LONDON (Reuters) - Demonstrators opposed to the U.S. led air strikes in Afghanistan gather in Trafalgar Square after a march through central London, October 13, 2001. (Photo by Michael Crabtree/Reuters) The thousands of demonstrators turned Trafalgar Square into a sea of colorful banners echoing with chanting against the bombing. No arrests were reported. ``It's the most socially diverse we've ever seen. This shows it is not a conflict between Islam and the West....all those in favor of human rights oppose the U.S. and U.K. bombings,'' said Mike Marqusee, a leading member of the Stop the War Coalition.
Muslims and Christians marched side by side in a protest against the bombing of Afghanistan that attracted more than 20,000 people, according to police estimates.
``We're here because there are thousands of people across Britain who know that the bombing of Afghanistan is not going to put an end to terrorism,'' said Carol Naughton, chairman of the protest organizers, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). ``We need to stop the bombing and go right back to diplomatic ways to end this crisis,'' she told Reuters.
My friend Jay was there and said there were other reports that the crowd was closer to 50,000. I know for a fact she didn't count them herself though. Good thing the UK has that smooth talking Clintonesque Tony Blair becasue it looks like he has a little more opposition than the pResident and they are in need of a leader who can construct complete sentences.
British joke: Why did it take Bush so long to start bombing Afghanistan?
It took him a while to find the place on his map.
Joke about Bush all you want, but he calmed the people of America. He would have had the full support of the American people if he had turned Afghanistan into glass on the 12th. The people on the streets of New York assumed on that day that he was "taking care of business".
Weeks later a polled showed: 66% of Americans expect a draft and 65% expect American casualties.
This is staggering. Bush so far has skillfully handled a very tricky situation. Clinton would have run a poll and used up our entire stock of Napalm. "I feel your pain" he would say.
Sure bombing Afghanistan wont end terrorism. Then I suppose that the Russians should have let the Germans into Lenningrad.