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Capitol Lens: Anti-War Movement

This photo has special significance following President Barack Obama’s announcement last week that all U.S. troops will withdraw from Iraq by the end of the year. The image was shot 72 years ago this month and shows an anti-war effort of a different age. In his role as secretary of the Senate, Col. Edwin Halsey (left) had received more than 66,780 letters from Americans pleading against entering the fight against Nazi Germany. On Oct. 31, 1939, he handed the stack — and the predicament — over to Vice President John Garner. The United States wasn’t drawn into the war until two years later, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

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