Of those present, an overwhelming majority voiced strong opposition to the action the U.S. has taken, for reasons ranging from the potential effect it will have on children and the negative stereotypes of Arabs it is creating to President Bush's questionable motives in allowing troops in the Gulf in the first place. One man called the conflict "a war that protects rich Americans and their cohorts internationally."

Hoffman notes that the attitude the council has adopted about the war differs from the ongoing philosophy of the Peace Commission, and she says that the council's change of heart reflects a similar change in the opinions of Cambridge citizens. She says that while "the vast majority" opposed war before it became a reality, its outbreak "shattered a desire for peace as a goal we all had."

But Hoffman adds that she foresees another turnaround on the part of the council if the conflict intensifies or escalates. "Peace is really the only realistic option here," Hoffman says. "You'll see in three or four weeks the City Council passing a very different kind of resolution."

According to Barbara Ackermann, who served as a city councillor in the late 1960s and as mayor in 1972 and 1973, the city's action at this juncture has been unified and rapid compared with its response to the most recent major U.S. military involvement, the conflict in Vietnam.

"When the riots started here...the whole atmosphere spread through the city so it was really kind of the old against the young," Ackermann says. "The council has always reflected the citizenry." The council initially supported the action in Vietnam, and did not agree to condemn it until the fighting had dragged on through 1971.

"The fact that the council put up a kind of innocuous banner and it passed nine to zero shows that things have kind of settled in," Ackermann observes. But she adds that when the war heats up the council's unified front may shatter under pressure from the public because of the greater freedom for protest now allowed, and because of the wide spectrum of ideologies Cambridge citizens represent.

"I think it's a mistake to look for a consensus when a consensus doesn't exist," Ackermann says. "I foresee that there's going to be a lot more anger."

But Alfred E. Vellucci, who served as mayor in 1970 and 1971, says that the dilemma the current council faces is nothing compared to what the council dealt with during his tenure.

Twenty years ago, protesters "sat on top of the press table playing guitars and mandolins in the council chamber," Vellucci says. "Things are different now. This is a peaceful council."