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Anti-war protesters gather at Copley Square

E-mail|Link|Comments () October 17, 2009 03:28 PM

David L. Ryan/Globe Staff

The dove of peace made an appearance as demonstrators protested war in Afghanistan, Pakistan & Iraq.

By Jeannie Nuss, Globe Correspondent

Pink-wigged protesters and hundreds of others wielding posters calling for peace converged on Copley Square in an anti-war rally this afternoon.

The protesters in Boston -- sporting colorful and sometimes gruesome costumes -- were part of a nationwide protest against the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Sixty-eight-year-old Christina Abbey, drenched in hues of bubblegum, fuschia and rose from a curly wig to her sneakers, said the wars abroad have proven that conflict is not the solution.

Abbey said American support should go into "the lives of people in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq, rather than going in with soldiers who are trained to kill."

President Obama is mulling a new strategy in Afghanistan, pondering proposals to send thousands more troops or shift the focus to missile strikes and special operations raids. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of American troops remain in Iraq, and, after urging from the US, Pakistan today launched a much-awaited ground offensive in the al-Qaida and Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan.

Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.