Three motorcoach buses will leave Iowa on today, carrying about 150 peace activists from the Hawkeye State to Washington D.C. for an anti-war rally. Chet Guinn is helping organize the trip, which marks the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war and the 40th anniversary of a historic march on the Pentagon.
Guinn says "We, of course, would like to have a duplicate of what happened 40 years ago, turning the Vietnam War around. We want to bring an end to the war in Iraq and encourage our government to use diplomacy to resolve international problems." He says Americans who oppose the war need to unify and there are encouraging signs their voices are being heard.
Guinn say "The new Congress has been taking several steps to work out a peaceful solution over there or at least to bring the conflict to some kind of a resolution. Who knows what will work? We know that citizens have a responsibility to express themselves and when they see the country on a wrong course to try to get it right." He says the 150 Iowans will be joining with a large throng at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Saturday to march to the Pentagon.
Guinn says organizers of the event in Washington say they’re expecting "hundreds of thousands" of protesters for the march and rally, though he questions whether it’ll really be that big. Two buses leave Des Moines and a third bus will leave Iowa City this (Friday) morning. The rally is tomorrow (Saturday) in Washington. The group expects to be home at midday Sunday.