AUBURN – Peace activists plan to march in front of the county courthouse Thursday, part of a nationwide effort to end the war in Iraq before it enters its fifth year.

“Next March 19, 2007, marks the fourth anniversary of the start of hostilities,” said Renee Cote, a Quaker from Lewiston. “We want a comprehensive plan to get out by then.”

It’s an imperfect fix, said Cote, who has protested the war with other local Quakers since U.S. leaders first threatened an invasion of Iraq. She has marched again and again since then.

And she’s watched attitudes toward the protesters change.

“At first, we were met with amazing hostility,” Cote said. There were obscene shouts and gestures.

People made comments suggesting the war was a response to 9/11. Those have all but stopped.

“People have changed,” she said.

Earlier this year, when protests were linked to the 2,000th U.S. soldier killed in Iraq, her group drew a cordial response, she said.

Thursday’s vigil is not the only one planned for Maine; another scheduled for Bangor has been organized by the Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine.

People from other groups are expected to attend both. According to the national effort, titled “We Declare Peace,” groups including Veterans for Peace, Progressive Democrats of America and U.S. Labor Against the War have endorsed the effort.