When President Barack Obama announced increased military action in the Middle East on Wednesday night, a group of San Diego veterans rallied to voice their opposition.
The 35-member area chapter of Veterans for Peace displayed banners Thursday afternoon that read "End the wars" and "Vets for peace" along the Sixth Avenue bridge over Interstate 5 in San Diego. Chapter secretary David Barrows, an Army veteran who served in Korea during the height of the Cold War, said he hoped the messages would get people thinking.
"Do we need more military action in the Middle East? Is that the answer? Is bombing the answer? And I think it’s not,” he said ahead of the afternoon event.
In his address to the nation, Obama authorized airstrikes inside Syria for the first time and an expansion of strikes in Iraq. The moves broadened U.S. involvement in attacking ISIS — the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, with the president vowing to "degrade and ultimately destroy" ISIS militants.
The president named the group 20 times in his brief speech, saying they were "unique in their brutality."
Barrows, who is now a sociology professor at Point Loma Nazarene University, said his opinions on military action changed around the time of the Vietnam War.
"Vietnam heated up in late '60s, so I guess as it heated up, I began thinking is this a worthwhile project, particularly as casualties increase," he said.
Barrows, whose father also served in the military, said it was the response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that led him to co-found the San Diego Veterans for Peace chapter.
Barrows said the goal of Thursday's display was to encourage rush hour motorists to consider an alternative, more peaceful approach to the situation in Iraq, Syria and other Middle Eastern nations. He said similar events on the bridge in the past have been well-received by passing drivers, who get a good view of the banners as commute traffic slows and stops at times.
"People get out, they hang out of their car and they wave to us, they honk to us," he said. "We get very few negative messages."
