Thousands Protest on Baghdad Anniversary

[DoYouEverWonder]

April 9, 2005



BAGHDAD, Iraq - Tens of thousands of Shiites marked the anniversary of the fall of Baghdad with a protest against American troops at the same square where jubilant crowds toppled a statue of Saddam Hussein two years ago.

The protesters back radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army militiamen led uprisings last year against U.S. troops before signing truces with U.S.-led forces.

Held in the shadow of the Sheraton and Palestine hotels — home to foreign journalists and contractors — the protest reflected frustration both with the U.S. government, which is slowly handing security responsibilities to Iraqi forces, and anger toward the Sunni Arab-led insurgency.

"This huge gathering shows that the Iraqi people have the strength and faith to protect their country and liberate it from the occupiers," said protester Ahmed Abed, a 26-year-old who sells spare car parts.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=2&u=/ap/20050409/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq&sid=84439559


Looks like the crowd is a little bigger this time?

[xchrom]

1. makes me chuckle.

this is such a comment on the recently formed interim government.

will the media in the west pick it up?
me thinks not.

[shadowknows69]

2. I'd be surprised if we're not bombing them right now.

how dare they protest the freedom we have forced upon them.

[PassingFair]

55. The media will tell us that it is a

celebratory crowd, in honor of their "freedomization".
:puke:

[Algorem]

3. Why do they hate us for their freedom?

[alcibiades_mystery]

4. "...where jubilant crowds toppled a statue of Saddam Hussein..."

They really are a pack of liars, aren't they.

Do they expect anyone to believe that the 55 Chalabi imports and 150 Western photgraphers constituted a "jubilant crowd"? They seriously cannot stop lying, can they?

Or have they told the lie so much that they believe it themselves?

[stevedeshazer]

31. Got your "jubilant crowd" right here

[rodeodance]

64. no--today they are angry

[cal04]

5. more photos

Iraqi Shi'ites loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr hold cut-outs of British Prime Minister Tony Blair (C), former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein (L), and U.S. President George W. Bush during a protest rally in Baghdad April 9, 2005. The rally was called on the second anniversary of the fall of Baghdad with protestors demanding an end to the U.S. military presence in Iraq and a speedy trial for former president Saddam Hussein.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=3&u=/ap/20050409/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq&sid=84439559

[Frederik]

9. "Bush and Saddam two faces to one coin"

See, they get it.

[cal04]

20. looks like they do.

The protesters called for a timetable for a US pullout and for tearing down all US military bases in the country.

[LynnTheDem]

6. "jubilant CROWDS" toppled Saddam's statue? "CROWDS"????

They KNOW this "crowds" crap is CRAP. WHY is the US State Media STILL trying to get away with this LIE???

GEEEEEZ!!!

[DoYouEverWonder]

8. Don't you know how to count?

If the crowd is pro-Bush, then there are 1000's even millions of jubilant, supporters. If the crowd is anti-Bush or anti-war, even if it's in the millions, it should be described as a small, disorganized fringe group.

[AuntiBush]

83. You Gotta Hand it to Iraqians... they're a helluva lot smarter then 1/2

of us! These photos show we Americans have been DUPED! To say the very least. Hello... MEDIA... REAL REPORTERS on TV...

Nope. Still hear silence.

River Pitts, and bloggers will emerge as our heros!

[leftofcool]

7. "Freedom is on the March".................eom

[no_to_war_economy]

10. yes ! yes ! yes ! yes !

I just love a good ANTI-BUSH rally and this is a good one

Question to Scott McClellan :

Q) Hmmm, Scott on Saturday thousands protested to the presence of an American occupation, did the president see his effigy burned

A) next question .....

[DoYouEverWonder]

11. What's with the boots?

Does that mean the Iraqi's are giving Bush the boot?

[leftchick]

13. it is that shoe thing in the Arab world...

definitely a sign of derision!

[DrDebug]

35. The boot means a lot in the Arab world

The biggest possible insult is giving somebody the boot. It's even more insulting then the middlefinger. It means that you are worth just as much as the dirt under his/her shoe.

[DoYouEverWonder]

37. Ah, thank you

for the explanation.

I didn't think they were throwing flowers with that gesture.

