Protesters in Baghdad are pulling down orange jumpsuited Bush&Blair effigi

[Robbien]

Per Juan Cole

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.

http://www.juancole.com/

[MADem]

1. Could it be that they 'hate our freedoms?'

What a way to celebrate an anniversary....

[LibDemAlways]

2. CNN gave the protests about

10 seconds worth of coverage this morning and dismissed the protestors as "radicals."

[rodeodance]

3. Was it Pearl that said that there would be a Bush statue in this square

soon (I think it was him that said this--but not sure-one of those neo's did)

[tanyev]

5. There's a wedding to talk about!

With hats, lots of hats. Get your priorities straight.

[LibDemAlways]

7. Well, I admit, the

wedding of two middle-aged longtime lovers surrounded by a sea of ridiculously attired members of the leisure class, is if the utmost importance -- and thousands of Iraqis protesting the presence of American troops -- well, who cares about that anyway?

[hippiepunk]

4. There all insurgents!

baaaaaaaaaagh!

[frictionlessO]

6. Juan Cole is the best ubiased Mid-East analysist out there.

I read his blogs daily and while I disagree every now and then, he alone has educated millions as to the truth in regards to Iraq.... and his opinions on America and our politics are very much spot on.

Bookmark and read him often!

[tinonedown]

8. This story left out Saddam?

Why? He was a target of protest along with *bUSH & blair.
A news story not covered as usual thank you MSM.
Saddam was a frequent target of todays protests as well, don't sweep that under the rug too.