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October 27, 2007
Thousands Call for Swift End to Iraq War
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 10:47 p.m. ET
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Thousands of people called for a swift end to the war
in Iraq as they marched through downtown on Saturday, chanting and carrying
signs that read: ''Wall Street Gets Rich, Iraqis and GIs Die'' or ''Drop
Tuition Not Bombs.''
The streets were filled with thousands as labor union members, anti-war
activists, clergy and others rallied near City Hall before marching to
Dolores Park.
As part of the demonstration, protesters fell on Market Street as part of a
''die in'' to commemorate the thousands of American soldiers and Iraqi
citizens who have died since the conflict began in March 2003.
The protest was the largest in a series of war protests taking place in New
York, Los Angeles and other U.S. cities, organizers said.
No official head count was available. Organizers of the event estimated
about 30,000 people participated in San Francisco. It appeared that more
than 10,000 people attended the march.
''I got the sense that many people were at a demonstration for the first
time,'' said Sarah Sloan, one of the event's organizers. ''That's something
that's really changed. People have realized the right thing to do is to take
to the streets.''
In the shadow of the National Constitution Center and Independence Hall in
Philadelphia, a few hundred protesters ranging from grade school-aged
children to senior citizens called on President Bush to end funding for the
war and bring troops home.
Marchers who braved severe wet weather during the walk of more than 30
blocks were met by people lining the sidewalks and clutching a long yellow
ribbon over the final blocks before Independence Mall. There, the rally
opened with songs and prayers by descendants of Lenape Indians.
''Our signs are limp from the rain and the ground is soggy, but out spirits
are high,'' said Bal Pinguel, of the American Friends Service Committee, one
of the national sponsors of the event. ''The high price we are paying is the
more than 3,800 troops who have been killed in the war in Iraq.''
Vince Robbins, 51, of Mount Holly, N.J., said there needed to be more
rallies and more outrage.
''Where's the outcry? Where's the horror that almost 4,000 Americans have
died in a foreign country that we invaded?'' Robbins said. ''I'm almost as
angry at the American people as I am the president. I think Americans have
become apathetic and placid about the whole thing.''
In New York, among the thousands marching down Broadway was a man carrying
cardboard peace doves. Some others dressed as prisoners, wearing the bright
orange garb of Guantanamo Bay inmates and pushing a person in a cage.
In Seattle, thousands of marchers were led by a small group of Iraq war
veterans.
At Occidental Park, where the protesters rallied after the march, the
American Friends Service Committee displayed scores of combat boots, one
pair for each U.S. solider killed in Iraq.
Thousands Call for Swift End to Iraq War
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 10:47 p.m. ET
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Thousands of people called for a swift end to the war
in Iraq as they marched through downtown on Saturday, chanting and carrying
signs that read: ''Wall Street Gets Rich, Iraqis and GIs Die'' or ''Drop
Tuition Not Bombs.''
The streets were filled with thousands as labor union members, anti-war
activists, clergy and others rallied near City Hall before marching to
Dolores Park.
As part of the demonstration, protesters fell on Market Street as part of a
''die in'' to commemorate the thousands of American soldiers and Iraqi
citizens who have died since the conflict began in March 2003.
The protest was the largest in a series of war protests taking place in New
York, Los Angeles and other U.S. cities, organizers said.
No official head count was available. Organizers of the event estimated
about 30,000 people participated in San Francisco. It appeared that more
than 10,000 people attended the march.
''I got the sense that many people were at a demonstration for the first
time,'' said Sarah Sloan, one of the event's organizers. ''That's something
that's really changed. People have realized the right thing to do is to take
to the streets.''
In the shadow of the National Constitution Center and Independence Hall in
Philadelphia, a few hundred protesters ranging from grade school-aged
children to senior citizens called on President Bush to end funding for the
war and bring troops home.
Marchers who braved severe wet weather during the walk of more than 30
blocks were met by people lining the sidewalks and clutching a long yellow
ribbon over the final blocks before Independence Mall. There, the rally
opened with songs and prayers by descendants of Lenape Indians.
''Our signs are limp from the rain and the ground is soggy, but out spirits
are high,'' said Bal Pinguel, of the American Friends Service Committee, one
of the national sponsors of the event. ''The high price we are paying is the
more than 3,800 troops who have been killed in the war in Iraq.''
Vince Robbins, 51, of Mount Holly, N.J., said there needed to be more
rallies and more outrage.
''Where's the outcry? Where's the horror that almost 4,000 Americans have
died in a foreign country that we invaded?'' Robbins said. ''I'm almost as
angry at the American people as I am the president. I think Americans have
become apathetic and placid about the whole thing.''
In New York, among the thousands marching down Broadway was a man carrying
cardboard peace doves. Some others dressed as prisoners, wearing the bright
orange garb of Guantanamo Bay inmates and pushing a person in a cage.
In Seattle, thousands of marchers were led by a small group of Iraq war
veterans.
At Occidental Park, where the protesters rallied after the march, the
American Friends Service Committee displayed scores of combat boots, one
pair for each U.S. solider killed in Iraq.
