The Utah Statesman

Issue date: 3/24/08 Section: Campus News

Media Credit: Debra Hawkins

Media Credit: Debra Hawkins

Media Credit: Debra Hawkins

Media Credit: Debra Hawkins MORE THAN 200 PEOPLE walked the streets of Logan Saturday to protest the war in Iraq. The peace walk was one of several events Friday and Saturday hosted by local groups to mark the fifth anniversary of the war. The walk began at the Cache County Courthouse.

Media Credit: Debra Hawkins

Media Credit: Debra Hawkins

Media Credit: Debra Hawkins USU GRADUATE and Iraq War veteran Marshall Thompson took part in events Friday and Saturday to mark the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War. Thompson said he is hopeful because of the interest and activism shown by community members. The best thing people can do, he said, is to keep protesting and keep making their voices heard. During a panel discussion Friday, Thompson said the only people who don't see the war for what it is are elected officials. By continuing opposistion to the war, he said the country's leaders cannot deny citizens anymore.

Five years into an increasingly unpopular war, more than 200 people gathered in protest of the Iraq War Saturday at the Cache County Courthouse to walk for peace, raise awareness and commemorate lives lost in the war.

Before the war in Iraq began, community members met to promote a diplomatic solution but their hopes fell largely on deaf ears. Now, local residents believe opposition and activism could not be more important.

Iraq War veteran and USU graduate Marshall Thompson said it is time people see through leaders' justifications of war and that politicians listen to peoples' voices.

"We cannot accept their excuses. We are not ignorant and we need to fight it," he said. "We cannot lose hope."

Thompson, who walked the state of Utah in 2006 to protest the war, said Saturday's turnout was encouraging.

"You are a glorious group," he said. "Logan is a great place to have this many people show up."

Thompson said it is time people started seeing through the fog of war, face reality and see the fiscal and human costs.

"We need to be reminded about what war means," he said.

Thompson said he saw things and heard stories during his time in Iraq that prove the cruelty and injustice of war.

"It breaks my heart," he said.

In addition to the costs of war in America, Thompson said the wishes and needs of the Iraqi people should also be given attention.

He said, "Never mind that the Iraqis have asked us to leave through words and through bombs, but we stay there."

Thad Box, who also spoke before Saturday's walk, agreed with Thompson. While the reason for war may still be unclear, he said the impediment of war is obvious.

"After five long years of the occupation of Iraq, we still have not been told why we went to war. We do know what's been done the last five years," Box said.

The influences of war have not only been international and across the United States. They have hit the community as well, he said.

"The problems are right here," he said. "The suffering is personal and present in one of the most beautiful valleys in the world."

Like Thompson, recent local activism has also given Box hope in people, especially younger generations.

"Hope is with us. It's time that those of us with gray hair turn this generation to those with more energy," he said.

Thompson said, "We can make the choice to honor human rights. This gives me hope. We can make a difference and we can end this occupation together."

To some, protesting the Iraq War makes people unpatriotic. However, former Air Force captain Jim Goodwin said he doesn't think so.

"That's total baloney," Goodwin said. "If anything, you are more."

Goodwin said people question criticism of war because, as civilians, it is hard to understand. However, considering his career, he said he knows this war has been devastating to the county and that America's leaders lied to people to justify an unnecessary fight. He said President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are "completely hypocritical" in their speeches and their policies.

"They are talking out of both sides of their mouth," Goodwin said.

Logan resident Carolee Lavery participated in Saturday's march to help remind people of the war. She said it has gotten lost in other issues, like the economy, and people need to be reminded of it. She said the fact that Thompson, a soldier returning from Iraq, is protesting the war reveals a lot about the state of Iraq. Lavery, who has attended local events protesting the war throughout the last five years, said involvement has really increased. Recent activism proves it is "not just hippie peace people" who want the troops to return.

USU student Josie Olsen, Thompson's sister-in-law, said people can still be more involved. She also said people need to quit trivializing serious issues.

"There is too much apathy," Olsen said. "I think there is so much we can do but people just don't care."

The walk was part of a number of events held Friday and Saturday to mark the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war. The events began with the exhibit Eyes Wide Open in the Taggart Student Center where boots were on display to memorialize those killed in Iraq. Friday evening, there was a viewing of Thompson's documentary "A Soldier's Peace." Following the movie, there was a panel discussion about activism where Thompson said, "Keep protesting. Keep making your voices heard. They can't deny us much longer."

-arie.k@aggiemail.usu.edu

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