Thousands Rally in DC Against Iraq War

Protest was expected to draw smaller crowds
By ASHA BEH, NBC Washington, March 20, 2010

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On the seventh anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, demonstrators carried flag-draped cardboard coffins as they marched from Lafayette Park across from the White House through downtown DC Saturday.

President Barack Obama's decision to send more troops into Afghanistan helped build momentum for the anti-war protest, which was expected to draw smaller crowds, according to military veterans and activists Ralph Nader and Cindy Sheehan, who helped organize the protest.

The protesters picked on another president as well, carrying signs reading "Indict Bush Now."

Saturday’s large-scale protest signaled the revival of the anti-war movement, that has been largely silent since January 2008, according to The Hindu.

In a statement obtained by the newspaper, the ANSWER Coalition said that although “the enthusiasm and desire for change after eight years of the Bush regime was the dominant cause that led to the election of a big Democratic Party majority in both Houses of Congress and the election of Barack Obama to the White House… [it was now] obvious to all that waiting for politicians to bring real change… is simply a prescription for passivity by progressives and an invitation to the array of corporate interests from military contractors to the banks, to big oil, to the health insurance giants that dominate the political life of the country.”

Stops on the route included military contractor Halliburton, the Mortgage Bankers Association, The Washington Post offices and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. On the website for the March 20th protest, the ANSWER Coalition claims "Halliburton has become synonymous with war profiteering" and the Washington Post "has been a staunch supporter of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and continues to operate as an apologist for U.S. aggression."