Protesters Rally for End to War in Iraq
Sat Oct 25, 6:05 PM ET
story.news.yahoo.com
By JENNIFER C. KERR, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - To chants of "Impeach Bush," thousands of
anti-war protesters rallied in the nation's capital Saturday and delivered a
scathing critique of President Bush and his Iraq policy.
Demanding an end to the U.S.-led
occupation and the quick return of American
troops, the demonstrators gathered on a
sunny fall day at the Washington Monument
to listen to speeches and songs of peace.
One man's small cardboard sign gave his
summing-up of the day: "This administration
does not represent me," it said in black
capital letters typewritten on white paper.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, a candidate for the
Democratic presidential nomination,
exhorted the crowd not to be content with
the gradual withdrawal of U.S. forces from
Iraq.
"Don't give bush $87 billion, don't give him
87 cents, give our troops a ride home,"
Sharpton said to loud cheers from the
crowd.
Hundreds of anti-war protesters also took to
sun-drenched streets in San Francisco.
"We feel it's very important to keep our
voices heard because we want our troops
home," said Bill Nelson, a Burbank, Calif.,
bookstore owner. "We want the money here
for health care and jobs, not a military
industrial complex."
The rallies on both coasts were organized
by International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop
War and End Racism) and United for Peace
and Justice.
The protest in Washington drew a diverse crowd - young, old, veterans,
relatives with loved ones in the armed forces and American Muslims. An
activist group of older women called the Raging Grannies, singing
anti-Bush songs, brought whoops of agreement from the protesters.
Organizers estimated that 100,000 people turned out for the
demonstration, but police at the scene put the number much lower, from
10,000 to 20,000. Police no longer issue official crowd estimates, so the
size of the protest could not be verified.
Waving signs reading "Make Jobs Not War" and "Bush is a liar," the
protesters marched from the White House, down toward the White
House, on to the Justice Department (news - web sites) and then back
to the Washington Monument.
But the activists weren't afforded the symbolic satisfaction of yelling
protests to the White House gates, because the Secret Service (news -
web sites) put up barriers to keep them from marching directly in front of
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Bush was spending the weekend at the
Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland.
Michael McPhearson, a veteran from the 1991 Persian Gulf War (news -
web sites), denounced the president, saying he had misled the nation.
"You have butchered the truth, George Bush."
The D.C. chapter of Free Republic, an independent grass-roots
conservative group, gathered dozens of people at the U.S. Capitol to
show support for Bush and the troops in Iraq.
"Whether or not the war should have started is a moot point," said Eric
Campbell, a 32-year-old who served in the 1991 Persian Gulf War. "We
have to stay if anything for the Iraqi people."
____
Associated Press writers Jesse J. Holland, Elizabeth Wolfe, and Jennifer
Loven in Washington and Mielikki Org in San Francisco contributed to
this report. |
