The American Anti-War Crowd

"We should not want to propagate the negative energy of war. We should be sending more energy of peace and of love to heal our planet and to heal our people." -- Darlene Dancy, community activist and anti-war protester.

Several hundred protesters recently gathered outside the White House to galvanize the nearly dormant U.S. anti-war movement.

Protester Darlene Dancy also sold $10 tee-shirts printed with slogans which read "Peace," "Bring U.S. troops home," and "We need a peaceful solution for a difficult situation in Afghanistan."



She said money from the tee-shirts would be used to support the peace effort, as well as groups helping the needy in America.

"We must rally, protest, and march to exercise our civic capacity to bring about real change," said the keynote speaker, Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich.

A former U.S. presidential candidate and constant critic of U.S. military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, Kucinich asked the crowd: Where is America's security when millions in the United States face joblessness, foreclosures, and out- of- reach health care?

Many of the protesters said they had voted for President Barack Obama in 2008, but now oppose his decision to send more troops to fight in Afghanistan.

Several protesters also disagreed with his recent Nobel Peace Prize, and they didn’t like his Oslo acceptance speech, during which he said war is sometimes needed to defeat evil and establish lasting peace.

The protesters seemed energized and promised more demonstrations in the months to come, even though their numbers at this rally were quite small.