Tens of thousands denounce Iraq war at Washington rally

[ProSense]

Tens of thousands denounce Iraq war at Washington rally

by Nadia Teskrat 1 hour, 48 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Tens of thousands of protesters marched in Washington against the Iraq war Saturday, taking their message on placards, "US out of Iraq now," to the Pentagon's doorstep ahead of the fourth anniversary of the US invasion.

Demonstrators from across the United States gathered in a cold winter day to descend on the US Defense Department offices and decry the conflict that has killed more than 3,200 US soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians.

As war opponents trickled into downtown Washington for the rally, organized by the peace group Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER), Vietnam war veterans wearing black leather jackets and their families gathered nearby for a counter-demonstration.

Some war supporters confronted the peace activists, tearing up and spitting on anti-war signs while chanting: "USA! USA!"

more...

AP photos of protests around the country and world:

D.C.:



Nebraska:



Barcelona:



Istanbul:



Budapest:

[TheConstantGardener]

1. Right on! God help the politicians who don't listen to them

Of ALL parties in ALL their respective countries.

People power!

[AndyA]

4. AMEN! The people spoke in November.

Here we are 4 months later, and there are MORE TROOPS in Iraq.

How long do our elected officials think they will remain in office if they ignore us?

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

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[countingbluecars]

14. Bla, bla, bla,

Very tired, old talking points.

[NMMNG]

2. Finally an accurate count

:applause:

[babylonsister]

5. I'll bet more people are protesting than even they're saying. nt

[DemGa]

3. Wonder if msm will cover it.

[KansDem]

10. I believe they reported that "hundreds" would be protesting

:eyes:

[cassiepriam]

11. Will just say a few hundred people showed up.

[countmyvote4real]

6. "the leftist group moveon.org" ?

They don't seem leftist to me.

[blitzburgh55]

7. Some war supporters confronted the peace activists

tearing up and spitting on anti-war signs while chanting: "USA! USA!"

I wonder how many freepers showed up?

[niyad]

8. no numbers on the pro-war idiots, eh? well, at least they weren't inflating numbers. NOR was the

msm asking why these war supporters aren't over there--hell, if they are vietnam vets, and thinking they are too old, they can always sign up with blackwater or one of the dozens of other merc companies (didn't I read somewhere a couple of weeks ago that there are more than 120,000 mercenaries there now? )

[CrazyOrangeCat]

9. TREMEMDOUS photos!

K&R

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

12. Thanks for this

Glad to know what happened, and no, I can't believe that anyone who took an oath to protect the Constitution would have torn up a peace protester's sign.

Awesome photos!

My report on one small demonstration--

I just returned from our protest in Jasper AR-a dozen folks, including a mom with a son over in Iraq as we speak. Everyone spoke, but the cops made us get away from the edge of the courthouse lawn--afraid people stopping to read our signs would cause an accident. Yeah, sure. Honks from people supporting us, and no thumbs down--very different from 2003.

[Maat]

15. I got the same in S.D. ... only they were madly waving the motorists on ..

kind of mad at them for stopping to look at us.

I should say, I just returned from San Diego, DUers. I hope to have my pictures up tomorrow (my friend has the camera).

We had over a thousand on short notice (everyone thought the only marches were in L.A. and Orange County; the notice went out late). My pal told me that there were about a dozen 'counter-protesters.' I didn't even see them. I got called a 'baby killer' on the way to the women's restroom, with my peace sign in hand (why the young man came to that conclusion I'll never know). I turned to him and said, " I've adopted. How many unwanted babies have YOU adopted?" He shut up.

Sorry, it just always annoys me when they think that they are SO 'pro-life." There were many things I could have said to the jerk. What I said shut him up, though, and he scurried away.

On edit:
Glad to know there was even a march in Jasper, Arkansas!

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

20. You had the perfect answer to that fellow!

I have asked how many children they have adopted, or if they can't afford to adopt, which orphanage they support via regular contributions. This always shuts them up, too.

[Maat]

21. Exactly - good point.

Rightwingers - they always accuse, but don't seem to be part of solving any problems!

[wisteria]

16. I love that last picture.

Also, great post!

[Evergreen Emerald]

17. The crowd is awesome!

And that peace sign is beautiful

[ProSense]

18. Kick! n/t

[Cha]

19. Beautiful our People

in Action! I was there in Spirit!

[NastyRiffraff]

22. Wow! That peace sign is a thing of beauty

Thanks for posting. I was there, but had to leave early, so missed the peace sign.