Breaking News: Tens of Thousands Protest Americans in Baghdad
Tens of thousands of Shiites came out Saturday to Firdaws Square in downtown Baghdad to protest the continued US military presence in Iraq. It is the largest demonstration ever achieved by the Sadr Movement, who are Shiite nationalists. The crowds reenacted the pulling down of the statue of Saddam Hussein two years ago by pulling down effigies of George W. Bush and Tony Blair, dressed in orange jumpsuits to recall torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere.
They chanted, “Yes, yes to Islam, No, no to America!”.
Thousands of Sunnis gathered in downtown Ramadi to protest, as well. The Association of Muslim Scholars declined to have their Sunni Arab followers join the Shiites at Firdaws Square, which points to continued sharp ethnic divisions that have made it difficult for Iraqi nationalists to unite against the American presence.