Protests demand end to Iraq war
Marches held in Washington, foreign cities
WASHINGTON -- In a daylong marathon of protest, more than 100,000 antiwar demonstrators -- echoing the marches of a generation ago, but adding a 21st century global component -- rallied in Washington, London, and other cities yesterday to demand that President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain withdraw military forces from Iraq.
The young and the old, longtime peace activists and first-time protesters, gathered on the National Mall in what was billed as the largest antiwar demonstration since the war began in March 2003. In the British capital earlier in the day, police estimated that 10,000 chanted ''out of Iraq" and blew horns as they converged on Hyde Park in central London.
Smaller gatherings took place in other US and European cities, including an ad hoc rally by stranded protesters in Philadelphia's 30th Street Station, victims of an electrical problem that delayed Amtrak's Northeast rail service to Washington, D.C. About 150 protesters in Auckland, New Zealand, forced the closure of a main bank branch.
National Park Service officials said they were not tallying the crowd size, but authorities with the Washington police said the organizers may have reached their predicted turnout of 100,000 protesters. The demonstrators traveled to the capital from around the country to take part in a showcase demonstration that marched past the White House and the US Capitol.
Many wore T-shirts calling for President Bush's impeachment, including ''regime change begins at home," while others held photos of fallen American soldiers and shouted ''Bush lied, people died." Demonstrators held signs reading ''College not Combat" as relatives of soldiers who died in Iraq held one another and wept for their loved ones.
A white cross bearing the name of Lance Corporal Alexander Arredondo of Boston's Roslindale neighborhood stood out among the rows of other unadorned markers that turned the grounds of the Washington Monument into a faux military cemetery. Arredondo's official Marine Corps portrait, combat boots, dog tags, and copies of his letters home were delicately placed around the cross by his father, Carlos.
''No more," Carlos Arredondo said as he handed out copies of his son's last letter to ''Mom and Dad," in which the 21-year-old raised the big ''what if" but said he was proud of doing his duty. Arredondo was killed in Najaf last year after a three-hour firefight, becoming the 968th American soldier to die in Iraq.
Also on hand in Washington were more than 250 military families, hundreds of veterans, and even a few active-duty Army soldiers just home from overseas.
Among them was Nina Douglass, 45, of Jamaica Plain, whose stepson, John-Paul, is serving his second tour in Iraq.
''The war is wrong and based on lies," said Douglass, who said she had not been to a political demonstration for more than 20 years. ''Our son's life is precious, and it's wrong for him to be there."
A small group called Families United For Our Troops, based in Iowa, held a counterprotest in support of the war. Diane Ibbotson of Albion, Ill., whose 21-year-old son, Forest Jostes, was killed in an ambush in Iraq last year, insisted that his death was a noble one. ''My son gave his life for a cause that he believed in. He fought and died for God and country."
But all around her, antiwar agitators from the Vietnam era, including 1960s musical icon Joan Baez, mixed with the teenagers and college students of the new generation.
Also on hand was Cindy Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in the same ambush as Ibbotson's son and became a symbol for the antiwar movement after she camped out in front of Bush's Texas ranch in August.
''I think this war is a real crime," said Dan DiMaggio, 23, a Tufts University student. ''The disaster of Hurricane Katrina only exposed more that politicians don't care about ordinary people, just their profits and wars. I think this [protest] will revitalize the antiwar movement."
Byron Stookey, 72, of Brattleboro, a retired Army captain, said he came to Washington because he is ''opposed to pretty much everything this administration stands for, including the war in Iraq."
At least two active-duty soldiers, still in uniform, were drawn to the Mall, but careful in their responses to a reporter's questions, saying they could get in trouble with their superiors.
''I want to look at the pictures" of the fallen troops, said Army Specialist Efren Oliveras from Puerto Rico, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, who smiled and nodded at demonstrators who thanked him and Army Sergeant Maly Rivera, an Iraq war vet, for coming out.
But it was the war in Iraq that brought them all here. ''We need to stand up against this war," said Natasha Cheeseman, 17, who traveled from Ontario, Canada.
Still, while opposing the war, not everyone was convinced an immediate pullout is the answer.
''They didn't attack," said Gerald Bastarache, 66, of Fall Church, Va., and a retired Navy lieutenant. ''After Pearl Harbor we didn't attack China.
''There has to be a plan to withdraw, we can't stay forever, but we can't pull out now, either. That would make Iraq worse."
Material from wire services was used in this report. Bender can be reached at bender@globe.com. 