Not a completely peaceful protest

Sunday, March 19, 2006

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Simmons' flag.

Hundreds of people filled Tampa's courthouse square Sunday to mark the third anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq, as thousands did the same throughout the country.

"After three years, it's a failure," said protestor Mabili Ajani. "It's a clear and utter failure."

That belief was shared by many of the anti-war protesters, and some sounded off about how to get out of Iraq.

"We're going to have to clean the mess up," said Michael White. "Somebody's going to have to. We need to get our children out of harm's way. Strategic withdrawal is where it's at."

The message to bring the troops home resonated with Major Raymond Simmons, who retired to the Bay area after being wounded in Iraq. He sported his uniform at the rally and became part of what was supposed to be a peaceful anti-war movement.

One of the flags a protester waved was branded with a swastika, a sight that angered Simmons, who argued for 15 minutes with the waver of the controversial flag about what type of protest was appropriate to mark the occasion.

"Our president made a lot of goofball mistakes, but Americans are not Nazis," said Simmons.

Simmons and his adversary eventually agreed to disagree.

Simmons displayed his own flag to honor the troops and said the the reference to Hitler degrades the men and women who are fighting overseas.

"They do not represent the peace movement," said Simmons. "We're trying to bring the guys home with respect and dignity. This is not what they're trying to do."

This weekend, President George Bush asked Americans to be patient as political leaders in Iraq create a unity government. He said he's encouraged by the progress and that victory in Iraq will lay the foundation for generations to come.