Local residents burn Iraqi flag

With a flick of his lighter against an oil-soaked cloth, Ray Gilbreath of Glencoe sent the world a message.

He burned an Iraqi flag.

Gilbreath and 10-15 supporters, mostly friends and family, rallied outside the Etowah County Courthouse Friday afternoon, waving American flags and holding signs that indicated their support for a nation at war.

The demonstrators walked back and forth across Broad Street, drawing the comments of drivers.

"What are you doing with that É flag," one motorist demanded.

"We're gonna burn it," was the shouted answer by a member of the assembled.

"I'm out here today because this is a free country and that's the way I want it kept," Gilbreath said, occasionally interrupted by toots of support from a passing car's horn. "If I don't have the opportunity to do what I want to do, without having to go through a bunch of red tape, then we're not free."

Gilbreath tried to obtain a burn permit from the Gadsden Fire Department. He was denied out of safety concerns.

"We have not authorized a burn permit for any such event," Fire Chief Steve Carroll said Friday, before the burning. Carroll said a permit could not be authorized for burning on someone else's property.

Gilbreath said he burned the Iraq flag because "it's a communist flag. I'm anti-communist."

Gilbreath, whose son, Alex, is in the Navy based in San Diego, said the American public should support President Bush as he leads the United States against Iraqi forces and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

"If people don't stand behind the president and his way of thinking, we're going to wind up just like 'em," he said. "I have nothing against the people of Iraq, just the regime."

Those rallying also held signs speaking out against celebrities who have criticized Bush.

"Take an airplane out of the country, is all I'd tell them (the protesters)," said Gilbreath's friend, Vietnam veteran Danny Keeton of Gadsden. "If they ain't behind the president, they don't need to be around."