The media seems to be covering the pro and anti war protests in Crawfor (Cindy Sheehan and all that) as some sort of showdown between the pro and anti war families of soldiers (this article from the Washington Times of pro-War parents protesting the political use of their kids' names by anti-War protestors was an unusual twist on the story that I had not seen elsewhere).

Has anyone actually tried to enumerate how many of those on site, either pro or anti War, actually have anything to do with active duty military or Iraq War casualties? My impression is that the overwhelming number of those down there are primarily professional activists rather than grieving family members suggested by the media. Nonetheless, the story I see coming from most of the media focuses on family members, thereby suggesting that most of the protestors are related to service members. I don't know that it changes the story that much, but to my mind, it would change my impression of the degree to which the various protestor sides actually speak for service members in any meaningful way as opposed to just grinding political axes.