WASHINGTON — Thousands of protesters — many directing their anger squarely at President Barack Obama — marched through the nation’s capital Saturday to urge immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.
At least eight people, including activist Cindy Sheehan, were arrested by U.S. Park Police at the end of the march, after laying coffins at a fence outside the White House. Friday marked the seventh anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
“Arrest that war criminal!” Sheehan shouted outside the White House before her arrest, referring to Obama.
The protesters defied orders to clear the sidewalk on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House, and park police say they face charges of failure to obey a lawful order.
Activist Ralph Nader told thousands who gathered in Lafayette Park across from the White House that Obama has essentially continued the policies of the Bush administration, and it was foolish to have thought otherwise.
“He’s kept Guantanamo open, he’s continued to use indefinite detention,” Nader said. The only real difference, he said, is that “Obama’s speeches are better.”
Others were more conciliatory toward Obama. Shirley Allan of Silver Spring, Md., carried a sign that read, “President Obama We love you but we need to tell you! Your hands are getting bloody!! Stop it now.”
Allan thought it was going too far to call Obama a war criminal but said she is deeply disappointed that the conflicts are continuing.
The protest drew a smaller crowd than the tens of thousands who marched in 2006 and 2007. Organizers estimated the size of the march, which stretched for several blocks, at 10,000.
Despite the arrests, the protest was peaceful. At the outset, police closed a portion of the sidewalk in front of the White House fence after protesters tried to use mud and large stencils to spell out “Iraq veterans against the war.”
Once the sidewalk was closed, the protesters stenciled the message on the street using mud they had carried in buckets to the rally.
In New York City, there were far fewer protesters at a similar rally. A few dozen enthusiastic protesters gathered near a military recruiting station in Times Square, though they were far outnumbered by disinterested tourists.
