New Yorkers join nationwide anti-war protests

Joining their counterparts around the country and the world, about 1,000 protesters rallied in Times Square on Saturday to mark the third anniversary of the U. S.-led invasion of Iraq, demanding an immediate withdrawal of all American troops.

One by one, speakers denounced the Bush administration and the continuing U.S. troop presence in Iraq.

"We say enough hypocrisy, enough lies, our soldiers must come home now," said Waleed Bader of the Arab Muslim American Federation. He addressed the crowd, gathered near a military recruiting station guarded by police vehicles and mounted officers, from the flatbed of a truck draped with anti-war messages.

"Stop the U.S. war machine, from Iraq to Korea to the Philippines," some participants chanted. "And free, free, free Palestine and end the occupation."

The demonstration, organized by the group Troops Out Now, called for an immediate, complete and unconditional U.S. military withdrawal.

"Public opinion is now overwhelmingly on our side as it becomes clearer every day that this occupation itself is the source of the violence in Iraq," said organizer Dustin Langley, criticizing politicians of both parties for refusing to end the war.

Later in the day protesters marched to the United Nations for a further rally. Small-scale anti-war protests and meetings were scheduled all over New York at the weekend, and a concert "Bring ' Em Home Now!" was planned for Monday in New York City.

The anti-war movement is "going into cities, towns and neighborhoods in decentralized actions," said ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) coalition national coordinator Brian Becker in a statement prior to the protests.

Another anti-war group, the United for Peace and Justice, which claims to be the largest U.S. anti-war coalition, promised more than 500 events in all 50 states.

The anti-war movement will "send a clear message to Congress and the White House; after three years of a failed policy, the Iraq war must end," read a group statement.

Source: Xinhua