LONDON (Reuters) - At least 14,000 anti-war protesters marched through London on Saturday, three years after the invasion of Iraq, calling for U.S. and British troops to pull out. Some marchers held placards bearing a photograph of U.S. President George W. Bush and the words "World's Number 1 Terrorist." Others carried banners saying "Peace not Profit" and "End the occupation, don't attack Iran."
A handful of protesters donned orange boiler suits and wore shackles on their wrists to mimic outfits worn in the U.S. Guantanamo Bay prison, and carried photographs of prisoners. "We want to achieve two things: to hurry the British government into leaving Iraq and to make it aware of public opinion that it can't join the American government if it attacks Iran," said John Rees, co-founder of Stop the War Coalition. Organisers said the march was one of several planned worldwide to protest against the Iraq war, from Australia to Japan to the United States. The turnout of 14,000 was a police estimate.
The demonstration was a far cry from the massive protests in February 2003 ahead of the invasion of Iraq when millions took to the streets around the globe to protest. Huge opposition to the war in Britain was partly responsible for Prime Minister Tony Blair's majority being slashed in the May 2005 general election.
Britain has 8,000 troops in Iraq and is sending another 3,500 to Afghanistan where its presence will peak at 5,700. Britain, like the United States, has said it hopes to withdraw from Iraq when local security forces improve their capabilities. Chanting "Tony, Tony, Tony, out, out, out," and "George Bush we know you, your father was a killer too," marchers from across Britain wended their way from the Houses of Parliament, past Queen Elizabeth's London residence and on to Trafalgar Square.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060318/ts_nm/iraq_britain_protests_dc