Thousands Rally on Anniversary of Invasion of Iraq
Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 05:35PM WJLA
WASHINGTON - Thousands of protesters carried signs reading "Indict Bush Now" and flag-draped cardboard coffins on Saturday, urging President Barack Obama (web | news | bio) to withdraw troops from Iraq (web | news) on the seventh anniversary of the U.S. invasion.
Protesters gathered for a rally at Lafayette Park across from the White House and planned to march through downtown. Stops on the route include military contractor Halliburton, the Mortgage Bankers Association and The Washington Post offices.
The protest, organized by military veterans and activists Ralph Nader (web | news | bio) and Cindy Sheehan, was expected to draw smaller crowds than the tens of thousands who marched in 2006 and 2007. But organizers say momentum is building because people are disenchanted with Obama's decision to send more troops into Afghanistan.
At the rally, Sheehan asked whether "the honeymoon was over with that war criminal in the White House" - an apparent reference to Obama - prompting moderate applause. Sheehan also encouraged protesters to join a tent camp near the Washington Monument, saying they need to do more than shake their fists at empty buildings.She pledged to erect the tents again after the National Park Service forced protesters to take down the tents Monday.
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