[glitch]

46. Di d not know that. Makes me even happier to call him "little boots" nt

[SlavesandBulldozers]

73. are those the kind of boots i think they are?

i do understand the symbolism of the boots, but those type of boots look familiar.

anybody else notice anything peculiar?

:shrug:

[Frederik]

100. You're right

Looks conspicuously like US combat boots...

[flamingpie2500]

12. Milwaukee Journal Sentinal Link--photo gallery

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQ?SITE=WIMIL&SECTION=HOME


scroll down the article to photo gallery Iraq. 100 pictures.

[DoYouEverWonder]

14. Thanks for the link. Great pics

This one is just too funny.



I wonder how long it will take them to tear down the new statue?

[Frederik]

50. Caption on one of the photos

"A U.S. Marine stands among a group of Iraqis following an explosion in a vacant building in Fallujah, Iraq Thursday, April 7, 2005. Witnesses reported an American air strike on the building. A military statement said that insurgents fired an unspecified number of rockets into Fallujah Thursday. (AP Photo/Abdul-Kadr Saadi)"

And we were told that was the safest place in all of Iraq now, after it was bombed to pieces.

[dbt]

15. Are there two more votes in the house?

This needs to go to the Greatest page on the off-chance that it will piss off some surfing Freep and subsequently cause:

1. Weeping
2. Wailing
3. Gnashing of teeth (if any)

[MeDeMax]

18. awesome...eom

[Jack Rabbit]

23. Nominated!!

All the protests we have staged against this war seem insignificant compared to this one.

Let it be known: The Iraqi people have rejected Bush.

[jhain]

24. if any teeth!??

BAWHAHAHAHA

good one- thanks!

Need all the chuckles possible these days.

[NNN0LHI]

16. Shia's say 'no to the occupiers'

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?sf=2813&art_id=qw1113041340420B262&click_id=2813&set_id=1

Baghdad - Thousands of followers of rebel Shi'a cleric Moqtada al-Sadr marched in Baghdad on Saturday to denounce the United States presence in Iraq and demand a speedy trial of Saddam Hussein on the second anniversary of his overthrow.

Chanting "No, no to the occupiers", several thousand men streamed from the poor Shi'a district of Sadr City to Firdos Square in central Baghdad where Saddam's statue was famously torn down two years ago, in a peaceful show of strength.

The square and side streets were quickly packed with crowds waving Iraqi flags and brandishing effigies of Saddam, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George Bush. "No America! No Saddam! Yes to Islam!" many chanted. One group of demonstrators burned an American flag.

Iraqi security forces shut down central Baghdad ahead of the march and were keeping a tight watch. US forces, around 135 000 of whom remain in Iraq, were largely out of sight. Most protesters were searched for weapons before reaching the square.

"I came from Sadr City to demand a timetable for the withdrawal of the occupation," said Abbas, a young, bearded protester sitting on the grass in the square. "Every Iraqi has a right to demand his freedom. The Americans wanted time and we gave them time, now we want to rule ourselves."

more

[DoYouEverWonder]

17. Crawford, we have a problem

Mission Accomplished. Not!

[lumpy]

19. Too bad Crawford couldn't

anticipate the results of the Bush Invasion. Saddam(Sunnis)managed to subdue the radical Shiites for several years- Bushco liberated the Shiites from Saddam's control- Shiites are jubilant to be in power in order to continue the repression of the Iraqi people with their brand of religious radicalism.

[Jack Rabbit]

21. Now, this really is democracy on the march

The Iraqi people want the occupation to end. They are speaking in Baghdad right now. Can the neocononservative tyrants hear them?



Allawi and other neocon puppets who refuse to call for and end to occupation don't count. Allawi should count himself lucky if he never stands trial for treason.

Phonp from The New York Times

[lumpy]

22. If Al-Sadr and his minions

gain political power, Iraq will not be a democratic country.It will be a theocratic country run by the power of the Mosque. Burkaville.

[alcibiades_mystery]

26. So it's crucial that we quash

majority rule there from abroad in order to make sure the Iraqi people are democratically self-determined.

Da-da-da-da-dah...I'm lovin' it...

[Jack Rabbit]

28. That's true. I've said it often enough.

An Islamic republic is not a democratic form of government.

