Members of a delegation of relatives of U.S. servicemen serving in Iraq said they were optimistic but nervous Saturday, just hours before they were to leave for the Middle East on a peace mission.
They will arrive in Jordan and drive into Iraq.
Fernando Suarez del Solar, 48, who is leading the delegation, said it is important for Iraqis to realize that not all Americans support the U.S. military's presence in Iraq.
Suarez del Solar's son, 20-year-old Marine Lance Cpl. Jesus Suarez del Solar, was killed in Iraq eight months ago when he stepped on an unexploded American cluster bomb south of Baghdad.
"The regular Americans like peace," said Suarez del Solar, speaking hours before his expected departure. "The enemy is not the people from America.
"The young boys in Iraq only see the American flag on the uniforms. They see that as the destroyer of their life and family. It's very important to try to reach them."
The group includes two wives of soldiers based at Fort Bragg, N.C. and four veterans of the Vietnam and Gulf wars, two of whom have children deployed in Iraq.
Twenty-five members of Congress wrote letters supporting the mission and the group collected donations to pay for the trip.
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/11/29/state1256EST0036.DTL>
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Relatives of U.S. Soldiers in Iraq Decry Bush's "Photo Opportunity": <http://www.accuracy.org/press_releases/PR112803.htm>