- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tens
of thousands of anti-war protesters marched peacefully on the White House
on Saturday to express opposition to a possible U.S. attack on Iraq, some
chanting slogans accusing President Bush of planning genocide.
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- Thousands more people took part in anti-war demonstrations
in San Francisco, Berlin, Amsterdam and other cities.
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- "This is going to be an ugly, unnecessary fight.
Most of the world is saying 'no' to it," civil rights leader the Rev.
Jesse Jackson told the crowd at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington.
"Pre-emptive, one-bullet diplomacy, we cannot resort to that."
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- In Washington, actress Susan Sarandon, who supports numerous
liberal causes, accused Bush of having "hijacked our losses and our
fears." Sarandon said terrorism could not be fought with violence
and that most Americans did not want a conflict.
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- "Let us resist this war," Sarandon told the
cheering crowd. "Let us hate war in all its forms, whether the weapon
used is a missile or an airplane."
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- Demonstrators of all ages, many religions and many nationalities
gathered at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial before marching behind Jackson
to the White House. Bush, however, was in Mexico for a summit of Pacific
Rim leaders.
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- The protesters brandished signs reading: "No Proof,
No War," "Bush Sucks" and "Pre-emptive Impeachment."
Some protesters carried Iraqi flags. "No war, no way," shouted
a protester wearing a mask of Bush with horns and a pitchfork.
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- "George Bush, you can't hide. We charge you with
genocide!" chanted the demonstrators, who were escorted by mounted
U.S. Park Police and watched by 600 police officers along the route in
the heart of the nation's capital.
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- Bush has made "regime change" in Iraq -- ousting
President Saddam Hussein -- a policy of his administration. Bush has said
that if the United Nations fails to compel Iraq to give up any weapons
of mass destruction -- chemical, biological or nuclear arms -- it possesses,
the United States would do so by force if necessary. Congress has given
Bush the authorization he sought to carry out a possible attack.
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- Police did not give an official estimate of the size
of the crowd in Washington. Tony Murphy, an organizer of the event, told
Reuters 150,000 people participated. Other observers put the figure between
40,000 and 50,000.
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- 42,000 PROTEST IN SAN FRANCISCO
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- In San Francisco, known for its liberal politics and
history of activism, a crowd that police estimated at about 42,000 marched
near the city's historic Ferry Building to its Civic Center.
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- A group of about 20 children led the parade as protesters
carried signs bearing pictures of Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld beneath the words "weapons of
mass destruction." Other signs read: "No blood for oil"
and "Regime change begins at home. Vote on Nov. 5," referring
to the U.S. congressional elections.
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- In Germany, demonstrations were staged in about 70 towns
and cities. The largest was in Berlin, where almost 10,000 people marched.
In Amsterdam, some 4,000 people rallied in heavy rain to protest against
U.S. policy.
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- In Washington, protesters called on Bush to spend the
tens of billions of dollars that a war against Iraq could cost on social
programs in the United States. They also argued that sanctions imposed
on Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and the 1991 Gulf War should
be lifted, blaming them for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi
civilians.
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- About 500 Iraqi exiles came to Washington to show support
for efforts to remove Saddam from power.
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- Tamir Musa, an Iraqi who has lived in Michigan for 10
years, said, "The war is good if it goes to kill Saddam Hussein. He
has a lot of bombs. He's terrorist number one."
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- "If violence fixed the problem, then Israel should
be at peace," countered Rick Blumhorst of Kansas, a U.S. Gulf War
veteran wearing his Army dress uniform. "Acting unilaterally, we're
going to inflame the Muslim community."
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