04/10/07: 'Peacemakers' persist in opposing Iraq war
'Peacemakers' persist in opposing Iraq war
Group meets every Friday to protest situation in Middle East
By Kristopher Wenn
Herald Times Reporter April 10, 2007
MANITOWOC — Each Friday for the past four years, members of Lakeshore Peacemakers, Lakeshore Pax Christi and other participants have stood at the intersection of North Eighth Street and Maritime Drive for an hour holding their anti-war signs.
"War is not the answer" read one sign. "Who would Jesus bomb?" asks another.
While the U.S. war in Iraq continues, local reaction to the demonstrators has varied from enthusiastic thumbs up to other kinds of hand signals.
But with public support for Operation Iraqi Freedom wavering nationwide and U.S. casualties exceeding 3,250 as of Monday, more people are showing up to voice their criticisms, sidewalk advocates say.
The peace vigils, which averaged five participants at the start of the war, now average from 10 to 12 people, said Ron Kossik, a member of the Lakeshore Peacemakers. The vigil held on the four-year anniversary of the war in Iraq attracted 25 people, said Kossik.
"We have a very dedicated group of 10 people and a core group of five who are out at the vigils every Friday," he said. "We discussed canceling the vigil a few times, but we decided that we owed it to the troops in Iraq who have no choice in staying home when the conditions become unreasonable."
Mishicot resident Jim Sustman, a founding member of the Lakeshore Chapter of Pax Christi USA, said the number of people who are giving support to vigil holders is amazing.
"Complete strangers will yell out 'keep up the good work,'" he said. "You may hear in the night while you're there one person who puts you down, who is in favor of the war, but that has gotten to be a lot less … The response from the general public has been very supportive."
Local opinion of the war in Iraq remains divided as is the case around the country.
President Bush has asked Congress for more than $100 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan this year. The House and Senate have approved the money, but their bills seek to wind down the war by including timelines for troops to come home — something Bush says he will not accept. The Senate bill would require a U.S. troop exit to begin within 120 days, with a completion goal of March 31, 2008. The House bill would order all combat troops out by Sept. 1, 2008. Democratic leaders have not negotiated a final version to send to the president. Bush has made clear he will veto it, which will start the process all over.
Two Rivers resident Don Zimmer still supports the war in Iraq. Zimmer said he was disappointed with the tactics that were used, which he believes fly in the face of his 21 years of training in the U.S. Army. An overwhelming number of people who initially supported the war are still in support of it, Zimmer said.
"I think that things are not going very well in Iraq because our strategy was flawed from the beginning," Zimmer said. "We did not go in with overwhelming force and stabilize the situation at the very beginning."
Zimmer said the non-binding troop pull out dates approved by both houses of Congress were more of a gauge of what the Democratic Party believes rather than public sentiment.
"Do I believe that there are some people who want peace at any cost? Yes, I do, and their ideals are pure," Zimmer said. "But by and large, people either hate President Bush or they hate the idea of the United States of America even though they live here and are reaping the benefits of our society."
Kossik, who has been involved with the vigils since the war began, said he remains hopeful that the U.S. government will be responsive to growing public sentiment to end the war. The continued use of military force will not stabilize Iraq and the best that can be done is to stop occupying Iraq a
nd offer whatever support to help build the country, he said.
"It's becoming more and more clear to everyone that the war in Iraq is hurting the values that America stands for," Kossik said.