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Protesters Want End To Iraq War

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The Associated Press

Published: March 22, 2009

WASHINGTON - The throng of war protesters swelled Saturday as they marched across the Memorial Bridge into Virginia, by the Pentagon and to the offices of defense contractors to mark the sixth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.

With police standing by, hundreds of demonstrators were met by a small group of counter-protesters as they crossed the Memorial Bridge. War supporters held a large banner that read, "Go to hell traitors, you dishonor our dead on hallowed ground."

Organizers from the ANSWER Coalition said more than 1,000 groups sponsored the protest to call for an end to the Iraq war. Carrying cardboard coffins and signs saying "We need jobs and schools, not war" and "Stop the war!", protesters demanded President Barack Obama immediately withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq.

"We think it's especially important for this new administration to feel the pressure from people that we don't want more war," said Obama supporter Pat Halle, 59, of Baltimore.

Obama has said he plans to withdraw roughly 100,000 troops by summer 2010. He promises to pull the last of the U.S. troops by the end of 2011, which is in accord with a deal the Iraqi government signed with Bush.

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