Thousands join US anti-Iraq war protests

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Anti-war protestors gather at Independence Mall in Philadelphia, Pa. Saturday as part of an 11-city rally calling for support for US troops and a swift end to the war in Iraq.

NEW YORK, Oct 28 (AFP): Tens of thousands of demonstrators joined marches in cities across the United States demanding an end to the war in Iraq, organizers said.
Local television stations Saturday showed crowds filing peacefully through the streets in New York, Los Angeles and other cities.
The protesters waved banners that read "End the war now," "Stop Bush," and "Worst president ever," referring to the increasingly unpopular US military campaign in Iraq launched by President George W. Bush.
The coalition of groups behind the day of protests, United for Peace and Justice, issued a statement putting the total number of participants at 100,000 across various cities including Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Seattle.
Police estimates for the turnout were not immediately available.
"End this war, bring the troops home now. We need money in our own communities, not in a war that never should have happened," said a member of the campaign group, Leslie Cagan, on New York's NY1 television news channel.
As of Friday the overall death toll for the US military in Iraq stood at 3,837 according to Pentagon figures, since the March 2003 invasion that ousted former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.