"None of us want war - that's not the point of this thing," said Linda Migge of San Juan Capistrano, who spent her lunch break at a rally near South Coast Plaza to support President George W. Bush's policy on Iraq and the men and women who might fight to enforce it. "We're just here to support our troops."
The demonstration to show support for American troops drew about 75 people, many of them dressed in red, white and blue clothing, waving flags and placards at passing cars.
"There's real people out there, putting their lives on the line," said Kelly Martin of Newport Beach, explaining why she came to the demonstration organized by the Orange County Young Republicans.
"It's nice to show them we care about them," said Jennifer Prahser of Yorba Linda. "We don't like war either, but sometimes it's necessary to prevent further catastrophes."
Lee Lowrey, head of the Young Republican group, said they decided to start the rally at Bristol Street and Anton Boulevard - the same site used by war opponents on Friday nights - to show support for the military. They intend to continue there most Saturdays from noon until 2 p.m.
In Laguna Beach, an anti- war protest launched in March met as usual from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Though most weeks have seen as many as 30 people lined along Coast Highway at Main Beach, over the past month the numbers have swelled to more than 100 each week.
Eleanor Henry held a sign that noted the grief felt at the loss of the space shuttle Columbia, and predicted a war will multiply that grief many times over. "Seven died by accident," the sign read. "Fifty thousand will die by war. War is not an accident."
Henry is one of the founders of the rally.
"We just felt we had to start educating the public that this thing was just wrong," she said. "It isn't that I don't support the troops. My heart goes out to them.
"And probably Saddam is pulling the wool over our eyes," she said. "But if we know something, why don't we tell the inspectors?"
Her friend, Irene Bland, also backed more inspections.
"This war is going to be mean so much destruction," she said. "It will set the whole Middle East on fire. Who knows what will happen to Israel if we attack Saddam? And it will create more terrorism.
"I just feel from the bottom of my heart that we have to find a peaceful solution," Bland said.
