Desert Shield was over and Desert Storm had begun when "wave after wave of warplanes, in hundreds of sorties on a star-lit night, streaked north from Saudi Arabian bases to punish Iraq."

The next day, more than 100 students at Delaware Academy and dozens at Oneonta High School walked out of their classes to protest the bombing. Many said they thought President Bush the First should have allowed more time for negotiations and economic sanctions to achieve an Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait.

Other students watched the protesters without joining in, saying the demonstration was too late. "If they were going to do anything like this, they should have done it weeks ago," one student said.

That student was half-right: The protesters should not have waited until the bombs were being dropped, though the fact they did shouldn't have precluded a demonstrated opposition to the war once it did begin.

This time, hundreds of thousands across the nation are not waiting for the invasion to start. It would be too late to wait, not that there won't be massive anti-war demonstrations later, to show the government that many oppose its pre-emptive-strike strategy.

There wasn't much of a peace movement before the bombing raids began on Jan. 17, 1991. But it was a bit different then: Iraq actually did something wrong and refused to pull back. And despite the initial reactions of some local high school students and peace groups across the nation, anti-war demonstrations were stifled even after the bombs fell, because of Iraq's aggression against Kuwait.

The Oneonta Peace Network sponsored open forums each Saturday at the Main Street Plaza. I remember the cold and there being an open microphone for a few weeks. I remember dozens of people turning out, at least right after the bombing started; the numbers dwindled as the weeks passed.

A lot of people spoke at the mic. I remember thinking how much things had changed since the Vietnam War days. In 1991, most of the people speaking against the war were older, like me. Most of the people standing firm behind the president's bombing and willing to say so at the forum were college students, saying we should get Saddam.

Most regular folks interviewed for newspaper stories supported the bombing — once it started, though others thought we shouldn't have been militarily involved in the dispute.

An Otego businessman said, "now that we're in it, I hope we get in and get out of it quickly. I think the president did the right thing starting with air strikes rather than ground troops."

A typical sentiment came from a Davenport beauty consultant: "I didn't want it to come to this, but now that they're there I back my country and those fighting for it."

The yellow ribbon became the symbol of support for the war effort and the troops. It seemed like everybody from school children and Girl Scouts to factory workers and senior citizens were tying yellow ribbons around trees and poles and placing them in windows and on signs.

Will it be the same this time, with President Bush II's assault on Iraq? Not likely. The nation is too divided on the need for an invasion. Even after the State of the Union speech and Secretary of State Colin Powell's attempt to justify war at the U.N., many people still don't understand why the government has such an itchy trigger finger.

But it seems, with or without the support of the U.N. and its people, the government is intent on war.

Rather than wait for the yellow ribbons to come out after the invasion begins, perhaps anti-war supporters should get out the green ribbons of peace now to show their support for a non-violent solution. Wear them, tie them and display them. Demonstrate your stand against the "strike first" mentality of the warhawks in government.

Once the war starts, it will be too late. The president, Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld (and now Secretary of State Powell has joined the junta) have to be stopped before the invasion begins.

Don't leave yourself open to the charge that if you were against the war, you should have been showing it weeks ago — when there was still a chance to prevent it.

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Cary Brunswick is managing editor of The Daily Star. He can be reached at (607) 441-7217 or cary@thedailystar.com.