Thousands take to Iraqi streets to protest "terrorism"

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by GePap
Interestingly, the Ayatollahs can put 100,000 k people in the street at the drop of a hat..so 10,000 people is, well, OK but nothing special.

The demos in favor of the ayatollahs were NOT pro-terrorism, pro-Baathist, or pro-insurgency, so im not sure i see the point of the contrast.

Also the demos for the ayatollahs in the shrine cities had elements of a religious outpouring and were not strictly political, so im not sure we're comparing apples and apples.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by GePap
Interestingly some of the same people who ignored demonstrations of 100K aganist the war in some places point to a demonstration of 10K as proof of thier position...very interesting.

who ignored them? Was their widespread opposition to the war in the UK -well yes. Was a large portion of that intensely motivated and well organized - yes. So what? Thats a datum towards an analysis of UK politics, not toward the question of the current political situation in Iraq.

A rally by IRAQIS, in IRAQ, for a political purpose (not religious) by people who for years couldnt whisper against the regime without taking their lives in their hands, who are STILL threatened with death for supporting the coalition, is important. Not as important as it would have been if 100,000 Iraqis had shown up, instead of 5-10,000, but still important.

Particularly interesting to me was that 200 reportedly protested in Ramadi, deep in the "Sunni triangle" where some think the coalition has zero support.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by GePap
The question is, does a protest by 10K MAX show any deep level of pol;itical support towards what is being portested about by a significant portion of the population? Not in a city of 5 million. So its nice to see these 10K, but this is in no way a significant event, or aportent of anything, nor a show of any group's political muscle.

this is not a nation where people are used to political protests. Theyve just emerged from decades of totalitarian dictatorship - and there are still active attempts to kill people who support the coalition.

Is this a great portent of anything - no not by itself, and I dont think i or anyone else said it was. Its one datum, to be taken in context of other data, INCLUDING poll results, reports from coalition soldiers of good relations with many Iraqis, reports from coalition officials of growing cooperation from Iraqis even in the Sunni triangle, reports from bloggers, reports from mainstream media, etc.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by skywalker

Thousands take to Iraqi streets to protest "terrorism"

More than 200 protesters from the Iraqi National Congress and other political parties, women's groups and sheikhs in traditional dress gathered near the National Theatre in Baghdad and marched to a central Baghdad hotel.

Is it just me...

Its AFP.

[GhengisFarb™]

Originally posted by JCG
Too bad that the terrorists probably won't care though..they never do.

Tomorrow's headline:

"Thousands of terrorists take to the Iraqi streets to protest Protestors."

[lord of the mark]

Centcom says the following

"Although the CPA estimated participation at 15,000 to 20,000 people, Iraqi police and media sources cited numbers ranging from 100,000 to 1 million. The demonstrations, organized by the Iraqi Reconstruction and Development Council, took place in every major Iraqi city except Tikrit and Mosul, officials said.

In Baghdad, the scene of the largest demonstration, an estimated 5,000 Iraqis carried banners and chanted slogans opposing violence by Saddam Hussein loyalists and other insurgents. A CPA spokesman said the demonstration was initially planned to take place over a one-mile area, but that it extended an additional half-mile as the crowd swelled beyond expectations."

Of course i dont believe the 100k plus figure, given less then 10k in Baghdad - and from the pics it sure didnt look like many more. I AM CURIOUS about the demonstrations elsewhere, though.