Rocky attacks 'immoral war'

WASHINGTON — Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson had a simple — but loud — mantra to share with the crowd at an antiwar demonstration on the National Mall on Saturday: "No more!"

Anderson led the crowd of thousands, gathered to protest the war in Iraq and the Bush administration's policies, in a "No more" chant as he shared the main stage with members of Congress, celebrities, activists and other political leaders.

"No more Iraq war," Anderson said as the crowd repeated "No more. No more God-is-on-our-side religious nonsense to justify this immoral, illegal war," Anderson said, his voice straining as he yelled into the microphone. "No more torture of human beings, no more kidnapping of people and sending them off to secret prisons in nations where they will be tortured ...."

Rallies and small protests against the war were held in cities across the nation, including Salt Lake City. In Washington, Anderson joined speakers who ranged from a 12-year-old girl from Harvard, Mass., who launched a campaign in her school to stop the war, to the Rev. Jesse Jackson and celebrities like actors Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins and Rhea Perlman.

And near the end of the rally, Vietnam War antiwar lightning-rod Jane Fonda took the stage, noting, "I haven't spoken at an antiwar rally in 34 years." But, she said, "silence is no longer an option."

The Salt Lake mayor said he was invited to come to address the rally based on the high participation of people at an August rally in Utah during President Bush's visit to the American Legion convention. He also wanted to be counted as someone "from the reddest state in the nation" who is standing up for what he believes is right.

"We are here because we value compassion, truth and human rights so much that we want the world to know how embarrassed we are, how sad we are, how outraged we are that our president and a complacent Congress, with the aid and assistance of a dismal mainstream media, have caused millions of people so much pain and tragedy," Anderson said.

He said the war runs counter to Utah values because of the lies and violence associated with it.

"We just need to do a lot better than this," Anderson said.

The protest, organized by a group called United for Peace and Justice, drew hundreds of thousands of people, organizers said, although an exact number was difficult to estimate. Participants said over and over again that they wanted the sheer number of people there to show Congress and the White House the amount of opposition that exists to the war. The rally lasted all morning before a march extended to the Capitol building.