That being said, can anyone say that this mass demonstration is not an expression of popular will? That is exactly what it is.

While the neoconservatives have been touting the success of the elections held last January, they have conveniently overlooked the results of those elections: half of the seats in the transitional legislature were won by the United Iraqi Alliance, a slate pledged to demand a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops. The UIA's program also calls for rolling back of a number of Bremer's colonial decrees that were designed to protect the interests of transnational war profiteers over those of the Iraqi people.

The elections, far from being the crowning glory of Bush's invasion of Iraq, were a repudiation of two years of neocon colonial rule. It was the Shia face of insurgency.

[clem_c_rock]

66. Well - Maybe that's their f***ing business-Now aint it?

I mean - How long did it take us to become a democracy?

We've only truly been a democracy arguably since 1920 (earliest time) when women were granted the right to vote and 1965 (probably more accurate) when we fully protected Blacks rights to votes.

We've had our slaveries, our genocides (American Indians), our civil wars and we started out as insurgents.

All this took us over 400 years to accomplish and we didn't have people occupying us and bombing the fuck out of us while we were trying to get our shit together.

And guess what, now were fast becoming a theocracy and a facist state-anybody want to attempt to argue that one?

It's time to bring democracy by being a modal, not by bombing the fuck out of people.

[DoYouEverWonder]

27. Whose going to hear them?

Bush is probably piss drunk by now. He's had a really rough week you know.

[Jack Rabbit]

29. The neocons are going to hear them

Of course, those war criminals are pretending that none of this is happening and are scheming to undermine any demands the transitional government may make for a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops.

[DoYouEverWonder]

30. They are probably

calculating how many troops and bombs they will need to direct at the problem.

[Jack Rabbit]

32. Something like that

They failed to shoehorn Allawi, with his impressive 14% of the vote, into power after the election.

I really don't know how the Bushies can respond. Any further violence against the Iraqi will be seen for what it is. Any attempts to undermine the transitional government will show that they didn't get there way and are intent on ruling Iraq for their own benefit.

The idea that Bush's invasion of Iraq was leading to Middle Eastern democracy was a lot of hooey based on post hoc reasoning. However, it was probably the Bushies' best plan: declare victory and get out.

[bvar22]

54. Allawi and other US puppets will be lucky...

...if they don't wind up hanging from lamp posts.

[Voltaire99]

85. Well said. Iraq for Iraqis! (n/t)

[bear425]

25. Thanks for posting this! Don't forget to rate the yahoo story up!

Yes, freedom IS on the march!

[Catchawave]

33. The Royal Wedding is almost over...

maybe the msm will pick up this coverage? Heh.

[Jack Rabbit]

34. Let me know if the MSM covers it. You know the state of my TV

ON EDIT

In fairness, I should mention I learned of this event this morning from the website of The New York Times.

Image from Kill Your Television

[Jack Rabbit]

38. Leading stories on CNN.com as of 7:52 am PDT

Prince Charles weds Camilla

• Bush praises pope's 'profound impact'

• Pilgrims leave Rome after pope's funeral | Gallery

• Eric Robert Rudolph agrees to plead guilty | Video

• Sources: Jessica Lunsford may have been buried alive

• Police: Man planned coach shooting on his birthday

• CBS stringer suspected of being Iraqi insurgent | Video

• Ebola-like virus death toll rises

• Experts debate authenticity of Lincoln swatch

[Catchawave]

39. A blip on the MSNBC radar.....

..their guy in Baghdad notes the hypocrisy of the protest as being anti-American, BUT they STILL NEED us there :wtf:

[Jack Rabbit]

70. I repeat . . .

Image from Kill Your Television

[Jack Rabbit]

36. Al Jazeera link (this one is dedicated to David Horowitz)

From al Jareera
Dated Saturday April 9 16:38 Makka Time, 13:38 GMT (5:38 am PDT)

Shia protest over US presence in Iraq

Tens of thousands of supporters of Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have marched in Baghdad to denounce the US presence in Iraq and call for a speedy trial of Saddam Hussein on the second anniversary of his overthrow.

Chanting "No, no to the occupiers", tens of thousands of young and old men gathered in the poor Shia district of Sadr City on Saturday to begin a planned peaceful march to al-Firdos Square, the central Baghdad spot where Saddam's statue was torn down two years ago.

