By Maria Hickey, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – Several groups opposed to the War in Iraq began a 24-hour vigil Sunday in downtown St. Louis to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the U.S. invasion. And at noon today (Monday) they're planning to march to Senator Claire McCaskill's office.
The anti-war activists say Democrats who oppose the war should not vote for more funding. "Senator McCaskill and a lot of other Democrats were elected by people who wanted to see a change in Iraq, and we're not seeing much of a change," said Chuck Smith, president of the local chapter of Veterans for Peace.
Smith and other activists say there's enough money to begin withdrawing troops now. Sen. McCaskill's spokeswoman says the senator did support a Senate resolution last week to begin withdrawing troops in 120 days if certain benchmarks were not met. "She, however, does not believe that we should cut off funds to current troops on the ground and put them in further harm's way," said spokeswoman Adrienne Marsh.