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Americans protest Iraq war
20/03/2008 09:14 - (SA)
Washington - Protesters blocked traffic and government buildings in Washington, acted out a Baghdad street scene in upstate New York and banged drums in San Francisco to mark the fifth anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq on Wednesday.
In other, more sombre US observances, organisers set up a 3km display of about 4 000 T-shirts in Cincinnati, meant to symbolise the members of the US military killed in Iraq, while in Louisville, Kentucky, demonstrators lined rows of military boots, sandals and children's tennis shoes on the steps of a courthouse.
On previous anniversaries, tens of thousands of people marched through major US cities, and more than 100 000 gathered on several occasions leading up to the invasion.
Only a few hundred mustered for one of Wednesday's largest gatherings, in Washington, the crowds' size perhaps kept in check by a late-winter storm system that stretched the length of the country.
Arrests
Dozens of people were arrested, most of them at demonstrations in San Francisco, Washington and Syracuse, New York.
At the Internal Revenue Service tax agency building in Washington, about 100 protesters led by a marching band gathered at the main entrance. Several jumped barricades and sat down in front of the doors and were immediately detained. The demonstrators said they were focusing on the IRS, among other institutions, because it gathers taxes used to fund the war.
About 20 protesters were arrested about a block from the US Capitol after blocking traffic. In some cases, police had to drag the protesters off the street.
On the West Coast, San Francisco police arrested about 150 protesters by early afternoon for blocking traffic and chaining themselves to buildings, police said.
Black balloons were tied to trees along San Francisco's main downtown thoroughfare, and protesters at a table offered coffee, oranges and "unhappy birthday cake" to passers-by.
'Was it worth it'
A few hundred protesters banging drums and waving banners that read "Was it worth it" took to the streets for a parade that blocked morning traffic. More than 1 000 people later gathered in front of City Hall for an evening march.
In New York City, women sang songs and counted out the war dead outside the military recruiting station in Times Square, which was recently the target of a bomb.
Half a dozen war protesters in Miami dressed in black placed flowers outside the US Southern Command during rush hour on Wednesday morning.
The Iraq war has been unpopular both abroad and in the United States, although an Associated Press-Ipsos poll in December showed that growing numbers think the US is making progress and will eventually be able to claim some success in Iraq.
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