Oklahoma Independent Media Center

More than 75 Oklahoma City activists held a demonstration Saturday, calling for “no more war” in Iraq. Participants held large and colorful signs to the traffic along the Northwest Expressway at Meridian Ave., from noon to 1:30 pm. Darla Shelden, one of the organizers, said that this local event was in solidarity with the Mass March on Washington, DC, called by the “ANSWER” coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), and around the country on Saturday.

Familiar signs saying “Honk For Peace” were supplemented with signs relating to President Bush's speech Thursday calling for a US military presence in Iraq which could last for decades. “Say No to Bush's War” was one of the themes expressed on signage at the demonstration.

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photos of event.

Katherine Scheirman, USAF (ret.), an Oklahoma City physician who served 20 years on active duty, said she is flying to Washington, DC, Sunday, to lobby Congress to bring the troops home. Her final duty assignment was as Director of Medical Operations at Ramstein AFB in Germany, where casualties from Iraq are evacuated. She said, “President Bush must develop a coherent strategy to get our troops out of the quagmire his policies have created. It is immoral to keep sending Americans to die in another country's religious civil war. Bush's invasion has created a disaster for Iraq with over 4 million refugees and untold hundreds of thousands dead and maimed."

Gold Star father Warren Henthorn, whose son Jeffrey died during his second tour in Iraq, participated in the demonstration. An Oklahoma City mother whose son was killed in Iraq, in July of this year, saw the protest as she was driving by, and stopped to join the effort to bring US troops home.

Lawton, OK, Army veteran and Gulf Coast Regional Coordinator for Iraq Veterans Against the War Justin Cliburn was one of thousands of demonstrators in Washington, DC. Speaking to a reporter about the US presence in Iraq, the 25-year old said, "We are occupying a people who do not want us there." He added, "We are here to show that it is not just a bunch of old hippies from the '60s who are against this war."

Navy veteran Larry Knowles served eight years on active duty, including the 1991 Gulf War. Knowles said he supports efforts to bring US troops home from Iraq. “I'm very concerned that Iraq veterans, especially the wounded, may not be getting the support services they need to adjust to life after they come home.” He said many soldiers come from poverty families who especially need veterans' services.

Vietnam veteran Ron Wasson spoke to the crowd, pointing out similarities between the two conflicts. He said some US leaders had apparently not learned the lessons from that war. Jed Green, President of OCCC Young Democrats, said students at the college have done two successful "Bake Sales for Body Armor" to support the troops, and are planning another. He said the Iraq war is unjust and immoral.

Others speaking included Bill Bryant, a leader in the Oklahoma Campaign for a US Department of Peace, and Serena Blaiz, representing Oklahoma Center for Conscience, which offers counseling to young people considering the military, and to active duty personnel about their rights in the service.

Nathaniel Batchelder of the Peace House said several Oklahomans traveled to Washington, DC, to take part in actions called by the ANSWER Coalition and other organizations. He said that Oklahoma City's demonstration was mentioned at the action in Washington, DC, today.

Batchelder said that 73% Americans want US troops out of Iraq in a year or less. "The information we have received from our government about Iraq has proven repeatedly not to be correct, and the justification for the war seems to change from month to month,” he said. Congress and the White House must hear from Americans who want our troops home, he said.