Crowds of al-Sadr's supporters from across the country were gathered at the square by mid-morning, waving Iraqi flags and calling out: "No America! No Saddam! Yes to Islam!"

Sunni Muslims were urged by the Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq, an influential Sunni group, to demonstrate to mark the fall of Saddam and to demand US forces leave Iraq.

Read more. And don't let closet McCarthyists tell you that you shouldn't.

[muriel_volestrangler]

40. The new Axis of Evil, anyone?

Mimicking the famous images of US soldiers and Iraqis pulling down a statue of Saddam as Baghdad fell, protesters toppled effigies of US President George Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Saddam - all dressed in red Iraqi prison jumpsuits that signified they had been condemned to death sentences.

[MeinaShaw]

41. "and anger toward the Sunni Arab-led insurgency."

I'm not sure you have the right take on this. I do believe there is anti-US sentiment. You are not off there. But a significant detail is the following sentence from the article.

"and anger toward the Sunni Arab-led insurgency."

The Sunni Arab-led insurgency is the people that have flocked into Iraq from other Arab countries that have been blowing up the place and lobbing morters into city centers. They are at least as much protesting these people as they are telling the U.S. it is time to get out.

[DoYouEverWonder]

51. That issue

as a minor side note. This was a major ANTI-AMERICA rally.

[MeinaShaw]

74. This and That issue

I did not say it was not an anti-American rally. I pointed out there is more at play. A significant development is that they are ALSO protesting the other Arab nations that have sent people in there to lob bombs at them.

The one issue says they are ready for us to leave. The other says they are becoming strong enough as a new nation to fill the power vacumm that was created when we diposed Saddam. In other words, it won't end up like another Lebanon - we hope.

[MeinaShaw]

75. What is that symbol next to your name?

By the way, and sorry if this sound ignorant, but what is that little symbol next to your name. I've seen it around before but don't know what it means. Thanks.

[DeepModem Mom]

42. NYT/AP: Thousands of Shiites Stage Anti-U.S. Rally in Baghdad

Thousands of Shiites Stage Anti-U.S. Rally in Baghdad
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: April 9, 2005


BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Tens of thousands of Shiites marked the anniversary of the fall of Baghdad with a protest against the American military presence at the square where Iraqis and U.S. troops toppled a statue of Saddam Hussein two years ago.

The protesters back Muqtada al-Sadr, a radical Shiite cleric whose militia led uprisings against U.S. troops last year, and their large numbers reflected frustration both with the U.S. government and anger toward the Sunni Arab-led insurgency....

***

The protesters filled Firdos Square and spilled onto nearby avenues, waving Iraqi flags. Mimicking the famous images of U.S. soldiers and Iraqis pulling down a statue of Saddam as Baghdad fell, protesters toppled effigies of President Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Saddam -- all dressed like Iraqi prisoners in red jumpsuits. Other effigies of Bush and Saddam were burned....

***

The Shiite protesters also called for the now-jailed Saddam to face justice, and they held up framed photos of al-Sadr's father, a prominent cleric executed by Saddam. Mahdi Army militiamen searched people entering the demonstration area as Iraqi policemen stood to the side....

***

Demonstrators swung from a statue said to represent freedom and constructed on the pedestal where Saddam's statue once stood. They also acted out examples of prison abuse widely reported after photos were released showing U.S. soldiers piling naked inmates in a pyramid at Abu Ghraib prison....Officials organized the demonstration with the Iraqi Interior Ministry's promise of protection. A group of protesters and police spent all night securing the square....


http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Iraq.html?hp&ex=1113105600&en=6609352a4138b102&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[SodoffBush]

43. Frankly, I'm surprised the Marines didn't light this crowd up

and I don't mean with flood lights.

[glitch]

48. By "light this crowd up" do you mean fire on defenseless people exercising

their right to assemble?

[saigon68]

84. You bet some of the rustic hillbillies need "payback"

To avenge the deaths of their "fellow crusaders", who were blown up by the Iraqi Resistance.

The military per usual will kindly "look the other way" at the "Frat Prank" of killing a few dark skinned non christian people.

