Iraq: 5 years later

Joanna Linden stood on Harbor Boulevard five years ago with other Costa Mesa residents and called for peace before the beginning of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq five years ago.

“It didn’t do any good,” she said.

Linden stood outside again Wednesday evening at Fairview Community Church with a handful of others to mark the fifth anniversary of the war, waving signs and singing “We Shall Overcome.”

A group of small children sit on the curb and hold poster board signs larger than they are with messages written in magic marker like “May peace prevail” and “Praying, singing and acting for peace.”

The war began before many of them were born.

Costa Mesa resident Kathy Mader brought her 3-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter to the vigil, to teach them about peace, she said.

“It’s heartbreaking — devastating that it’s been five years,” Mader said.

Fairview Community Church members have been lighting candles and gathering on the street corner outside of the church each Wednesday during Lent to pray for peace.

Wednesday’s vigil was the culmination of the weekly street corner gatherings.

The vigils give people a way to think about peace and feel they can make a difference in a small way, said Rev. Sarah Halverson, of Fairview Community Church.

“It’s been really powerful,” Halverson said. “It’s a testament to peace.”

A jogger wearing an iPod across the street turns his head to look. A man waves at the protesters from the back of the No. 47 bus to Balboa Boulevard and 23rd Street.

People driving home from work periodically honk their horns in support, and the protesters cheer. Others stopped at the traffic light try to avoid eye contact or never glance up as they talk on their cellphones while changing lanes.

The Rev. Dennis Short of Harbor Christian Church in Newport Beach was one of several clergy members who attended.

“I think during Holy Week it’s especially important to light up these kinds of issues,” Short said.

The Rev. Holly Reinhart-Marean of Christ Church by the Sea in Newport Beach said she was drawn to the vigil as a way to assert her beliefs.

“Killing people doesn’t solve anything — I really don’t think Jesus would be bombing or shooting anybody,” she said, waving a banner at passing motorists.

The sun sets, and traffic begins to dwindle. The children have dropped their signs to run across the grass and play with the plastic letters from the lit-up church marquee.

Vigil attendees slowly drift away, handing off their signs and candles to others as they head back to their cars.

The protesters might not be able to stop the war, but marking the anniversary in a small way helps make Mader feel better.

“Whenever anybody honks, it means we have touched one person, and anyway, it can’t hurt,” Mader said.

Every little bit counts, Halverson said.

“Even when there’s only three of us out there, it’s still powerful,” she said.

For photos of the vigil, click here.

Lawmakers talk on Iraq

On the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq, local Republican lawmakers are acknowledging that “some mistakes have been made.”

“I think it was a noble purpose and a noble goal, and our commitment in Iraq. We did overthrow a vicious dictator who had murdered hundreds of thousands of his own people.

Whether or not the cost we have had to pay was worth that result, I think there’s an honest question about that,” said U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher.

Rohrabacher voted for the use of military force in Iraq in 2002.

“There were mistakes made by the administration which elongated this conflict,” Rohrabacher said. “Whether or not we should have been there and how we get out does not rest on the fact that some mistakes have been made.”

U.S. Rep. John Campbell, elected in 2004, said the U.S. needs to stay focused on shaping Iraq into a stable democratic nation.

“In government and in politics, there are lots of things that, in hindsight, we shouldn’t have done, but we are where we are,” Campbell said. “We may debate for the next 50 years whether we should have gone in, but we’re here now, and the question is what is the right thing going forward.

“Clearly, the right thing is to help Iraq become a beachhead of democracy and tolerance in that region, which is sorely needed if the region is ever to become stable.”

IRAQ WAR TIMELINE

March 19, 2003

President George W. Bush launches invasion of Iraq.

May 1, 2003

Bush delivers “Mission Accomplished” speech from the U.S. aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln: “My fellow Americans: Major combat operations in Iraq have ended.”

July 22, 2003

Saddam Hussein’s sons, Uday and Qusay, die in gunfight at hide-out home in Mosul.

April 28, 2004

Torture at Abu Ghraib prison is revealed with images, including one showing a “human pyramid” of naked inmates.

May 11, 2004

Iraqi militants decapitate American contractor Nicholas Berg in a widely viewed Internet video.

June 28, 2004

Bush writes “Let Freedom Reign!” on “Condi”-signed note confirming Iraqi sovereignty during NATO summit in Istanbul, Turkey.

Jan. 12, 2005

U.S. inspectors end search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Jan. 30, 2005

In a historic election, Iraqis vote with purple-inked fingers to form a Transitional National Assembly.

June 8, 2006

Al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi dies in a U.S. airstrike 30 miles northeast of Baghdad. Images of his bloated body circulated the news media.

Dec. 30, 2006

Saddam Hussein is hanged for crimes against humanity.

April 5, 2007

Defense Department prepares additional 12,000 National Guard troops for surge in Iraq and Afghanistan.

March 17, 2008

Vice President Dick Cheney makes surprise visit to Baghdad and states U.S. forces would “not quit before the job is done.”

Today

Defense Department confirms 3,992 U.S. troops killed in combat and 32,817 wounded, according to Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, icasualties.org/oif. America’s deadliest month was November 2004, with 137 killed.

VOICES ON THE IRAQ WAR

“I’m surprised that it’s five years. It seems shorter to me. I’m sad to see the losses we’ve had over the five years, but I strongly believe that we’re doing the right thing by being there, and the world will be a better place because of it.”

John Moore

Newport Beach lifeguard

“The president has lied to us. It’s for control of the Middle East, power and money.”

Ariel Anderson

Estancia High student

“We’re not moving forward at all. There is killing and death for nothing, for a lost cause. I don’t believe it is right.”

Christina Centner

Estancia High student

“I think the conduct of the war was bad, poor, wasteful. I think that our economy is suffering because we spend billions and billions, and it’s still going ... Why did we have to go in there? Why don’t we go into Sudan? Because Sudan doesn’t have any oil, right?”

Anatol Chari

a Holocaust survivor who often speaks at Newport-Mesa schools

“I always reflect back on the Iraq war. I was waiting with anticipation at my station in Washington state. Reports from other soldiers there were that the Iraqi people were moving forward and progressing in the government and military. Now we see increasing accomplishments, and I look forward to an independent Iraq in the near future.”

Sgt. Victor Bakkila

Costa Mesa, a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom

“I think the war was a mistake. That’s pretty simple.”

Carolyn Carr

editor of the Island Breeze newsletter on Balboa Island

“In March of 2003 I was demonstrating in support of our troops and president…the invasion was particularly moving for me, because it was my old regiment [from my service in Vietnam] that was spearheading the invasion, with embedded reporters from Fox News and CNN. That’s what I think about today.”

Ronnie Guyer

Vietnam veteran

“I’m a Korean Vet, and when I got called back to active duty, I went…These [protesters] don’t know what it’s all about. There’s no respect in this country anymore.”

Wayne Mitchell

Korean War veteran

“I’m not really for war, so I wouldn’t be opposed to getting out today.”

Danielle Voller

Newport Beach resident

“I have to research it. I don’t know much about it.”

Matt Thome

Estancia High student

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com. BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.