They stood on opposite sides of the Freedom Bridge and hurled insults at each other. Lakewood police officers and state troopers stood between them to maintain the peace.

Another weekend, another Iraq war demonstration in the South Sound.

About 200 people met Saturday at Harry Todd Park in Lakewood for an anti-war rally, which included speakers, live music and food. Organizers called for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, and they distributed pamphlets encouraging active service members to speak out against the war.

Another 200 assembled on the Freedom Bridge, the Interstate 5 overpass that links Fort Lewis with Camp Murray and Tillicum, for a pro-troops rally. They waved American flags as patriotic songs blared over portable loudspeakers.

When the anti-war protesters marched toward the bridge, the atmosphere turned tense but remained largely peaceful. Demonstrators on both sides chanted and occasionally hurled personal insults across the two-lane bridge. Each side stood on sidewalks behind yellow police tape. Officers stood in the roadway, and others on bicycles, motorcycles and in cruisers waited a block away.

It was a far tamer response than the Tacoma Police Department’s preparations for last weekend’s demonstrations outside military recruitment offices at Tacoma Mall, where dozens of officers (including some in SWAT gear) formed a human barricade between both sides.

“Today was an inspirational day because we held a rally on the fifth anniversary on the war and brought attention to the fact that our servicemen and women are being abused by this war, and also their families are being abused by this war,” said Tacoma peace activist Tom McCarthy.

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Others didn’t quite see it that way.

“I just find it ridiculous they’re protesting the war,” said Spc. Andrew Johnson, a member of the 14th Engineer Battalion, 555th Engineer Brigade. “We’re over there to protect them here.”

This demonstration had a soundtrack. One man brought a portable speaker and played “God Bless America” and songs by Toby Keith. Later, as the anti-war protesters marched back toward Harry Todd Park, they stopped to recite the names of the service members from Washington who died in Iraq and to sing “Amazing Grace.”

There were no arrests, but police separated demonstrators who nearly came to blows when the anti-war protesters began marching back toward the park and had to walk directly past the pro-troops side. Police then stepped between the two sides, prompting one anti-war protester to momentarily sit on the sidewalk, refusing to move because he believed the officers favored the other side.

The demonstration broke up shortly past 4 p.m., and both sides claimed success.

“We’ve done plenty of rallies in the past, but this is the first one at the gates of Fort Lewis,” said Chanan Suarezdiaz, the president of the Seattle chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War. “And as long as the war goes on, there will be plenty more.”