Protests Mark 3 Years Of Iraq War

American activists joined their counterparts around the world Saturday by marking the third anniversary of the war in Iraq with protests. At the same time, President Bush says "more fighting and sacrifice will be required" in Iraq.

"We say enough hypocrisy, enough lies, our soldiers must come home now," Waleed Bader of the Arab Muslim American Federation told the crowd, gathered near a military recruiting station in New York.

"Stop the U.S. war machine, from Iraq to Korea to the Philippines," some participants chanted. "And free, free, free Palestine and end the occupation."

Other participants showed up at the rally to send messages of support to U.S. troops in Iraq.

"I have friends in Iraq and I just want them to know that I may not be able to support them there, but I can here," said Jose Avila, 36.

Small marches and demonstrations were held throughout the country, with more planned for Sunday.

At Dudley Square in Boston, a few hundred college-aged activists and baby boomers waved placards that read "Impeach Bush" and "Stop the War."

Speakers used the bed of a white pickup truck as a dais, evoking peace chants from the crowd and decrying the president.

"It seems like we are fighting a King George in the same way General Washington fought a King George, who was equally imperialistic," said Askia Toure, a local poet and activist.

Susan McLucas, a self-described peace activist and international volunteer, wore a homemade sandwich board that read: "Bush Lied! 100,000 died!"

"It's a war based on lies," said McLucas, 57. "We are gaining strength. The war is becoming more and more unpopular."

To the north, in Concord, N.H, nearly 300 peace activists marched about a mile from the New Hampshire National Guard Armory to the Statehouse in protest.

In North Carolina, there was a small protest near Fort Bragg, home of the 82nd Airborne. Fayetteville police said no more than one-thousand people attended the rally. That's only about a quarter of the number that turned out for last year's march.

Former 82nd Airborne paratrooper Blake Callens said he spoke at the rally because he feels the United States is not trying to help people in Iraq. When he was stationed in Afghanistan, Callens said the atmosphere was different, and troops were kinder to ordinary people.

In his weekly radio address, Mr. Bush said the "horrific images from Iraq" can overwhelm the good news on progress. But he insists Iraq is making strides toward a better future.

Mr. Bush says Iraqi leaders are making "good progress" toward forming a new inclusive government. Which he says will help stop the rebellion.

Mr. Bush defends the invasion three years ago, saying it was a "difficult decision and it was the right decision." He says Saddam Hussein is no longer a threat.

The American demonstrations were echoed on a larger scale across the globe. Anti-war protesters marched in Australia, Asia, Turkey and Europe, but the events were small compared to the mass demonstrations in the buildup to the invasion.

Around 500 protesters marched through central Sydney, chanting "End the war now" and "Troops out of Iraq." Many campaigners waved placards branding Mr. Bush the "World's No. 1 Terrorist" or expressing concerns that Iran could be the next country to face invasion.

"Iraq is a quagmire and has been a humanitarian disaster for the Iraqis," said Jean Parker, a member of the Australian branch of the Stop the War Coalition, which organized the march. "There is no way forward without ending the occupation."

Opposition to the war is still evident in Australia, which has some 1,300 troops in and around Iraq. Visiting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was heckled by campaigners in Sydney this week, who said she had "blood on her hands."

While thousands showed up to protest in London, the numbers were disappointing to organizers.

London police said about 15,000 people joined a march from Parliament and Big Ben to a rally in Trafalgar Square, fewer than the 100,000 organizers had expected to attend.

Some protesters carried posters calling Bush a terrorist and other placards pictured Prime Minister Tony Blair, saying "Blair must go!" Britain has about 8,000 soldiers in Iraq but plans to pull out 800 by May.

In Tokyo, about 2,000 people rallied in a downtown park, carrying signs saying "Stop the Occupation" as they listened to a series of anti-war speeches.

"The war is illegal under international law," said Takeshiko Tsukushi, a member of World Peace Now, which helped plan the rally. "We want the immediate withdrawal of the Self Defense Forces and from Iraq along with all foreign troops."

In Turkey, thousands gathered in Istanbul for protests and other demonstrations were planned in the cities of Izmir, Trabzon and the capital, Ankara.

Opposition to the war is nearly universal in Turkey and cuts across all political stripes.

"USA, go home!" said red and black signs carried by hundreds of the some 5,000 protesters gathered in Kadikoy on the city's Asian coast.

In Sweden, about 1,000 demonstrators gathered for a rally in Stockholm before a march to the U.S. Embassy. Some protesters carried banners reading "No to U.S. warmongering" and "USA out of Iraq," while others held up a U.S. flag with the white stars replaced by dollar signs.

"More and more people today are realizing that the Iraq war is becoming a new Vietnam," said Skold Peter Matthis, one of the organizers of the protest. "But today, the USA is even more dangerous than it was then, because they have a monopoly on being a superpower."

Anti-war demonstrations were also planned in Spain, Austria, Germany, Greece, Denmark and Puerto Rico.