Thousands of people have taken to the streets of US cities for a second day of protests against the war in Iraq.

Rallies were held in New York, San Francisco, Portland and in other cities ahead of Tuesday’s fourth anniversary of the start of the conflict.

Organisers said thousands marched through Manhattan calling for troops to come home and for President George W Bush to be impeached.

Amid near-freezing temperatures, the New York protesters carried placards reading “Drop Bush, Not Bombs” and “Four Years Too Long”.
(Source: BBC News)

Think of how difficult it must be to be antiwar in America, to hold a basically left-wing position in the most right-wing Western country. A country that shouted freedom on the one hand while persecuting people on the other, a country where schools often start the day with a Nazi-esque pledge of allegiance to the Fatherland und Gott.

We have it easy here: when we march, we aren’t faced with opposing marches of pro-war nutters because, frankly, Blair probably couldn’t get a five-a-side team out on the streets to support his lunatic warmongering. He is political dogshit now, waiting to be scraped off the pavement.

But that’s not the case in the US where the pro-war lobby has the big media in its pocket and hence the hearts and minds of many Americans. These are the people who still believe that there was a link between 9/11 and Iraq because they still believe Bush and the other neocons’ lies.

I can only applaud the courage it must take to stand up for peace when you have the braying and bullying of neocon neo-Nazis in your ears. To those who marched in the US, bravo!