Group gathers to protest war

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By DIANE STRAND DEKALB - The Interfaith Network for Peace and Justice, which has been meeting Fridays at the corner of Lincoln Highway and First Street since before the war started in Iraq, were bolstered by information from the pacifist American Friends Service Committee recently. The organization sent two representatives to talk about what could have been done with money spent on the war in Iraq. The network gathered about 25 of its own members at the corner, with a U.S. flag and Annie Glidden watching from her mural. Asked whether they were encouraged by presumptive presidential candidate Barack Obama's visit to the war front and meeting with members of the Iraqi government, some said they were cheered by it. Linda Slabon, pastor of the Unitarian Universalist Church in DeKalb, says she is more hopeful now than she has been because of a potential new administration. “I’ve not been as faithful as some of the folks (Interfaith members), but I come out for some special services," Slabon said. "These are the people committed to finding a peaceful answer and addressing global concerns.” Others, like Gingie Noe, expressed concern over Obama’s talk of a troop buildup in Afghanastan. Slabon said, The American Friends Service Committee representatives outlined some of the alternative uses that money spent on the war might have accomplished. By dividing the total estimated cost of the war by the population, Network members reported that DeKalb and Sycamore taxpayers have spent an estimated $84 million for the war to date. If not spent on the war, Network members say the money could have gone to: