Opponents of the war in Iraq have rallied by the thousands to demand the return of US troops, staging a day of protest, song and remembrance of the dead in marches through Washington and other cities in the US and Europe.
| Did they sing about the 3000 dead Americans in the 9-11 attacks? Did they sing about 211 dead in Bali? Did they have a moment of silence for the 300,000 Iraqis Sammy bumped off? How about the thousands of Iraqis who've since been killed by the boomers and the hard boyz? Or don't they count? |
 More than 2000 people gathered on the Ellipse, the south end of the White House grounds, hours before the showcase demonstration past the White House, the first wave of what organisers said would be the largest Washington rally since the war began. President George Bush was out of town, with more important things on his mind monitoring hurricane recovery efforts from Colorado and Texas. "We have to get involved," said Erika McCroskey, 27, who came from Des Moines, Iowa, with her younger sister and mother for her first demonstration, travelling in one of the buses that poured into the capital from far-flung places. "Bush lied, thousands died," said one sign. "End the occupation," said another.
| ... but they had puppets ... |
 While united against the war, political beliefs varied in the Washington crowd. Paul Rutherford, 60, said he is a Republican who supported Bush in the last election and still does - except for the war. "President Bush needs to admit he made a mistake in the war and bring the troops home, and let's move on," he said.
| Somehow I doubt Paul's a Publican. They trot these guys out at every rally... |
Arthur Pollock, 47, said he was against the war from the beginning. He wants the soldiers out, but not all at once.
| How about when all the terrs are dead? Sound good? |
"We believe we are at a tipping point whereby the anti-war sentiment has now become the majority sentiment," said Brian Becker, national coordinator for Answer, one of the main anti-war organisers.
| Gerber makes baby food, Ford makes cars, International ANSWER makes antiwar protests... |
Cindy Sheehan, the California mother who drew thousands of demonstrators to her 26-day vigil outside Bush's Texas ranch last month, joined the protest. Her 24-year-old son, Casey, was killed in an ambush in Sadr City, Iraq, last year.
| And she's been riding his death for her own notoriety ever since... |
Rallies were planned in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Florence, Rome, Paris and Madrid. In London, thousands of protesters marched to demand that Britain pull its troops out of Iraq and to send a strong message to Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour Party as members headed to their annual conference. Clashes between fighters and British troops in the southern Iraq town of Basra this week highlighted the urgent need to withdraw, said the Stop The War Coalition, which organised the march. "Enough is enough. It is now time, once again, for the British people to step forward into the streets and insist that, this time, we will not be ignored," coalition official Lindsey German said. |