Tens of thousands protest in Washington against Iraq war

"I grew up during the Vietnam War, but I never protested it and never had my lottery number called to go fight," said David Quinly, a 54-year-old carpenter from Prairie Village, Kansas, who arrived here Friday night with about 50 others after a 23-hour bus ride.

"In my view, this one is a war of choice and a war for profit against a culture and people we don't understand," Quinly said. "I knew I had to speak up this time."

Tassi McKee, from Bastrop, Louisiana, who said she was a staff sergeant in the Air Force, was among a small contingent of about 20 active-duty service members who turned out.

Thirty-five people from Columbia took a bus early Saturday to Washington to join tens of thousands from across the nation who gathered to protest the Iraq war.

Fourteen like-minded Columbia residents held up signs at the Five Points fountain Saturday afternoon to show their support for the nationwide anti-war demonstration.

They held up signs with slogans like “Honk for peace,” “War is not the answer” and “Bring them home now.” The local protest was sponsored by the Military Families Support Organization.

Oscar-award winner Sean Penn had a warning for politicians on the ballot in 2008. "If they don't stand up and make a resolution as binding as the death toll, we are not going to be behind those politicians," he said.

With a reporter's credential, Penn visited Iraq in November 2003 and recently traveled to Iran.