Thousands of people marched on Saturday against President Bush's plans for war in Iraq, writes Mark Hennessy in Washington
Protesting against a war on Iraq near the Washington Monument on Saturday, social worker Terry Langston was troubled by the decisions that will be taken shortly - just hundreds of yards away in the White House.
"I have a 13-year-old son. I am afraid for him living in a world where everyone hates Americans. His father is German, so I have told him to keep his German passport. He might need it," she commented.
Just one of 40,000 people to descend on the National Mall to object to President Bush's plans for war, Ms Langston admits that her opposition is hardly surprising, given her liberal, Bill Clinton-supporting background.
However, many others were harder to pigeon- hole. Elderly people, no doubt with memories of the Vietnam war still alive, joined children, joined freshly shaven clean-cut youths.
The protest also included some youthful supporters of far-right campaigner Lyndon Larouche, who accept his line that the threatened war has been organised by Jews on behalf of the interests of Israel.
From the stage, local clergyman the Rev Wright Hagler drew repeated cheers from the crowd: "Brothers and sisters, something has happened. People who have never stood together before are now standing together."
Carrying messages from around the country, the posters in the crowd called for a campaign civil disobedience to begin in the coming days to stop the war. The stirrings of such a campaign have already been heard in California.
Stephan Vrudny, a 38-year-old mechanical engineer from Chicago, carried a poster featuring a picture of President Bush and the slogan, 'Stop Mad Cowboy Disease'.
"There's a feeling that this could make a difference," he declared optimistically.
Another speaker, Judy Chan, declared: "There are 320,000 soldiers and sailors in the Middle East, set to go into Iraq. Not one of these sons and daughters are the sons and daughters of Bush, Tony Blair, Dick Cheney, or Colin Powell.
"We say: 'Send your own sons and daughters and leave ours behind'. We are not against the military. We want them to live. We want them to come home," she said, to loud cheers.
New trade union organiser Michael Letwin warned of the cost of the impending war. "Afghanistan has cost $20 billion. Some say an Iraqi war will be $9 billion a month. Why are we prepared to squander this on a war of empire?" he asked.
The question looms large for Terry Langston too.
"Everywhere you go now, you here about the financial crisis facing public schools. Oregon are closing theirs for a month to save money.
"People like Bush want the people to stay stupid. They send their own children to private schools. They keep everybody else stupid so that they can fight their wars of empire for them."
By now the march had slowly made its way from the Mall to near the White House.
"I have no doubt but that George Bush will go down as the most reviled president in decades and decades. No doubt," she declared.
