NEW YORK, April 30, 2006 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Tens of thousands of Americans marched in New York on Saturday, April 29, demanding the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq and vowing a summer of protests ahead of mid-term elections in November.
"We are here to send a message to the White House and the Congress that we must end this war now, bring our troops home and also end the attack on our civil rights at home," said chief organizer Leslie Cagan, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The mass rally was organized by a broad coalition of groups representing veterans, trade unions, military families, environmentalists and civil rights activists.
The protesters included national figures like civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon and anti-war icon Cindy Sheehan.
The police declined to offer an estimate for the size of the march, while organizers set the turnout at 300,000.
"This is what democracy looks like," said Cagan, national coordinator of the anti-war lobby United for Peace and Justice.
The invasion-turned-occupation of Iraq has proved a thorn in the US administration's side with growing calls at home on Bush to withdraw the troops as soon possible.
The administration claimed in the run-up to the war that Baghdad had extensive stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons and was working clandestinely to build a nuclear arsenal, therefore, presenting a threat to the world.
An extensive CIA-led probe undertaken after the US military took control of Iraq failed to turn up any such weapons and a former senior CIA officer revealed that President George Bush brushed off CIA advice before the war that Iraq had no nuclear weapons.
Vote Down
"We are not the fringe anymore. We are mainstream America," said Sheehan. (Reuters)
Police were out in force as the demonstration wound its way through lower Manhattan toward City Hall.
After reaching City Hall, the organizers held a five-hour festival, during which they sought signatures for a "Peace Voter Pledge."
They vowed not to vote for any candidate in the November elections who does not publicly call for a speedy end to military involvement in Iraq.
"Today we march, tomorrow we organize and in November we vote," Cagan told cheering supporters.
Many marchers carried photos of family members killed while serving in the armed forces since the Iraq war began.
Saturday's protest was held a day after the Pentagon announced that 69 US soldiers had died in Iraq in April.
According to Pentagon, 2,395 US soldiers have been killed since the start of the war in March 2003.
The US occupation of Iraq cost American taxpayers and the state coffers a staggering $6 billion a month or $200 million a day with federal budget deficit running at near record levels, said a recent report by the non-partisan Congressional Research Service (CRS).
"Mainstream America"
Sheehan, who became a leading anti-war activist after her soldier son was killed in Iraq, said the massive turnout for the march reflected a growing groundswell of US public opinion against continued military involvement in Iraq.
"We are not the fringe anymore. We are mainstream America," she stressed.
"To be anti-George Bush is to be pro-American," said Sheehan, who gained prominence when she camped outside Bush's Texas ranch last year to demand a meeting with the US leader.
Another prominent participant in the march was Daniel Ellsberg, the former military analyst who precipitated a national uproar in 1971 when he leaked the Pentagon Papers, the US military's account of activities during the Vietnam War, to The New York Times.
The release of the documents succeeded in substantially eroding public support for the war, and Ellsberg urged those in the Bush administration opposed to the current policy in Iraq to follow his example.
"My message is: Don't just resign. Leak," Ellsberg said. "I don't think George Bush is stupid. I think he's dangerous, and he has to be stopped."
"Crime"
"We need to bring the soldiers back," said Sarandon. (Reuters)
Sarandon, the American actress known for her involvement in left-wing politics, said US troops must return home as soon as possible.
"We need to bring the soldiers back," she said. "And we also need to stop all this money being poured into this horrible crime of a war, so that it can be used where it's urgently needed at home."
Sarandon criticized in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday, April 30, the failure of leaders of the US Democratic Party to oppose the war in Iraq at the very beginning.
In an interview with the British television station ITV, she said there was no reason for Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Hillary Clinton or 2004 presidential candidate Senator John Kerry to vote for the war.
"They were protecting their reputations - they didn't want to seem un-American," she said.
"They crumbled under the pressure of that moment and it was a very lonely, very scary time to ask a question."
Several Hollywood stars like Dustin Hoffman and Martin Sheen, and directors like Oscar-awarded Michel Moore have spoken out against the Iraq invasion.
Moore's Cannes-awarded Fahrenheit 9/11 slammed Bush for thrusting America into war propagating misinformation and exploiting public fear in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
The disillusionment with the administration has also whetted the appetite of famed singers like Neil Young, Earle and Willie Nelson to release sound tracks blasting the Iraq war.
Rallies didn't make us stop from going in there what makes you think it will make us pull out?
True, cold hearted Bush doesnt give a damn on public opinion. The billions of dollers wasted on casuing death and destruction could've been much, much better spent. By the way didnt Clinton do a pretty good job with the US budget? He had a huge surplus when he left, then Bush comes in and within a few years, you got a massive budget deficit.
True, cold hearted Bush doesnt give a damn on public opinion. The billions of dollers wasted on casuing death and destruction could've been much, much better spent. By the way didnt Clinton do a pretty good job with the US budget? He had a huge surplus when he left, then Bush comes in and within a few years, you got a massive budget deficit.
ummm no. When Clinton left office we were in the beginning of a recession. Granted Bush massive spending didn't help but it wasn't the primary cause. The balanced budget was forced upon Clinton by Newt Gingrich an his contract with America. Once Gingrich was ousted from power in Congress the Republicans started leaning toward spend and cut instead of cut and cut.
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