World-wide protests against US invasion of Iraq

Greetings all,

Anti-war protests occured across the world, and in the US, on the 2nd anniversary of the invasion of Iraq

The size and breadth of these demonstrations shows considerable opposition to the invasion.


US:
abcnews.go.com...
"NEW YORK Mar 19, 2005 — Anti-war activists marched in the streets of American cities big and small Saturday, stopping traffic and lying down alongside flag-draped cardboard coffins to mark the second anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq."

New York :
www.usatoday.com...
"NEW YORK (AP) — Anti-war activists marched in the streets of New York and other American cities on Saturday, stopping traffic and lying down alongside flag-draped cardboard coffins to mark the second anniversary of the war in Iraq."

San Francisco:
www.mercurynews.com...
"SAN FRANCISCO - Thousands of anti-war protesters took to the streets of San Francisco and other American cities Saturday, chanting slogans, stopping traffic and carrying cardboard coffins to commemorate the second anniversary of the invasion of Iraq."

Seattle:
seattlepi.nwsource.com...
"SEATTLE -- Hundreds of protesters braved a steady rain Saturday, decrying the war in Iraq two years after U.S. troops led the invasion that later toppled Saddam Hussein's regime."

North Carolina :
www.kansascity.com...
"FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - (KRT) - Two years ago this weekend, Michael Hoffman, then a U.S. Marine, was marching across the border of Kuwait as the war in Iraq began. On Saturday, he marched through the streets of this military town with other veterans, military family members and anti-war activists protesting the invasion he now believes was wrong."

Canada :
www.cbc.ca...
"TORONTO - Despite freezing temperatures, thousands of people held rallies in cities across Canada Saturday to oppose a possible war against Iraq."

Europe :
edition.cnn.com...
"LONDON, England (AP) -- Tens of thousands of anti-war protesters marked the second anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq with demonstrations across Europe Saturday."

London, Turkey :
www.canoe.ca...
"...with 45,000 marching from London's Hyde Park past the American Embassy. In Istanbul, Turkey, about 15,000 people protested in the Kadikoy neighbourhood against the U.S. presence in Iraq."

Scotland:
news.scotsman.com...
"ANTI-WAR protesters were targeting an army recruitment office in Edinburgh today as part of a nationwide protest against the occupation of Iraq."

Australia:
www.theage.com.au...
"Protesters in Canberra marched against Australia's involvement in what they call the "coalition of the killing" in Iraq.The protest came on the second day of rallies and marches across Australia and the world to mark the second anniversary of the United States' invasion of the middle-eastern nation in 2003."


Iasion

Kudos to you for taking the time to compile these links. Thank you.

One issue. Perhaps you should change the title to take out the "US" part. Many governments, including my own, participated in the invasion and occupation. The protesters are protesting against their own governments, not necessarily against the US government.

I thought this was a shame:

"ANTI-WAR protesters were targeting an army recruitment office in Edinburgh today as part of a nationwide protest against the occupation of Iraq."

This is misdirected and plain silly. The recruitment office doesn't make the decisions to go to war. Those guys, just like the troops, are just doing their jobs. It's this kind of brainless action that takes the punch out of the cause and makes people lose respect for them.

Greetings,

Thanks for your comments :-)

Originally posted by wecomeinpeace
Kudos to you for taking the time to compile these links. Thank you.

One issue. Perhaps you should change the title to take out the "US" part. Many governments, including my own, participated in the invasion and occupation. The protesters are protesting against their own governments, not necessarily against the US government.

Well, thats true,
but the US is certainly the leader and instigator.

Iasion

Protesting is truly lame. They are the most closed minded of people and yes this is a generalization. I woke up to protestors today and by the time they were out of site, all was forgotten. These people need to get in the system to a higher level if they truly wish to make change and by disrupting a normal day, really seem like complainers. When I hear loud noises, its a natural instinct to ignore it and go about whatever I am doing. This is common amongst many people.

To the Protestors:

Making change with a more positive approach than a sounding like a bunch of complainers will have a kmore profound effect. And getting hippies who smoke pot all day and hate anything the goverment does are not good people to lag onto your annoying parades.

Originally posted by Jiffy
Protesting is truly lame. They are the most closed minded of people and yes this is a generalization. I woke up to protestors today and by the time they were out of site, all was forgotten. These people need to get in the system to a higher level if they truly wish to make change and by disrupting a normal day, really seem like complainers. When I hear loud noises, its a natural instinct to ignore it and go about whatever I am doing. This is common amongst many people.

To the Protestors:

Making change with a more positive approach than a sounding like a bunch of complainers will have a kmore profound effect. And getting hippies who smoke pot all day and hate anything the goverment does are not good people to lag onto your annoying parades.

Well how do you think you and I and many people in the word got our social and human rights. Yes the correct answer is by protesting! I know it's a little loud but it's better than sticking your head in the sand.

I'm trying to recall when there were protest against religous fanatics flying hijacked aircraft into buildings and killing innocent civilians.

9

Originally posted by Moon Puppy
I'm trying to recall when there were protest against religous fanatics flying hijacked aircraft into buildings and killing innocent civilians.

