Activists worried about Iraq attack plan Las Vegas protest

Jeffrey Libby

Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2002 | 9:36 a.m.

A small group of activists plans to gather Wednesday outside the Las Vegas offices of Sens. Harry Reid and John Ensign to ask for full, public congressional debate of the Bush administration's public talk of a potential war with Iraq.

Similar activist gatherings are planned at senators' offices around the country. MoveOn.org, a Washington-based organization that has pushed for campaign finance reform, gun control legislation and preservation of estate taxes, is coordinating the effort.

As war rhetoric in Washington has heated up in recent days, the activists' concerns have increased, they said. On Monday Vice President Dick Cheney warned that any delay in attacking Iraq could lead to serious consequences for the United States. Cheney called the arguments of his opponents on the issue "deeply flawed."

But some local activists say an open debate should precede any decision on military action.

"This can't be another Vietnam where decisions are being made behind closed doors and then we have troops committed," said Sondra Cosgrove, a UNLV graduate history student who plans to attend the Wednesday gathering. "We want open debate. We're going to be adamant that Congress not roll over on us on this one."

Cosgrove says these days when she reads in the newspaper about U.S. troop and equipment movements in Europe, she is also reminded of the beginnings of the U.S.-Mexican War of 1846-1848. Former President James Polk massed U.S. troops at the Texas border, provoking a response from the Mexican military. That, in turn, forced the hand of the U.S. Congress, Cosgrove said.

Linda Schrick, a Boulder City resident serving as the Southern Nevada coordinator for MoveOn.org, said propaganda leaked by the Bush administration on a near-daily basis also seems to be an attempt to create an appetite for war. The recent news report of al-Qaida training camps gassing dogs was one example, she said.

"What is going to get the American heart behind the war more than gassing dogs?" Schrick said. "But if you say something about it, most people look at you like you're a nut. And in Washington, the first thing the administration will do is go after their (politician's) character."

But by questioning a potential war, Schrick said, she is being just as patriotic as "any flag-waver."

During Wednesday's gathering, Reid will be in South Africa and Ensign will be "out of the country," office staffers said.