Signs of the Times
Huge Protest in Iraq Demands U.S. Withdraw
By EDWARD WONG
BAGHDAD, April 9 — Tens of thousands of protesters loyal to Moktada al-Sadr, the Shiite cleric, took to the streets of the holy city of Najaf on Monday in an extraordinarily disciplined rally to demand an end to the American military presence in Iraq, burning American flags and chanting “Death to America!”Residents said that the angry, boisterous demonstration was the largest in Najaf, the heart of Shiite religious power, since the American-led invasion in 2003. It took place on the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad, and it was an obvious effort by Mr. Sadr to show the extent of his influence here in Iraq, even though he did not appear at the rally. Mr. Sadr went underground after the American military began a new security push in Baghdad on Feb. 14, and his whereabouts are unknown.
In Najaf, Protesters Demand U.S. Pullout
By Sudarsan Raghavan and Saad Sarhan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, April 10, 2007; Page A12
BAGHDAD, April 9 -- Draped in Iraqi flags and chanting anti-American slogans, tens of thousands of Iraqis swept into the southern city of Najaf on the call of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to mark the fourth anniversary of the ouster of President Saddam Hussein, calling for U.S. forces to withdraw from Iraq."No, no to the occupier. Yes, yes, to Iraq," they chanted, as demonstrators burned and ripped apart American flags. "Get out, get out occupation."
Time to tell W and that idiot McCain that it is time to go.