Photos: Minnesotans Oppose Afghan War on 8th Anniversary

President Obama's award of the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday added him to a list of laureates that in addition to legendary human rights activists includes such other warmakers as Al Gore and Henry Kissinger.  However, his escalation of the war in Afghanistan--he's currently debating whether to send an additional 40,000 troops to supplement that occupation--has not made him popular in the Twin Cities on this, the 8th anniversary of that war's beginning.

On Wednesday - as some do every Wednesday at evening rush hour - people gathered at the Lake Street/Marshall Avenue bridge to bear witness to the war, which in Afghanistan has killed unknown thousands of civilians and 869 U.S. soldiers. "For 8 years, the people of Afghanistan have suffered attacks on their families and the destruction of their homes and villages. We say this is 8 years too many!" declared a statement by the vigil organizers.

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Cities around the nation saw anti-war actions on Wednesday; in Rochester, NY, riot police attacked a Funk the War demonstration, beating and arresting many.  Said one member of Iraq Veterans Against the War at last month's Pittsburgh G20 protests, "The riot police at home have more body armor than we do in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Obama, who says "withdrawal isn't an option," is deciding whether to send an additional 40,000 troops to Afghanistan.  That number would almost double the size of the U.S.-led occupation.  But although support for Obama in the Twin Cities was high during the election, on the 8th anniversary of the Afghan War, support for his possible escalation appears low.

"[Obama] has created a new international climate," said the Oslo gatekeepers of the Nobel Prize, and, one way or another, the statement is both figuratively and quite literally true.

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