Saturday - March 18, 2006

Third Anniversary

Three years ago today the US, the UN and a coalition of countries decided that enough was enough and that Saddam Hussein had to go. The war in Iraq began, Saddam’s forces were over-run almost overnight and he was later captured. His two evil offspring were killed in a bloody gunfight.

Insurgents from outside Iraq have been pouring into that benighted country since then trying to destabilize everything. In spite of the constant terrorist attacks from these outsiders, the Iraqi people have managed to agree on a consitution and elect a democratic government. The Iraqi security forces are taking over more and more of the burden of stopping the insurgents every day.

This thread is open today for everyone to complain about the war or to praise the coalition for sticking it out and helping the Iraqi people free themselves from nearly fifty years of oppression by one dictator after another. Let’s see how long it takes before the words “WMD” and “quagmire” come up ....

Global Protests Mark Iraq War Anniversary
_{March 18, 2006 10:15 EST}

Anti-war protesters marched in Australia, Asia, Turkey and Europe on Saturday in demonstrations that marked the third anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq with a demand that coalition troops pull out. Around 500 protesters marched through central Sydney, chanting “End the war now” and “Troops out of Iraq.” Many campaigners waved placards branding President Bush the “World’s No. 1 Terrorist” or expressing concerns that Iran could be the next country to face invasion.

“Iraq is a quagmire and has been a humanitarian disaster for the Iraqis,” said Jean Parker, a member of the Australian branch of the Stop the War Coalition, which organized the march. “There is no way forward without ending the occupation.” Opposition to the war is still evident in Australia, which has some 1,300 troops in and around Iraq. Visiting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was heckled by campaigners in Sydney this week, who said she had “blood on her hands.”

But Saturday’s protest was small compared to the mass demonstrations that swept across the country in the buildup to the invasion — the largest Australia had seen since joining U.S. forces in the Vietnam War. The turnout also was lower than protesters had hoped in Britain, whose government has been the United States’ strongest supporter in the war. Authorities shut down streets in the heart of London’s shopping and theater district for the demonstration, which organizers had predicted would attract up to 100,000 people, but police estimated the crowd was about 15,000 people.

Some protesters carried posters calling Bush a terrorist and other placards pictured Prime Minister Tony Blair, saying “Blair must go!” Britain has about 8,000 soldiers in Iraq but plans to pull out 800 by May. “We are against this war, both for religious reasons and on a humanitarian basis, too. No one deserves to be bombarded,” said one march, student Imran Saghir, 25. In Tokyo, about 2,000 people rallied in a downtown park, carrying signs saying “Stop the Occupation” as they listened to a series of anti-war speeches.

“The war is illegal under international law,” said Takeshiko Tsukushi, a member of World Peace Now, which helped plan the rally. “We want the immediate withdrawal of the Self Defense Forces and from Iraq along with all foreign troops.” Japanese Prime Minister Junchiro Koizumi is a staunch supporter of the U.S.-led coalition in Japan and dispatched 600 soldiers to the southern city of Samawah in 2004 to purify water and carry out other humanitarian tasks. The Cabinet approved an extension of that mission in December, authorizing the troops to stay in Iraq through the end of the year.

- More on this anniversary party from Associated Press...

- And here’s the report from London by the BBC...

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/18/2006 at 10:19 AM   
Filed Under: • Iraq •  
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Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

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It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

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