Listen in Listen to excerpts of comments at an anti-war protest near the Mt. Lebanon office of U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy: Iraq War veteran Paul Abernathy Rory Casey, spokesman for Iraq Summer Passerby Courtney Watson of McCandless

Army veteran Paul Abernathy showed yesterday he is not one to back down from a fight, as he protested the war in Iraq in which he fought just a few years ago.

He was among about a dozen or so protesters who staged a demonstration across Washington Road from U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy's Mt. Lebanon office.

Several motorists waved, honked their horns or flashed peace signs to the protesters. Only one dissenter was seen during the hourlong protest.

"If y'all don't like it, you're free to leave," the driver of a pickup truck, his head poking from the window, yelled as he drove past.

Mr. Abernathy, a staff sergeant in Iraq in 2003 and 2004 before his discharge, took the comment as a challenge and yelled back even louder: "Hey! I served this country. Why don't you go and fight?"

If the truck driver heard the offer, he didn't let on as he motored away.

The next driver to go by shouted, "We support you!"

This brought cheers from the protesters, most of them in their 20s. They were volunteers roused by a representative of Iraq Summer, which describes itself as a grass-roots organization that has planned weekly actions this summer in at least 15 states.

Mr. Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, who has been a stalwart of the current U.S. strategy in Iraq, was away from his Mt. Lebanon office and somewhere else in the district at the time.

Mr. Abernathy, 28, a former Army reservist from the Cuddy area of South Fayette, is a regional coordinator for Iraq Veterans Against the War.

He said he became disillusioned with the war upon his arrival in Iraq.

"We're here to send a clear message to Congressman Murphy that we do not approve of his policies which are not in support of democracy or security for the American people," said Mr. Abernathy.

"We demand an immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces of Iraq."

Later in the day, a spokesman for the congressman responded to a reporter's questions about the protest.

"Sharing the same frustration that many others have with the direction of the war, Congressman Murphy, too, would like a responsible end to the war, one that guarantees our nation's security now and in the future," spokesman Mark Carpenter wrote in an e-mail .

"As he has always done, he listens to his constituents' perspectives and opinions. However, he will not be persuaded by the Washington-based political firm that staged today's event in Pittsburgh whose issues also include higher taxes and abortion."

Rory Casey, an organizer for Iraq Summer, said 100 counterparts in his group this summer will press lawmakers in 40 congressional districts to change the course of the war to end it.

"We're going to be here until this job's done, hopefully by September," said Mr. Casey, 26, of Springfield, Mass.

In September, Congress again will vote on whether to continue funding the war.

As the demonstration wound down yesterday, the protesters surged across the road and inside the congressman's regional office.

Mr. Abernathy said he has made repeated requests to meet with Mr. Murphy, but has gotten no response.

The congressman's staff accommodated the group, but prohibited its protest signs.

Several protesters signed the office guest book, and Mr. Abernathy made another request for an appointment before they all left.