[Frederik]

47. AP's spin

"Al-Sadr had stayed out of the limelight since leading failed uprisings last year in the southern city of Najaf and in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood. But he has stepped up criticism of the United States in recent weeks, mainly by organizing Saturday's protest, which fell far short of the 1 million people he hoped would assemble."

- He didn't manage to assemble 1 million, ha ha, what a loser. He probably assembled far more people than the 25,000 anti-Syrian NED protesters in Libanon that showed us how freedom was on the march, but never mind.
- He stayed out of the limelight after his failed uprising (actually, the uprising was partly successful, he struck a deal with the Americans that they leave him and his follower alone if they ceased their insurgency)

"During his Friday morning sermon in the capital, the head of an influential Sunni group accused coalition forces of ``killing the Iraqi people daily.''"

Does AP imply that this assertion is false?

[leesa]

44. Thousands? Well, ya I guess you could go along way with that.

[wschalle]

45. Good for them.

As long as it doesn't get violent, it rocks.

[rodeodance]

62. "Force the occupation to leave from our country," .banner read in Engl

[leftchick]

49. Photos at Yahoo... ! "Stop Raiding Our Homes"

Shi'ite protestors demonstrate against the continued U.S. military presence in Iraq in Najaf on April 9, 2005. Tens of thousands of followers of a rebel Shi'ite cleric marched in Baghdad to denounce the U.S. presence in Iraq and demand a speedy trial of Saddam Hussein, on the second anniversary of his overthrow. Photo by Stringer/Iraq/Reuters

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?g=events/iraq/082701iraqplane&a=&tmpl=sl&ns=&l=1&e=1&a=&printer=

[kineneb]

52. Saw the German coverage

Upon my morning purusal of news, over at the Suddeutche Zeitung they had a good article on it. I am always amused at items in the German press that never make it here. The joys of being bilingual.

For those who read German:
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/,polm2/ausland/artikel/975/50925/

and in Der Speigel:
http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,350615,00.html
photos are in center of article

[Frederik]

98. (sigh) Even the Germans can't get it right...

"...eine riesige Statue Saddams von jubelnden Menschen in einem symbolischen Akt gestürzt worden."

Yeah, 50 jubelnded Menschen surrounded by 150 journalists and protected by US tanks.

[The_Casual_Observer]

53. It is clear that civil war would break out in Iraq if US ever leaves

However, US forces will never leave there now, no matter how many people get killed.

[rodeodance]

56. (tens of thousands) Protesters Call for U.S. Pullout in Iraq

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=3&u=/ap/20050409/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_3

Protesters Call for U.S. Pullout in Iraq

1 hour, 23 minutes ago


By TRACI CARL, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Tens of thousands of supporters of a militant Shiite cleric filled central Baghdad's streets Saturday and demanded that American soldiers go home, marking the second anniversary of Baghdad's fall with shouts of "No, no to Satan!"


To the west of the capital, 5,000 protesters issue similar demands in the Sunni Triangle city of Ramadi, reflecting a growing impatience with the U.S.-led occupation and the slow pace of returning control to an infant Iraqi government.

The protest in Baghdad's famous Firdos Square was the largest anti-American demonstration since the U.S.-led invasion, but the turnout was far less than the 1 million called for by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
.......

Tens of thousands of people spilled into the streets of central Baghdad, waving Iraqi flags and climbing onto an abstract sculpture said to represent freedom and built on the spot where Saddam Hussein's statue once stood.......

[rodeodance]

57. Grand Headline-rate it up

[rodeodance]

58. Its current average rating is 2.87 with 832 vote(s).

[rodeodance]

59. also see this thread for Great pics of the protests

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3454485

[rodeodance]

60. Has anyone seen any of these pics on the cable news? I have not

cnn has shown quick shots which I can not read the signs

[rodeodance]

61. Iraqis burn the American flag (pic at website below)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/050409/481/bag11504091041

Iraqis burn an American flag during a demonstration in Baghdad, Iraq Saturday, April 9, 2005. Tens of thousands of supporters of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who led uprisings last year against U.S. troops, called Saturday for American forces to withdraw from Iraq. The demonstration overflowed Firdos Square, where protesters pulled down a towering statue of Saddam Hussein two years ago to the day.(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

Sat Apr 9, 6:42 AM ET

AP

I

[rodeodance]

63. Avg Rating: 2.87, 939 votes (more voted yet rating pretty much the same)

[ElectroPrincess]

65. You are correct ...

And may I add that now those freepers are digging in their little mindless heels. Like cockroaches, Right Wing Fanatics are seemingly possessed and irrepressible freaks of nature. :P

Avg Rating: 1.92, 1084 votes - Your Rating: 5

[NYC]

68. Rating still 1.92.

You have given the news article Protesters Call for U.S. Pullout in Iraq a rating of 5.

