Who Cares What Celebs Say About Iraq?

Feb. 20 -- Even before last weekend's massive peace protests, activists harnessed a potent weapon to combat the drums of war: star power.

From Martin Sheen and Kurt Vonnegut signing public anti-war petitions, to Danny Glover rallying crowds of protesters, to Madonna filming an anti-war video for her new single, celebrities have been leading the opposition to war in Iraq.

Sheen and a host of other Hollywood fixtures on Wednesday unveiled a new ad campaign aimed at leveraging their star status against military action in the Persian Gulf. The group behind the ads counts 190 actors as supporters.

"Celebrities are trying to set the agenda in a way they didn't earlier," says Darrell West, director of the Center for Public Policy & American Institutions at Brown University and co-author of Celebrity Politics.

"We're seeing a lot more effort to mobilize celebrities because people realize their power."

Fame and Foreign Policy Mix

While anti-war activists emphasize the academics and experts among their ranks, and point to the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators last weekend, they acknowledge the importance of celebrities in getting their message out.

"They know they can help draw media attention to the massive public opposition to war in Iraq," says Lynn Erskine, a spokeswoman for Win Without War.

So the anti-war movement has seen Sean Penn visiting Baghdad, Martin Scorsese talking to British radio, and Dustin Hoffman speaking out during an awards show in London.

"I may be wrong," Hoffman said. "I am no expert. This war is about what most wars are about: hegemony, money, power and oil."

A Natural Choice for a Star-Struck Country

It's difficult to measure the impact of celebrity efforts on the Iraq issue, but social scientists say they do have an effect.

"My gut reaction would be that celebrities do have an impact," says Kenneth Warren, a political science professor at St. Louis University. "The more celebrities that speak out, the more the American people will question where the war is worth it."