US veterans to return medals as NATO protesters march

By Miranda Leitsinger, msnbc.com

CHICAGO, Ill. -- As world leaders made opening remarks at the two-day NATO summit here, thousands started marching to protest the war in Afghanistan and the shaky state of the economy. They were led by rows of veterans who marched in formation, chanting, "N-A-T-O, NATO has got to go." They planned to turn in their war medals.

Among the protesters, Arianna Norris-Landry, of St. Louis, Mo., dressed as an American suffragette from the turn of the century. She said she and 60 other women were protesting the war and a sense that women's rights are being targeted by conservatives.

Calling themselves "Grannies at the G8" and "Nanas at NATO," some of the women were dressed as World War II icon, "Rosie the Riveter," hippies and the 1950s housewife.

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"We need to be feeding our children, not the war machines," said Kellie Stewart, a 47-year-old from Saint Croix Falls, Wisc. "We need to keep the money, we don't have housing, we don't have jobs. It's just not right what's going on here at home."

During the two-day summit, leaders of NATO's 28-member nations were to discuss the strategy for ensuring a peaceful Afghanistan after the United States removes its combat troops by 2014.

NBC's Kristen Welker reports from Chicago, Illinois, where authorities are getting ready for an expected wave of protests while an ongoing NATO summit is in town this week.

Organizers hoped 10,000 people would attend the protests during the 2.5-mile march that ends near McCormick Place, the convention center where NATO is meeting. Some protesters have prepared provisions for the march, such as food and water, while others have gas masks and bandanas to ward off the effects of pepper spray and tear gas. Some have ear plugs to shield against the crowd-control noise devices authorities reportedly have.

Although unclear how many protesters are on site, Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy told reporters that there were fewer than expected so far, according to The Associated Press. Msnbc.com estimated several thousand were there around 3 p.m.

As protesters prepared to march, two activists appeared in court, The Associated Press reported. Cook County prosecutors charged Mark Neiweem, 28, with attempted possession of explosives or incendiary devices and Sebastian Senakiewicz with falsely making a terrorist threat.

Three others made court appearances on Saturday, according to the AP, accused of assembling Molotov cocktails ? fire bombs made by filling glass bottles with gasoline ? to attack, among other places, President Barack Obama?s campaign headquarters.

Fourteen people have been arrested in the lead-up to the summit, Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said Saturday. Chicago has assigned 3,100 officers to the NATO summit to protect the city against the sort of violence that broke out in the streets of Seattle at the World Trade Organization meeting in 1999. They will be assisted by hundreds of officers from other cities such as Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C., NBCChicago.com reported.

So far this week, protesters have rallied against?home foreclosures and the shuttering of city schools and mental health clinics. And in the biggest protest to date, they called for a transaction tax on Wall Street to help fund public services.?

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US veterans to return war medals

Officers on bike, horseback and foot have trailed protesters as they?ve wound through the streets on marches. In one exchange on Saturday between a police officer and a female protester toting a sign reading ?NATO=WW2,? the officer said: ?We support the First Amendment just as much as you do.?

The city has imposed limits on how close the protesters, which include dozens of unions and anti-war, environmental, education, healthcare and civil liberties? groups, can get to McCormick Place -- within ?sight and sound? of it, according to the Chicago Tribune -- raising the ire of the demonstrators. The American Civil Liberties Union has released guidelines for protesters to consider under a new federal law that it said has ?expanded the ability of the Secret Service to suppress protests? near people under its protection.?

Three men were charged with conspiring to commit acts of terrorism at high-profile locations in Illinois ahead of the NATO summit. NBC's Kristen Welker reports.

A number of the protesters said the highlight for them will be when 30-50 veterans from the post-9/11 era conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq return their service medals on Sunday in a rare form of protest that was last done on a large scale in 1971 by anti-war Vietnam vets.?

In the process of searching for a way to heal after their time in conflict zones, ?we came to these symbols of the occupations, which are these medals that we carry around and we still have,? said Aaron Hughes, a 30-year-old organizer for Iraq Veterans Against the War who served six years in the Army, including 15 months in Iraq and Kuwait. He will return two medals. ?They?re these ? reminders of what we?ve done, that it?s time to let go of.?

?I think it?s something that many of us are conflicted about, but we also feel like this is the right action to take,? he said. ?It is a sacrifice, but it?s one that we feel is worth it.?

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