Its current average rating is 1.92 with 1191 votes.

[Junkdrawer]

67. Seems vaguely familiar...Peabody, set the way back to 1978 Iran...

1978: Iran's PM steps down amid riots

Iran's Prime Minister Jaffer Sharif-Emami has resigned after two days of virtual mob rule. The appointment of Mr Sharif-Emami, a Shia Muslim, by the Shah just over two months ago was designed to put an end to the religious violence currently sweeping across the country.

However, his presence in the Shah's government failed to have the desired effect of curbing the unrest which has been particularly marked among university students.

The unrest is partly a response to the programme of secularisation being implemented under the Shah who took over from his father as Iran's ruler in 1941.

Iran has prospered thanks to its oil reserves but there is popular resentment against the Shah and the ruling elite who are believed to have profited disproportionately.

...


http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/5/newsid_2538000/2538427.stm

[rodeodance]

69. Avg Rating: 1.92, 1191 votes - The Right is hitting is story

[Jack Rabbit]

71. The Freepers are kidding themselves

They can rate it down to a bare zero and it won't change a thing. The Iraqis didn't greet US troops with roses and candy two years ago and believe their country (I emphasize, freepers, their country) would be better off if foreign troops left and did not return.

Do they really think that rating the story down will make the Iraqi people appreciate Bush more? It is a only form of shooting the messenger.

[clem_c_rock]

72. kick

[rodeodance]

76. Avg Rating: 1.92, 1219 votes

[Jack Rabbit]

77. See post 71

!!

[Jack Rabbit]

78. BBC Link: Iraqis stage huge anti-US protest

From the BBC Online
Dated Saturday April 9 20:24 GMT (1:24 pm PDT)

Iraqis stage huge anti-US protest

Tens of thousands of protesters have marched through Baghdad denouncing the US occupation of Iraq, two years after the fall of Saddam Hussein.

Demonstrators loyal to Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr rallied in the square where the ousted Iraqi leader's statue was toppled in 2003.

The protest was the largest since the 30 January elections.

Earlier, insurgents killed 15 Iraqi soldiers travelling in a convoy south of the capital, police said.

Read more.

[illflem]

79. Thousands of Iraqis demand U.S. military pullout

BAGHDAD (AP) - Marking the second anniversary of U.S. troops taking control of Baghdad and toppling Saddam Hussein's statue, supporters of a militant Shi'ite cleric filled the capital's streets yesterday, and demanded that the Americans go home, shouting "No! No, to Satan!"

About 5,000 protesters held a similar demonstration in the Sunni triangle city of Ramadi, reflecting a growing impatience with U.S.-led forces trying slowly to hand over control to an infant Iraqi government.

"I do not accept having occupation forces in my country," said 35-year-old protester Ali Feleih Hassan. "No one accepts this. I want them out. They have been here for two years, and now they have to set a timetable for their withdrawal."

Protesters burned the U.S. flag, as well as cardboard cutouts of Bush and Saddam. Three effigies representing Saddam, Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair - all handcuffed and dressed in red Iraqi prison jumpsuits that signified they had been condemned to death - were stood on a pedestal, then symbolically toppled like the Saddam statue two years before.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/562888.html

[blogslut]

80. kick

n/t

[Jack Rabbit]

81. A kick and Power to the People

:bounce:

[daleo]

82. Chimps don't listen to "focus groups".

Now watch this swing.

[DoYouEverWonder]

86. Neither does the MSM

don't you know that Charles and Camilla's wedding is so much more important, the the MSM can barely spend 2 minutes covering this story.

BTW: How many times did the rerun the video of the staged taking down of Saddam's statue?