Hmmmm I'm trying to recall when religious fanatics flew aircraft into buildings.

And talkin about 9/11, Iraq had nothing to do with that either.

seattlepi.nwsource.com...

[edit on 21/3/2005 by ANOK]

Originally posted by yanchek

Originally posted by Jiffy
Protesting is truly lame. They are the most closed minded of people and yes this is a generalization. I woke up to protestors today and by the time they were out of site, all was forgotten. These people need to get in the system to a higher level if they truly wish to make change and by disrupting a normal day, really seem like complainers. When I hear loud noises, its a natural instinct to ignore it and go about whatever I am doing. This is common amongst many people.

To the Protestors:

Making change with a more positive approach than a sounding like a bunch of complainers will have a kmore profound effect. And getting hippies who smoke pot all day and hate anything the goverment does are not good people to lag onto your annoying parades.

Well how do you think you and I and many people in the word got our social and human rights. Yes the correct answer is by protesting! I know it's a little loud but it's better than sticking your head in the sand.

I understand your statement and would agree at perhaps a different point in time. But really, if these people want to make a difference, they should find a way to reach people from higher ground.

Iasion, thanks for taking the time to bring this news, to bad that such an important news about the our constitutional rights to protest, have been taken over by a domestic issue and the federal government.

It is truly a great thing to watch when we as citizens of a free country can go in the streets and voice our disagreements.

The news keep it all in the background over Terry's case.

I can understand why people protest against the War.
Taking the protesting to Army recruitment centers is ludicrous. What have the recruitment centers got to do with the War? They are only a small cog in a very big wheel. Its a government controlled War. The troops are there doing the job they signed up and get payed for. They are following orders.Would these people show the same animosity to all our troops out there? Maybe.

Would these people show support for the coalition out there on the scale of the protesting? Sincerely doubt it.

I know there are some real extreme protesters out there who will stop at nothing to put their point across. Some even revert to breaking the law.

If and when this War is over and finished, i hope our troops get as many people out in the streets welcoming them home as there have been protesters against the War.

Originally posted by Bikereddie
I can understand why people protest against the War.
Taking the protesting to Army recruitment centers is ludicrous. What have the recruitment centers got to do with the War?

Seeing how half the protesters work for the government & non-profit government funded agencies you don't expect them the risk losing their jobs by protesting in front of their own offices do you?

Originally posted by ANOK
9

Originally posted by Moon Puppy
I'm trying to recall when there were protest against religous fanatics flying hijacked aircraft into buildings and killing innocent civilians.

Hmmmm I'm trying to recall when religious fanatics flew aircraft into buildings.

And talkin about 9/11, Iraq had nothing to do with that either.

seattlepi.nwsource.com...

[edit on 21/3/2005 by ANOK]

Oh did some of us forget? I guess Saddam didn't kill hundreds of thousands of innocent people? He didn't torture his own citizens? And he didn't break international law for decades?

Second, the instigators of the war should not be blamed on the US. Try blaming that on the Iraqi dictator "Saddam" and the Terrorist regime he controlled. Don't deny it, every government in the world knows what he did. Irregardless of whether he had WMD or not. He was allowed to remain in power for too long. Our administration has made mistakes along the way, but should they really be blamed for instigating this war?

Carburetor

Originally posted by Mr Carburetor
Our administration [Bush] has made mistakes along the way, but should they really be blamed for instigating this war?

Yes.

They lied (over and over) and innocent civilians and soldiers died (over and over).

Responsibility and accountability for foreign invasion and occupation and 'human destruction' based on fraudulent intelligence rests firmly on the Bush administration.

The thought of a war with Iraq would not of even occured if the Regime and dictator it was run by would have followed inernational laws as well as moral laws. Innocent people were dying for the wrong purposes long before a war started. It was international responsibility to withhold international law and protect the rights of all those innocent people that saddam murdered and tortured.

Whether the Administration lied or didn't lie, there is information from both sides of the story saying Iraq had WMD and Iraq didn't have WMD. However, the international community sat on their butts long before this letting Iraqi violations pass and pass, and when 911 happend the US wasn't going to sit on their butts again and hope somthing doesn't happen. This was a big part of the mistake in 911, when we didn't take threats seriously or prep for them.

And don't degrade and mock our soldiers by talking about their deaths in the sense that it was worthless. There many in this nation and others that feel they are heroes giving their lives for the sake of both Iraqi freedom and for a safer America.

Carburetor

Originally posted by Mr Carburetor
The thought of a war with Iraq would not of even occured if the Regime and dictator it was run by would have followed inernational laws as well as moral laws.

Yes, it would.

The US appointed Saddam Hussein as a puppet. The US created Osama Bin Laden.

The PNAC think tank plotted the Iraq invasion/regime change long ago, for strategic/economic reasons.

The Bush administration used a prepackaged bunch of lies, including about 9/11, which Bush called his 'trifecta' coming in, to implememt a predetermined agenda. They lied about connections between Saddam Hussein and 9/11. They lied about intelligence they had gathered about WMDs and the preciuse locations of them. They lied about uranium shopping expeditions. They lied to Congress and to US citizens and to other nations about the purpose of the war to have people like you believing that there was just reason for the invasion.

