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By Bob Weaver
Protesters rallied by the thousands in bitter cold Saturday in Washington, reminiscent of the movement against the Vietnam
War, a passionate show of dissent against the pending war with Iraq. The cry "No blood for oil" echoed from America's
National Mall.
Media reports said the "crowd was in the thousands," but DC insiders and organizers said at least 250,000 people were at the protest.
"We stand here today, a new generation of anti-war activists," Peta Lindsay from International Answer, the main organizers,
exhorted the national rally. "This is just the beginning. We will stop this war." The event got brief coverage from the TV news
channels, except C-Span.
Most Americans, while supporting President Bush, want the United States to take more time seeking a peaceful solution in
Iraq rather than moving quickly into a military confrontation, the latest Newsweek reports this weekend. Nearly all polls
taken in the past ninety days reflect a "plan of caution."
The Newsweek poll says most Americans, 60 percent to 35 percent, would prefer that the Bush administration allow more
time to find an alternative to war.
Support for a military option would be strong, 81 percent, if the United States were to act with full allied support and the
backing of the U.N. Security Council.
A majority would be opposed should this country act without the support of the United Nations and had no more than one or
two allies.
Currently, few countries are on-board for the invasion, with the British people expressing reluctance,
The Bush administration has been building the war effort on a daily basis since last summer, what earlier politicians called
"brinkmanship," or pushing the opponent to the edge.
U.S. officials and their allies currently are discussing the appropriate timetable for military action against Iraq, which faces a
U.N. demand that it abandon its weapons of mass destruction, with Europeans urging President Bush to give the United
Nations weapons inspectors more time.
The president's job approval remains at 56 percent in the Newsweek poll and 53 percent in a CNN-Time poll.
Activists spoke of the nonviolent legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. at a time of the civil rights leader's birthday. .
"In the spirit of Dr. King, in the spirit of Crazy Horse...no blood for oil," said Moonanum James of United American Indians.
Most European newspapers contend America will occupy Iraq and nationalize its oil operations, while Washington focuses
on regime change and weapons of mass destruction - ridding the world of an evil leader.
Protesters took the opportunity to recall the history of the Vietnam War, reminding them of lies told the American people
about a war that split the country, quoting cabinet official Robert McNamara who apologized in his book, saying "We made
our decisions in light of those values. Yet we were wrong, terribly wrong. We owe it to future generations to explain why." | 