[Jack Rabbit]

87. While Charles and Camilla got married

While Charles and Camilla got married (an item worthy of ten seconds of air time in the US), tens of thousands of Iraqis demonstrated against US occupation and Mexico moved against the leader of the government's left wing opposition.

Neither story got much more than a blip on the MSM radar. Those who are wondering why so many Americans held serious misconceptions about the invasion for so long -- and why so many continue to hold these misconceptions -- need look no further than the willful disinformation spread by the US corporate-owned media.

[Frederik]

88. (300,000) Iraqis protest American invasion

I know it's not news anymore, but the number is. CNN reported "thousands".

"BAGHDAD, Iraq - Chanting “Death to America” and burning effigies of President Bush and Saddam Hussein, tens of thousands of Iraqis flooded central Baghdad on Saturday in what police called the largest anti-American protest since the fall of Baghdad, the capital, exactly two years ago."

"Some estimates put the number of protesters at 300,000."

“The American people need to know that they can’t suppress us anymore, even with all their strength and power,” said Mohammed Salih Khalaf, 54, a day laborer from Sadr City.
...

Munaf Abbas, 25, a chemical engineer from the southern city of Amara, blamed the presence of U.S. troops for rising violence in Iraq. “America is the mother of terrorism,” he said. “All the explosions are happening because they are here.”

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050410/NEWS03/104100087/-1/news

[Toots]

89. “America is the mother of terrorism,

I don't know, maybe we should ask the Indians if that is true. I would suspect that more people in the world believe that than what Bush* would like them to believe.

[Pool Hall Ace]

90. How could this be possible?

The Nashua Telegraph must be a LIEBRAWL rag. The troops were greeted with flowers! (heavy dollop of :sarcasm: )

[Zerex71]

91. Yeah, but where's the flowers they were supposed to shower us with?

Let freedom reign!

Hope Chimpy likes this, because it's called "freedom of assembly" and "freedom of expression", things that, uh, we seem to have lost here.

[Joey Liberal]

92. I guess they are tired of being "liberated"???

This is what happens when you invade a country that had done nothing to us and was not involved in 9-11. Meanwhile, Osama is still out there, somewhere.............I can't believe how Bush has fucked everything up.

[Algorem]

93. Time for Bush to do a town-hall meeting tour of Iraq.Likeabilitize them.

[Frederik]

99. Yeah

He needs to friendlificate them more.

[SillyGoose]

94. But where are the flowers?

Aren't those Iraqis supposed to be throwing flowers? Didn't they get the memo?



:banghead:

[Jack Rabbit]

95. The memo was in English

The neocons didn't bother to put it in Arabic.

[Emillereid]

96. Remember when the Lebanese demonstrated to protest Syrian

Occupation -- and our Chimp in Chief called it the flowering of democracy and demanded that Syria pull its troops out. Or when the Ukraine came together in large numberS -- we said the Ukraine must have another election because the people had said loud and clear that it was time for regime change.

Well I say the Iraqi people have spoken -- US OUT OF IRAQ NOW!!!

[Jack Rabbit]

97. A number of us pointed that out at the time

What we are really seeing in the Middle East and elsewhere is not democracy on the march but nationalism. This is a more popular kind of nationalism than we've seen in the Middle East for a while. It is actually reminiscent of reading nineteenth century European history. At that time, national groups rebelled against domination by foreign empires (i.e., stronger European states like Austria and Russia) which often had a reactionary agenda. Such movements were essential to the founding of the modern states of Germany, Poland, Italy and Ireland.

The neoconservatives and their allies in the US corporate owned media are trying kid us by saying that popular movements in the Middle East are necessarily democratic or that the Iraqi elections inspired them. The demonstrations in Iraq yesterday were to remind the leaders of the new Iraqi government that they owe their allegiance and their power to Iraqi voters, not the Bush regime.

What the people are saying through mass demonstrations is that national governments are to serve the interests of the people of those nations, not foreign interests. This is not the message the neoconservatives wished to give to developing nations by invading Iraq.

[rodeodance]

101. Avg Rating: 1.92, 1247 votes

[Jack Rabbit]

102. Once again, see post 71

The freepers are kidding themselves by rating this down. Do they really think that the Iraqis who demonstrated yesterday give a rat's ass for what they think?