On the sidewalk across Central Expressway from the George W. Bush Presidential Center dedication, some 200 protesters rallied.
Former Army Colonel Ann Wright, standing on a flatbed trailer and holding a bullhorn, summed up the mission of the protest.
“To challenge what the Bush Administration stands for and to hold accountable the Obama Administration, too. Thank you," Wright said to applause from the crowd.
Signs called for George W. Bush to be held accountable for what the protesters say was an unjust, illegal war in Iraq that’s still causing misery.
Army Specialist Ryan Holleran drove up from Fort Hood to join the protest. He served in Iraq in 2011.
“It was an incredibly confusing experience being told we were there for the liberation of the people, seeing that we were there at the tail end of the occupation. And noticing that there was still no solid infrastructure, that people were still suffering, didn’t have clean water, didn’t have medical supplies, didn’t have an education system.”
A slow walk down the sidewalk from SMU Boulevard to Mockingbird followed the rally. More than two dozen protesters wore black clothing, white masks and the names of Americans and Iraqis killed in the war. Among leaders of the march was former television talk show host Phil Donahue.
“I’m hugely disappointed that this nation and congress supported an unfunded, unconstitutional, unnecessary war that killed almost 5,000 of our finest, young soldiers,” Donahue said.
As people left the dedication, protesters greeted them but got little response. The protest was peaceful. Three people were arrested: two men in bobble head costumes of George Bush and Dick Chaney and a veteran. They face misdemeanor charges for being in the street.
