North Texans Travel to Capitol to Protest War

Tens of thousands of protestors turned out today to the nation's Capitol to protest the war in Iraq, including local area residents.

"We don’t want to lose any more children and grandchildren,"said Doreen Geiger, 57, a retired social worker from Fort Worth.

Geiger and two fellow activists from Forth Worth – Rose Lynn Scott, 59, who manages a non-profit organization, and Nadine Thomason, 74, another retired social worker – encamped in a hostel and then joined other Texas protesters on the mall. They hauled three banners from Fort Worth, including one demanding, "Out of Iraq Now."

The demonstration, organized by United Peace for Justice, reflected the growing disenchantment over the nearly four-year-old war, which has resulted in the deaths of more than 3,000 Americans. Smaller demonstrations were also held in other cities, including Dallas.

They joined several hundred Texans, many dressed in cowboy garb and waving Texas flags.

Leslie Harris of Flower Mound was making the trip to tell Congress to stop funding the war.

"The country voted in November and sent a clear message that they want out of the war," said Harris, 56, a retired schoolteacher. "I'm very concerned that the present administration seems to be running renegade and doing what it wants, no matter what people say.

A non-binding resolution introduced in the Senate urging the President to shelve plans for troop escalation is scheduled for debate in February.

The resolution says the Bush plan is "not in the national interest" and calls on the United States to "transfer, under an appropriately expedited timeline, responsibility for internal security and halting sectarian violence in Iraq to the government of Iraq and Iraqi security forces."

Many protestors were urging Congress to pass a binding resolution cutting off all funds for the war.

Several legislators have introduced or proposed binding legislation to cap the number of US troops in Iraq or to cut funds to force an exit, but prospects for any to be passed by the Senate are considered low when they come up for debate next month.

On Saturday a Newsweek poll suggested Americans feel Congress is not adequately aggressive in challenging Bush on Iraq policy.

The poll said 64 percent believed the legislature has not been assertive enough over Iraq, while 27 percent felt it was doing enough.