Thousands jam D.C. to protest war

WASHINGTON — Tens of thousands of people packed downtown Washington Saturday and marched past the White House in the largest show of antiwar sentiment in the nation's capital since the conflict in Iraq began.

The demonstration drew grandmothers in wheelchairs and babies in strollers, military veterans in fatigues and protest veterans in tie-dye. It was the first time in a decade that protest groups had a permit to march in front of the Executive Mansion, and, even though President Bush was not there, the setting seemed to electrify the crowd.

Signs, T-shirts, slogans and speeches outlined the cost of the Iraqi conflict in human as well as economic terms. They memorialized dead U.S. soldiers and Iraqis and contrasted the price of war with the price of recovery for areas battered by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Riffs on Vietnam-era protests were plentiful, with messages declaring, "Make Levees, Not War," "I never thought I'd miss Nixon," and "Iraq is Arabic for Vietnam." Many in the crowd had protested in the 1960s; others weren't even born during those tumultuous years.

Protest organizers estimated that 300,000 people participated, triple their original target. District of Columbia Police Chief Charles Ramsey, who walked the march route, said the protesters achieved the goal of 100,000 and probably exceeded it. Asked if at least 150,000 showed up, the chief said, "That's as good a guess as any.

The protesters rallied at the Ellipse, then marched through a misty drizzle around the White House and along Pennsylvania Avenue. The crowd thinned as events continued into the evening with a concert on the grounds of the Washington Monument that featured Joan Baez and other performers along with antiwar speeches.

The police presence along the demonstration's route seemed more relaxed than at recent protests, although D.C. police and U.S. Park Police had hundreds of officers in place to deal with potential trouble. Police said a construction fence was torn down and a newspaper box damaged, but they reported no injuries or major problems. They said three people were arrested — one on a charge of destruction of property, one on a charge of attempted theft and one on a charge of disorderly conduct.

About 200 counterdemonstrators set up outside the FBI building on Pennsylvania Avenue, and there was some yelling back and forth as the antiwar marchers moved past. "Shame on you! Shame on you!" one counterprotester shouted at the antiwar group. Several dozen officers stood between the two groups, and no trouble erupted, police said.

The antiwar groups staged smaller rallies Saturday in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, London, Rome and other cities. In Washington, the events were sponsored by groups that included the ANSWER Coalition and United for Peace and Justice and focused on a succinct theme: "End the War in Iraq and Bring The Troops Home Now."

Roughly 147,000 U.S. troops are in Iraq. Since the war began in March 2003, 1,911 U.S. soldiers have been killed and 14,641 have been wounded.

The protest groups helped organize caravans and car pools, and many participants began arriving early in the morning after bumpy all-night bus rides.<