Spirits high during anti-Iraq war rallies
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-26 19:01

Spirits were high during weekend rallies in the nation's capital, but that's where the similarities ended, as one demonstration supported and the other opposed the war in Iraq, AP reported.

The anti-war rally, held Saturday at the western edge of the National Mall, drew a crowd of 100,000 or more. Lasting a marathon 12 hours, it featured folk singer Joan Baez and Cindy Sheehan, the California mother whose 24-year-old son, Casey, was killed in Iraq last year.

Protesters also marched past the White House, the first time demonstrators have been allowed to do so since the 1995 Oklahoma City bombings.

When Sheehan took the stage Saturday, she won a roar of approval from the crowd. She drew thousands of demonstrators and attracted wide media attention during a 26-day vigil outside the vacationing President Bush's Texas ranch last month.

"Shame on you," Sheehan admonished, directing that portion of her remarks to members of Congress who backed Bush on the invasion of Iraq. "How many more of other people's children are you willing to sacrifice?"

She led the crowd in chanting, "Not one more."

On Sunday, a rally supporting the war drew roughly 500 participants, far below the 20,000 expected by event organizers. Held on the eastern edge of the Mall, the rally was over in about three hours.

Speakers included veterans of World War II and the war in Iraq, as well as family members of soldiers killed in Iraq.

"I would like to say to Cindy Sheehan and her supporters don't be a group of unthinking lemmings. It's not pretty," said Mitzy Kenny of Ridgeley, W.Va., whose husband died in Iraq last year. The anti-war demonstrations "can affect the war in a really negative way. It gives the enemy hope."

Kevin Pannell, a soldier who lost his legs from the knees down in Iraq, told the crowd he was amazed that Saturday's demonstrators were taking for granted their right to free speech.

"I would challenge those guys to go to Baghdad and say that," he said.

Counter-demonstrations occurred on both days, with members of each group shouting at each other. But no violent confrontations between demonstrators were seen.

"No matter what your ideals are, our sons and daughters are fighting for our freedom," said Marilyn Faatz, who drove from New Jersey to attend Sunday's rally. "We are making a mockery out of this. And we need to stand united, but we are not."