Marches and rallies were increasingly common around the Twin Cities as the U.S. moved towards military action in Iraq. With the outbreak of war, individuals and community groups have taken active stances to show support and opposition to the war.
 

Support Our Troops
 

Nearly 17,000 people attended a Support Our Troops rally at the Minnesota state capital March 22, according to a March 23 Star Tribune article. Protesters held "Prevent Terrorism" and "Bomb Saddam" signs, periodically chanting "U.S.A!" according to the article.

Rally organizer Joe Repya says the event has been misunderstood as pro-war and was meant to show support for U.S. troops throughout the world.

Repya, who fought in Vietnam and the Gulf War, says he planned the demonstration because the anti-war movement shows disrespect for U.S. troops.

He and his wife also began printing "Liberate Iraq, Support Our Troops" lawn signs in late Feb.

Repya originally made 250 signs, but says the demand for signs has been huge. Over 17,000 signs have now been distributed.

Charles Makidon of St. Paul says he also believes troops need a message of support from the American people.

Makidon partnered with his friend and owner of Matt Look Signs to print signs reading "Bomb Saddam" with "support our troops" in smaller lettering underneath. Makidon says his signs are meant to be more forceful and direct than the "Liberate Iraq" signs.

Makidon sells the signs daily in front of the state capital, and says he has now sold over 700.

Profits from the "Bomb Saddam" signs will be given to Global Health Services, an arm of USAID, Makidon said. He has also distributed bumper stickers which read "France: The American Word for Coward."

Another group has focused on support for the families of U.S. troops. The Minnesota Chapter of American Legion, a veteran's organization, has established an 800 number which families with members in the military can call for financial or other assistance.

"We support our troops. We support the actions taken by our president," said Minnesota American Legion Adjutant, Lyle Foltz.
 

Neighbors for Peace
 

About 8,000 anti-war activists also gathered for a March 22 event, organized by Merriam Park Neighbors for Peace. Protesters marched from Macalester to Victoria Ave and then returned to campus for a rally.

Merriam Park Neighbors for Peace is one of several neighborhood-based peace groups that have recently formed in the Twin Cities.

Merriam Park Neighbors for Peace has been in existence for about a month. The group's founders, Anne Benson and Rachel Gogoleski, noticed there were many anti-war signs in the neighborhood. "We knew there were people around us who thought like us, we wanted to see how we could work together to stop the war," Benson said.

Merriam Park Neighbors for Peace has about 75 active members. They hold a weekly peace vigil at U.S. Senator Norm Coleman's office and sponsor events to educate neighbors about the war.

Saint Anthony Park Neighbors for Peace started over 20 years ago but has reinvigorated in the past few months. They now hold weekly peace vigils and monthly educational potlucks and have from 15 to 20 active members, according to Karen Lilley, who joined the group in November.

Lilley attended a Neighbors for Peace Meeting advertised in the community newspaper and said she joined the group largely because she "was impressed by the knowledge, passion and conviction of the people there."

On March 19, the first meeting of Macalester-Groveland Neighbors for Peace was held at Macalester.

About 80 people attended, according to Mark Johnson, who recruited for the meeting by leafleting all houses in the neighborhood with "Say No to War With Iraq" signs. The group plans to meet weekly, Johnson said. "There was a strong emotion at the meeting to try and do something about the war."

Neighbors for Peace groups now exist in at least 10 Twin Cities neighborhoods. Neighborhood peace groups attract people who may not normally be activists, Benson said. "They're going to be a great grassroots movement," he added.
 

End Saddam's Regime
 

Yacoub Al Jaffery's support for the war is based on personal experience. Al Jaffery, who was born in Iraq, says his father's political activism made his family a target of Saddam's regime.

At age 7, "I was imprisoned and tortured in front of my father," who was killed by the regime in 1991, Al Jaffery said.

Al Jaffery said he attended the March 22 Support Our Troops rally and is planning another on the University of Minnesota Campus. He regularly attends peace rallies with a sign reading, "We are Iraqis. We support U.S. troops to liberate Iraq."

Brent Westrum, a student at Music Tech College in St. Paul, said he supports the war after talking with fellow employees at Babani's, a Kurdish restaurant in downtown St. Paul. The stories about Sadaam's regime told by Kurds working at the restaurant are "just horrendous," he said.

Westrum could not attend the Support Our Troops rally because he was busy preparing food for the rally's organizers, who gathered at the restaurant after the event. "We all support the war here," Westrum said.
 

Education and Protest
 

Some Twin Cities peace groups view education, protest and civil disobedience as increasingly salient forms of war resistance.

The Anti-War Committee, a volunteer-run organization in Minneapolis, organized demonstrations in front of Coleman's Office and the Minneapolis Federal Building this week. Members staged sit-ins and handed anti-war leaflets to passers by.

The group "educates and organizes for more peaceful U.S. policy," said Jessica Sundin, a full-time peace activist and volunteer with the Anti-War Committee. "We view civil disobedience as an important and valuable form of protest," Sundin added.

The Anti-War Committee began in 1991 with 13 activists committing civil disobedience to protest President Clinton's bombing of Iraq, according to the organization's website.

At the University of Minnesota campus in St. Paul, over 800 students participated in a walk-out and anti-war rally Monday, said Nathan Mittelstaedt, coordinator of Students Against War.

Students Against War began in November as a response to U.S. military action in Afghanistan. Members are working to add an anti-war resolution to the ballot of upcoming student government elections and continue educating the campus community about the war, Mittelstaedt said.

Many group members are concerned about Students Against War having been named a "domestic extremist group" by officials in the Hennepin County Sheriff's office, Mittelstaedt said.

According to a Star Tribune article on March 6, the sheriff's office had listed the groups among other extremist groups considered to be a threat to Minnesota's security.

Members who were not U.S. citizens were told by their INS agents to leave the group, and some students worried about losing federal financial aid, Mittelstaedt said.

"People shouldn't feel they can't speak their mind, especially on a university campus," Mittelstaedt said. "This will continue as long as we are considered domestic extremists, so we are focused on getting our name cleared."

Other Twin Cities Peace Groups focused on education and protest include Friends for a Non-Violent World, Women Against Military Madness and Veterans for Peace.