Huge Anti-US Rally In Iraq

0assive rally of followers of a hardline anti-American cleric today, marching in Baghdad in a show of defiance as Iraqi leaders weigh whether to keep US troops in the country beyond the end of the year.26/05/2011 - 09:29:01

Scene in Fallujah in 2007

An estimated 70,000 supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr waved Iraqi flags and shouted “No, no, America!” as the tight columns of the Mahdi Army marched though one of Baghdad’s poorest neighbourhoods.
US, Israeli and British flags were painted on the pavement to be stomped on by the marching protesters, and Iraqi military helicopters buzzed overhead while soldiers stood guard to keep peace if needed.
The rally was a message to prime minister Nouri al-Maliki about the staunch opposition by Iraq’s most devout Shiites – the ones who grudgingly helped him clinch a second term in office last year – to a continued US military presence in 2012.
Under a security agreement between Washington and Baghdad, the 46,000 combat troops still in Iraq are required to leave by December 31. But Iraq’s widespread instability has led US and Iraqi leaders to reconsider the deadline for the sake of the country’s security.
Mr al-Sadr had not appeared nearly two hours after the start of the march, and his top aide, Salah al-Obeidi, said the cleric was unlikely to. Adoring crowds surged at a convoy of more than 10 white sports utility vehicles that was believed to be carrying Mr al-Sadr, but it drove away without stopping.
Though the rally was billed as a peaceful demonstration, Mr al-Obeidi said threats against the US still stand if the troops stay. “We will be obliged to fight and do our best to liberate our country,” he said.
American forces in Baghdad and southern Iraq have seen an increase in rocket and mortar attacks as well as roadside bombs in recent months. US officials have blamed the upturn on Shiite militias backed by Iran who are trying to take credit for driving American forces from Iraq.
Mr al-Obeidi said the point of the rally was to show that Iraqis are disciplined and can protect the country. A statement by parliament Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, a Sunni, called the march “clear proof of Iraq’s unity”.

US officials counted more than 300 busloads – each carrying up to 70 passengers - who travelled from Iraq’s south for the rally, and were joined by some of the roughly two million who live in Baghdad’s north-east Sadr City neighbourhood where it was held.
An estimated 18,000 militiamen wore matching T-shirts bearing the Iraqi flag as spectators burned American and Israeli banners.

Read more: http://www.breakingnews.ie/world/major-iraq-rally-against-us-troops-506485.html#ixzz1NRqR8DLi