More than 400 Maine citizens are going to Washington, D.C., Saturday for an anti-war demonstration. If reports are accurate, this might be the largest protest rally in American history. For those of us who are opposed to the war on Iraq the big question for this weekend is, “Will it make a difference?”

According to Alexander Cockburn, who writes for The Nation, his enthusiastic response is, Yes! In his article, “No to War! Is Anyone Listening?” (Jan. 9): “… protests count, just as they did in the very earliest days of organizing against the war in Vietnam.” We stopped that war. We most solemnly hope that this weekend’s protests will stop this war on Iraq too.

Cockburn’s article was certainly meant as a message of encouragement on the eve of the march to prevent this war. He quotes Lawrence Reichard, an organizer from the 1960s:

“Reichard ended thus, ‘The anti-war movement has much to be proud of. To the absolute fury of the right wing, the anti-war movement of yesterday and today still, to this day, shackles this country’s ability to wage unfettered war. Right off the bat, they have to forget about any war that might last more than six months or cost more than a few hundred U.S. lives. For this, you can thank the peace movement and the Vietnamese, who, at tremendous cost, beat us militarily. The entire world owes a tremendous debt to the Vietnamese.'”

I wonder, where has this led us? The Gulf War lasted less than six months. It cost few American lives. In the process we buried thousands of Iraqi soldiers alive in their bunkers. We used depleted uranium armaments that still cause cancer to Iraqi civilians. More than 20 percent of our Desert Storm troops have applied for disability benefits or died because of their exposure to conditions that kept our wartime casualties “low.”

What else will we do to prevent “any war that might last more than six months or cost more than a few hundred U.S. lives”? The administration has made that answer quite clear. They have carefully and faithfully followed the advice publicly detailed by the Project for the New American Century. Their report, “Rebuilding America’s Defenses,” and many other articles published on their Web site (newamericancentury.org) emphasizes the use of pre-emptive military and covert force. The most horrifying advice is the use of nuclear weapons.

It seems the nuclear genie has not been asleep. He has been transformed from a Cold War monster of total world devastation to a modernday “Peacekeeper.” In the old West, the sheriff would carry a Colt .45. Nicknamed the Peacekeeper, it left many an evil doer lying in the dust with a gaping hole in his malevolent belly. Today we have “usable nukes.” These are battlefield (definition: anywhere but here) weapons that can obliterate enemy forces on or under the ground. As yet, we have had no opportunity to test these Peacekeepers in a live situation. Whether Saddam uses WMDs on our troops or not, experts agree this could be a deadly battle for our sons and daughters in uniform. Justification enough for Bush to use tactical nukes. If Saddam, in desperation, does use WMDs we have already promised nuclear retaliation.

What will this mean? Victory? At what cost? More contaminated U.S. troops? More Iraqi soldiers dead en mass? More cancer deaths (we are all downwind)? More condemnation by world governments and scorn by our allies?

Useable nukes are not weapons to end all wars. Like every weapon ever used they will be developed by other nations. Our own weapons manufacturers will sell them and the proliferation will begin. How long will it be before such an outrage is revenged upon us?

We will make a difference in Washington this weekend. But will this be the march to end all wars? As we board the buses we must look beyond this war to the continuing consequences of our government’s policies. Playing the nuclear card is as wrong now as it was during the Cold War. It is time to put the Genie back in the bottle. It is time to turn away from using policies of violence, fear and intimidation. As Eisenhower said, “I think that people want peace so much that one of these days government had better get out of their way and let them have it.”

Our message is clear. It is time to get out of the way.

Tony Aman, of Penobscot, is an insurance salesman and was the statewide coordinator for the anti-war rally in Augusta last October.