"Is 3,000 enough?" the placard read, providing a chilling critique of President Bush's plans to escalate troop levels in Iraq, where nearly 3,020 U.S. soldiers have died in combat.

Carrier explained matter-of-factly that he doesn't like the conflict.

"I think it's really bad," he said. "President Bush just wants to get more war."

Anti-war protestors gathered Thursday outside the Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building in downtown Salt Lake City to condemn Bush's commitment of more than 20,000 additional troops to Iraq.

Despite an afternoon storm, the rally attracted about 40 people who waved signs and chanted, "How do we support our troops? Bring them home."

Their message was echoed at nearly 600 other protests across the nation, where volunteers rallied on street corners less than 24 hours after Bush's speech, according to protest organizer AmericaSaysNo.org.

Salt Lake City resident Kim Spangrude spent a year worrying about her son's safety as he fought as a mortar launcher near the Iraqi town of Samara. He made it home. Others have not.

She denounced the war as morally and ethically wrong, and said escalation only will lead to more deaths.

"It is the same path with a different set of ruts in the ground," she said.

Spangrude's dissatisfaction with the war is not uncommon in Utah, where a recent Tribune poll found that 45 percent of residents disapprove with the president's handling of the war, compared to 41 percent in favor.

If nothing else, the Salt Lake City woman hopes to add support to Bush's critics in this, one of the nation's reddest states.

"It's OK to say that we are not for this war," she said. "We want the troops home."

jstettler@sltrib.com