Nationwide candlelight vigils call for end to war in Iraq

CRAWFORD, Texas -- Hundreds of candlelight vigils calling for an end to the war in Iraq got underway Wednesday in a national effort spurred by one mother's anti-war demonstration near President Bush's ranch.

The vigils were urged by Cindy Sheehan, who has become the icon of the anti-war movement since she started a protest in memory of her son Casey, who died in Iraq last year.

Sheehan says she will camp outside Bush's ranch until his monthlong vacation ends or he meets with her and other grieving families.

Bush has said he sympathizes with Sheehan but has made no indication he will meet with her. Two top Bush administration officials talked to Sheehan the day she started her camp, and she and other families met with Bush shortly after her son's death.

More than 1,600 vigils were planned from coast to coast Wednesday, according to the organizers, liberal advocacy groups MoveOn.org Political Action, TrueMajority and Democracy for America. A large vigil was also set at Paris' Peace Wall, a glass monument near the Eiffel Tower that says "peace" in 32 languages.

As the sun set in Crawford, about 100 protesters lit candles and placed them in plastic cups to shield them from the breeze. They gathered around a wooden, flag-draped coffin.

In Concord, N.H., about 150 people stood shoulder-to-shoulder Wednesday outside the Statehouse holding candles and signs supporting Sheehan.

Karen Braz, 50, brought a pink votive cup shaped like flower petals and a sign that read "Moms for Peace."

"My son is 26. It could've been him," she said, her voice breaking.

Some critics say Sheehan is exploiting her son's death to promote a left-wing agenda supported by her and groups with which she associates. They say scores of Americans, including relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq, support Bush and his plans to keep troops there.

FreeRepublic.com, which holds rallies to support troops and to counter anti-war demonstrations, planned to hold a pro-Bush rally Wednesday night at the same time and same Washington, D.C., park as a candlelight vigil there.

"For us the organizers of the vigil are phony-baloney, betraying the sacrifices that those, men and women make in Iraq, by demanding that we pull our troops out now and leave Iraq to go to hell," said Kristinn Taylor, co-leader of the group's Washington, D.C., chapter. "This is a publicity stunt."

Some 200 people took part in a peace vigil in Cincinnati's Fountain Square. Many carried candles, but were told not to light them because of potential harm to the downtown landmark. Demonstrators softly sang "Give Peace A Chance" and lined one side of the square with signs, drawing honks of support from some passing motorists.

In Hawaii, Kalihi Valley resident Charmaine Crockett expected at least 140 people to gather Wednesday evening in the backyard of her hilltop house to light candles in sympathy for Sheehan.

"I'm very moved by one person making a difference," Crockett said. "This isn't an anti-war protest. The beauty of it lies in its silence ... And I never expected it to get this large."

Several dozen people gathered in front of the state Capitol in Madison, Wis., for the vigil there.

Carol Berglund, 56, of Madison, had a sign attached to the back of her bicycle reading, "It's time for peace. Stop the war."

"I don't think we ever should have gone there. I think it's immoral to be the starters of a war, to be the aggressors," Berglund said.