US policy sucks! Iraqis rally against Saddam — and U.S.

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Two years to the day after Baghdad fell and the Saddam Hussein regime collapsed, tens of thousands of Iraqis gathered Saturday to condemn not only the ousted dictator but also the U.S.-led military forces that deposed him.
Shouting "Yes, yes to the Quran . . . No, no to Saddam . . . No, no to occupation," supporters of the combative Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr took over a large patch of central Baghdad, including the spot where U.S. troops famously toppled a Saddam statue on April 9, 2003.
The protest was as peaceful as al-Sadr's aides had promised, if not nearly so big. Yet it reminded Iraq's new leaders that al-Sadr, who launched a bloody uprising against U.S.-led forces last spring, can mobilize large numbers of foot soldiers.
"Oh God, cut off their necks, the way they are cutting off our necks and terrorizing us," an al-Sadr aide implored to the crowd, reading what he said was a speech from al-Sadr. "There will be no peace, no security, until the occupation leaves."

more...

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,600125077,00.html

of hard news coverage-because of the royal wedding, doncha know.:eyes: So what else is new? Something significant happens, and most of the country knows nothing about it.

Elsewhere on DU, I'd seen estimates of ~300,000. That's far from unusual these days. The MSM posts criminally LOW figures at such 'awkward' events, while the other side generally doubles the on the spot estimates. A lot more honest.

Does anyone here have (reasonably) unimpeachable estimates of that crowd?

pnorman

I suspect that to be a lot closer to the truth, but I was (fondly) hoping to see it something like that in something closer to a "mainstream" source. I realize that such 'leaning over backwards' is making an ass of myself, when the 'other side' lies so cheerfully. But I generally operate in venues where I have to PROVE everything I say. Even then, some frequently don't get it, or even refuse to look at the facts.

pnorman
On edit: I read your reply in haste. So it appears to be in the TENS of thousands rather than ~300,000. Even then under the circumstances (agressive and PRO-active military occupation), that's still a very impressive number. A kick in the balls (eyeballs, that is) for Bush.