Friday, September 23, 2005
By BILL CAHIR
The Express-Times
Busloads of local residents are preparing for a bus trip to Washington, D.C., for Saturday's anti-war demonstration.

Anticipating 100,000 or more like-minded demonstrators, they hope to convince members of Congress to reassess the war in Iraq and withdraw troops as soon as possible. The program will feature an anti-war march Saturday, a concert and interfaith prayer service Sunday and lobbying visits Monday to Capitol Hill.

The turnout, activists hope, will force members of Congress to take a fresh look at eroding political support for Bush and for the U.S. strategy in Iraq.

"For myself, on a personal level, I've come to the point where I have to do this (march for peace) to live with myself," said Mike Laughton, a part-time staff member of the Lehigh-Pocono Committee of Concern, or LEPOCO, which is sending three busloads of local anti-war demonstrators to the capital.

A veteran who served in the Navy from 1962 through 1965, Laughton explained that, even if he doesn't change any lawmakers' minds, he wants to protest the Iraq war and say, "Not in my name."


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