SYRACUSE - Opponents of the war in Iraq will join together from across New York beginning this week for a 10-day march to the U.S. Army's Fort Drum in northern New York.

The event, called New York State Marches for Peace, will include peace activists, soldiers and veterans from a coalition of groups, said Alexis Alexander, one of the organizers.

The peace walk will begin Thursday from Utica, Rochester and Ithaca with the marchers converging in Pulaski before heading to Fort Drum, where the protesters will rally on May 17 - Armed Forces Day - in a daylong event.

The march will unfold over several routes, passing through many towns and cities including Syracuse, and picking up people along the way. People can join the march for one hour, one day, one week or ten days, Alexander said.

“The time has come that the American public knows what is really happening to our soldiers and to the people of Iraq in their name. We can no longer rely on the politicians and generals to accurately report,” said Mike Totten, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. Totten served as a military policeman in Iraq from April 2003 through April 2004.

“The longer this war continues, the more harm is done to our men and women in service, their families, our communities, the people of Iraq, and the world. It must stop. New York wants it to stop,” said Lena Posner, another organizer.

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New York Marches for Peace: http://nysmarchesforpeace.org

AP-ES-05-07-08 1241EDT