There wasn't.

It is your argument that more degrades the needless death of soldiers and citizens.

Originally posted by MaskedAvatar

Originally posted by Mr Carburetor
The thought of a war with Iraq would not of even occured if the Regime and dictator it was run by would have followed inernational laws as well as moral laws.

Yes, it would.

The US appointed Saddam Hussein as a puppet. The US created Osama Bin Laden.

The PNAC think tank plotted the Iraq invasion/regime change long ago, for strategic/economic reasons.

The Bush administration used a prepackaged bunch of lies, including about 9/11, which Bush called his 'trifecta' coming in, to implememt a predetermined agenda. They lied about connections between Saddam Hussein and 9/11. They lied about intelligence they had gathered about WMDs and the preciuse locations of them. They lied about uranium shopping expeditions. They lied to Congress and to US citizens and to other nations about the purpose of the war to have people like you believing that there was just reason for the invasion.

There wasn't.

It is your argument that more degrades the needless death of soldiers and citizens.

Pardon me, but I don't recall where any of that has been proven. Got any solid proof??
Im not denying that maybe they lied about WMD since it hasn't been found, however im not going to accuse them of all the guff you listed above until it is proven fact. If Saddam did have WMDs he had all the time and space in the world to hide them before the US got there.

Some of us think rationally and some are completely out in left field here. Bush administration propagading 911 I don't think so, once again solid proof please? Osama's evil face has been in known terrorist wanted books in almost every government and country in the world for decades. So the US must of conspired with many other nations on this...right?

Also, 1/2 the country voted for bush and 1/2 didn't.....so people like me are not all that uncommon. I see faults in the war led in Iraq, however im not so irrational as others claiming all this US conspiracy behind ever unfortunate world issue.

Your vibe on our soldiers portraid them as needless deaths. I claimed most people view them as the Heroes they are.


Carburetor

Yes, my vibe is that the death of US soldiers in Iraq in a criminal war for profit is needless, and that the Bush administration will one day be brought to full account. Not everyone will get with that program, but it will happen.

As far as any "proof" needing to be offered for the contents in my last post, all proof of all those events has been posted before and all of the inaccuracies and lies in the claims of the Bush administration for the need to invade Iraq have been covered by mainstream media throughout the whole world. People on a diet of Fox News in the US will miss that, for obvious reasons.

The topic here, "World-wide protests against US invasion of Iraq", is an important one. There are other topics for the few that see any redeeming features in the Bush administration.


[edit on 21-3-2005 by MaskedAvatar]

Originally posted by Mr Carburetor

And don't degrade and mock our soldiers by talking about their deaths in the sense that it was worthless. There many in this nation and others that feel they are heroes giving their lives for the sake of both Iraqi freedom and for a safer America.

Carburetor

Thanks for that Carburetor.
Seems like some people have forgot that we have troops over there risking, as you quote"giving their lives for the sake of both Iraqi freedom and for a safer America." I would also like to add all the other coalition forces to that sentiment too.

Cheers

protests largely futile, now. TV and papers control what people believe. the sixties are over. it worked then, because the media reported the protests, ...showed police brutality, ....reported the real numbers.

a protest now is seen as carnival. "only freaks and hippies protest". the numbers are always under-reported. i was at a protest, and there were 15 to 20 thousand people there, i'd guess. some news stations said 2500, some said 5, 000. nobody i heard on media said more than 5000. it happens all the time.

an effective protest might have everyone wearing suits and carrying briefcases. that would freak 'em out, i bet.

Originally posted by billybob
protests largely futile, now. TV and papers control what people believe. the sixties are over. it worked then, because the media reported the protests, ...showed police brutality, ....reported the real numbers.

a protest now is seen as carnival. "only freaks and hippies protest". the numbers are always under-reported. i was at a protest, and there were 15 to 20 thousand people there, i'd guess. some news stations said 2500, some said 5, 000. nobody i heard on media said more than 5000. it happens all the time.

an effective protest might have everyone wearing suits and carrying briefcases. that would freak 'em out, i bet.

I dont understand why few people see this glaring fact.

Does anyone really think a bunch of unwashed, piericed and tattooed freaks screaming and ranting and holding up repetitive protest signs is REALLY gonna move or change anything? No. because society, and well, the powers that be, can easily write them off: degenrerative, strange "freaks".

If you wanted to see a bunch of power grubbing war mongering swine that occupy Washington D.C. sweat and lose bowel control, try having a protest of say, 25,000 soccer moms, stock brokers, software engineers, mechanics, bankers, school teachers, ect ect ect...............preferably, in suits, nice dresses, and driving their SUVs.

THAT would make a difference, because the last thing Big Brother wants is the very herd of "pillars of sicety" that they are taxing and trying to influnce, to get up there in numbers and protesting.

Because it is those people, those annoying denizens of our lovely American suburbs, that the politicans so desperately want to kiss ass to, and those people will get the rest of their friends noticing.