Anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan and a small group of supporters demonstrated against the US military outside of Ft. Benning's main gate midmorning Saturday.
Sheehan, speaking before reporters, termed the army post, “a cancer on our country,” and called for impeaching President George W. Bush.
Police stood between Sheehan's group and a similar-sized group of protesters, who rallied in support of American troops. There were no reports of disturbances, or violence between the two.
Sheehan's entourage was on a bus-tour headed towards Washington, DC, when they made the brief stopover. One protester from her group was seen arguing with a police officer over whether the group required a permit for the demonstration.
Sheehan's son, Casey, was killed in action in Iraq in 2004.
Meanwhile, another small group held a vigil in support of US troops near the government center in downtown Columbus.
World War II veteran Jim Rhodes, who led that protest, told the Ledger-Enquirer newspaper, "I just thought we ought to have a turnout here in Columbus on the other side of this thing, showing our support for these men and women who train and everything here in Columbus, Ga., at Fort Benning, and go to Iraq."
