Jane Fonda: `I carry too much baggage' for war protest

Monday, April 17th 2006, 11:22 am

By: News On 6

ATLANTA (AP) _ Jane Fonda says she would like to tour the country and speak out against U.S. involvement in Iraq, but her controversial history of Vietnam War protests leaves her with ``too much baggage.''

``I wanted to do a tour like I did during the Vietnam War, a tour of the country,'' the Oscar-winning actress said Monday on ABC's ``Good Morning America.'' ``But then Cindy Sheehan filled in the gap, and she is better at this than I am. I carry too much baggage.''

Sheehan, whose soldier son, Casey, died in Iraq in 2004, has become a leading anti-war figure.

Fonda said that during a recent national book tour, war opponents _ including some Vietnam veterans _ asked her to speak out.

Last month, the Georgia Senate overwhelmingly rejected a resolution honoring Fonda, an Atlanta resident, for her work preventing teen pregnancy, donations to universities and charities, and role as goodwill ambassador for the United Nations.

Her political activities protesting the Vietnam War, including a trip to North Vietnam in 1972, have long made her a target of veterans.

Fonda, who won Oscars for 1971's ``Klute'' and 1978's ``Coming Home,'' was interviewed shortly after returning from a vacation trip to Argentina with ex-husband Ted Turner. Fonda said she and Turner remain close.

``He's my favorite ex-husband,'' the 68-year-old actress said. ``We get along great. I love to fish, and he has some beautiful property down there.''