WASHINGTON,
September 25, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Tens of
thousands of American demonstrators took to the streets in several
major cities on Saturday, September 24, protesting the US-led invasion
of Iraq and demanding the withdrawal of American troops.
"We
need a people's movement to end this war," Cindy Sheehan, an
anti-war mom whose son was killed in fighting in Iraq, told more than
100,000 protestors, who stretched for several blocks around the White
House, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported.
Camping
out in Crawford, Texas, during much of August while US President
George W. Bush was vacationing in his ranch, Sheehan's rallies drew
crowds that sometimes numbered in the hundreds as she demanded a
meeting with Bush.
"Bring
the troops home now," chanted the protestors, flying a sea of
signs and banners rebuking the Bush administration.
Washington
rally drew several prominent figures in including Rev. Jesse Jackson
and actor Martin Sheen.
More
than 15,000 protesters gathered in Los Angeles and thousands others
marched in San Francisco and Seattle, demanding an end to military
action in Iraq nearly 30 months after the invasion-turned-occupation.
Also
Saturday, tens of thousands of people marched through London to demand
the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq and protest the recent
anti-terror measures in the country.
War
Criminals
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The protestors gathered in front of the White House to demand withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. (Reuters)
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Featured
speakers in Washington rally included outspoken British MP George
Galloway, who received the biggest crowd response.
"There
is an absolute need for your country and my country to stand shoulder
to shoulder against the war criminals Tony Blair and George W.
Bush," he said.
Galloway
stressed that Bush and Blair had failed to justify the Iraq invasion.
"This
is not a clash of civilizations, not a war between people of the West
and East, not a war between Christianity and Islam; George Bush does
not represent any civilization," he said to cheers from the
crowd.
Galloway
drew international attention for a fiery condemnation of the US policy
he made to the Senate earlier this year.
Anti-War
Soldiers
Also
among the anti-war demonstrators in Washington were some 40 US
soldiers who recently returned from Iraq.
"This
is all new to me. I've never participated in something like
this," said John McNamara, 25, who served six months as an army
truck driver in Iraq.
The
anti-war soldiers held up signs saying "Bring Them Home
Now!" and wearing their desert camouflage uniforms.
"I
took part in some destruction in the Middle East and I feel bad about
that," said McNamara, who flew from Los Angeles for the event.
"Being
here won't make up for it but it might make me feel a little better
about it."
Turning
Against
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"This is what we are losing every day," said one protestor standing in front of mock coffins. (Reuters)
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On
Washington's National Mall, the protestors set up a faux military
cemetery of hundreds of small, white crosses in neat lines, Reuters
said.
And
in Los Angeles, 60 mock coffins draped in American flags were laid out
in rows on a downtown street.
"This
is what we are losing every day," said Vickie Castro, of
Riverside, California, standing in front of the coffins with a picture
of her son, Cpl. Jonathan Castro, who was killed in action in Mosul,
Iraq, in 2004.
Anti-war
protestors were buoyed by recent opinion polls that show a growing
majority disapprove of Bush's handling of the Iraq war.
A
Gallup poll this week showed 55 percent favor speeding up plans to
withdraw troops from Iraq.
A
New York Times/CBS poll one week ago said support for the Iraq
war has fallen to 44 percent, the lowest ever over the past two years.
"I
believe momentum is building, I can see it with my eyes. But I also
read the polls," said Sheehan.
"You
know what I would have said? 'What noble cause did my son die
for?'" asked the anti-war mom, wearing a yellow T-shirt
emblazoned with a peace symbol.
