Many of those interviewed by WSWS reporters expressed anger at both the Bush administration and the Democratic Party for its complicity in the war.

In New York City, the WSWS spoke to Fernando Braga, one of a number of veterans of the Iraq war who joined in the protests across the country. He left the Army last month, having been deployed for nearly a year in Iraq.

A working class youth from a Brazilian immigrant family in the Bronx, Fernando, said that he joined the Army to get money for college. “That’s the main draw,” he said. “It sounds good. They gave me an $8,000 singing bonus, which was more money than I’d ever made in my life. But I wouldn’t do it again. I was against the war since before I joined.”

“This war is over oil,” he said. “They are sending the troops to fight there for years to come. Every politician out there who is running for president, both Democrats and Republicans, is talking about sending our troops around the world and fighting even bigger wars. It’s not just about Bush; it’s about imperialism. Congress has supported this war, and I don’t expect it to stop it now.

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