Thousands protest Iraq war on 3rd anniversary

updated 12:14 p.m. ET March 20, 2006

CHALMETTE, La. - The third anniversary of the U.S.-led war in Iraq drew tens of thousands of protesters around the globe, from hurricane-ravaged Louisiana to Australia, with chants of “Stop the War” and calls for the withdrawal of troops. President Bush used the occasion to call for Americans to consider the sacrifices of men and women in uniform.

About 200 war veterans, hurricane survivors and demonstrators gathered Sunday at the Chalmette National Cemetery to protest how the military conflict overseas had hurt the country’s ability to help the Gulf Coast recover from last year’s hurricanes.

“We attacked a country who never did anything to us,” said Philadelphia resident Al Zappala, whose 30-year-old son was killed in Iraq in April 2004.

He said his son joined the National Guard to help his community. “He was sent to Iraq based on lies,” Zappala said.

In New Orleans, veterans and war protesters marched past gutted houses and piles of rotting wood and debris Sunday, saying the slow pace of rebuilding the hurricane-ravaged city shows the price the country is paying for continuing to wage war in Iraq.

Slide show   Iraq war sparks global protests Demonstrators take to the streets in opposition to the war in Iraq on its third anniversary.

“A lot of people don’t have a grasp of what this war is costing us,” Vern Hall, a Vietnam War veteran from Minnesota, said as he walked shuttered buildings with broken glass and precariously hanging metal.

“Here’s the actual cost of this,” he said, looking around. “Things are not getting done.”

Bush notes ‘time to reflect’
But Bush, speaking at the White House on Sunday, said the anniversary was “a time to reflect on the sacrifices of the men and women who wear the uniform.

Bush said he was encouraged by the progress toward forming a unity government in Iraq and asked Americans to remember the sacrifice of troops on the third anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion.

“I encourage the Iraqi leaders to continue to work hard to get this government up and running,” Bush said from the South Lawn of the White House after returning from a weekend at Camp David. “I’m encouraged by the progress.”

Bush said he spoke by phone earlier in the day with the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, and had received a positive report.

Bush said many Americans “volunteered after 9/11, knowing full well that their time in the military could put them in harm’s way. All Americans should offer

“On this third anniversary of the beginning of the liberation of Iraq I think all Americans should offer thanks to the men and women who wear the uniform and their families who support them,” Bush said.

“We are implementing a strategy that will lead to victory in Iraq. And a victory in Iraq will make this country more secure and will help lay the foundation of peace for generations to come,” he said.

Crowds smaller but exuberant
Many of the weekend demonstrations across Australia, Asia and Europe drew smaller-than-anticipated crowds — far short of the millions worldwide who protested the initial invasion in March 2003 and the first anniversary in 2004.

Only about 200 joined a march Sunday down New York’s Fifth Avenue, with signs including: “We the People Need to do More to End the War.” Saturday’s rally drew more than 1,000 people.

Anti-war rallies in Japan drew about 800 protesters chanting “No war! Stop the war!” and banging drums as they marched peacefully through downtown Tokyo toward the U.S. Embassy. A day earlier, about 2,000 rallied in the city.

“The Iraq war was President Bush’s big mistake and the whole world is against him,” said organizer Ayako Nishimura. “Iraq must decide its own affairs.”

Protesters also gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in Malaysia, and at least 1,000 people turned out in Seoul, South Korea, which has the third-largest contingent of foreign troops in Iraq after the U.S. and Britain.

Voices in Times Square ...
In Times Square on Saturday, anti-war protesters rallied outside a military recruiting station, demanding that troops be withdrawn from Iraq. In London, 15,000 people poured into Trafalgar Square. In Stockholm, a protester dressed as the hooded figure from a photo taken at Abu Ghraib prison.

Anti-war scenes were repeated across the United States and the world as thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to mark the anniversary.

Wael Musfar of the Arab Muslim American Federation addressed more than 1,000 people who gathered in Times Square. “We say enough hypocrisy, enough lies! Our soldiers must come home now,” Musfar said from a parked flatbed truck.

Participants chanted, “Stop the U.S. war machine, from Iraq to Korea to the Philippines!”

Many attendees emphasized that they support the troops. “I have friends in Iraq and I just want them to know that I may not be able to support them there, but I can here,” said Jose Avila, 36.

... London and Chicago
“We are against this war, both for religious reasons and on a humanitarian basis, too,” said Imran Saghir, 25, a Muslim student who attended the London rally.

Britain, the United States’ strongest supporter in the Iraq war, has about 8,000 troops in Iraq but plans to pull out 800 of them by May. The British military has reported 103 deaths there. More than 2,300 American troops have died in the war.

Protesters in Chicago marched down Michigan Avenue to a Saturday night rally at downtown’s Daley Plaza. Police estimated that more than 7,000 people took part, but said there were no arrests.

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