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March 19, 2006Residents rally against the warMore than 200 protesters gatherTRAVERSE CITY - Their signs ranged from radical - "Bush Recruits for Al Qaeda" - to simple, like rainbow-colored flags with peace signs.Bob Marshall of Lake Leelanau marched with an unadorned American flag. "The people who are in favor of the war think this is their flag, I bring this along to say this is our flag, too," Marshall said. "This is the anniversary of this stupid war, and we're trying to celebrate its end, if we could." Around 200 people crammed into a meeting room at Grace Episcopal Church Saturday morning to mark the third anniversary of the war in Iraq. Permanent markers squeaked across poster board as speakers decried the war and the Bush administration. Later, the group walked through Traverse City, stopping at several locations to listen to more speakers. At least one motorist shouted obscenities at the protesters, but many more honked in what the marchers took as a show of support. Arno VonWalthausen said the protesters are a broad spectrum of people, from radical to moderate. "They're all united by one common purpose - they're against the war," the Traverse City resident said. That spectrum was evident. At age 72 and wearing a knit cap and a dark coat, Carolyn Priest doesn't look like a war protester. In fact, Saturday's march was her first anti-war demonstration. "I believe that there's nothing to be accomplished by more killing, and we're only alienating the people that should be our friends," said Priest, a Traverse City resident who said she was opposed to the war from the beginning. On his head, Brad Krull wore a sign that read "Impeach Bush," and he carried another sign that read "All Media Are Owned By War Profiteers." "I've been against the war (since) before it started, I knew it was coming," said Krull, of Glen Arbor. Scot Richards was apparently the lone protest-protester. He stood quietly to the side of the demonstrators, carrying no sign, but wearing a tan Army coat to show his support for people in the military. "Those people over there, those people don't understand," said Richards, referring to the protesters. Richards, an Interlochen resident who is a veteran of the first Gulf War, believes the soldiers in Iraq are there to protect rights like free speech. He said he wished the protesters would acknowledge that. Richards said he had expected others in favor of the war to join him. "I heard there was going to be one other guy, but I couldn't find him," Richards said.
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