10,000 Iraqis Protest Troop Deal

Hang Bush in effigy
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 21, 2008 6:49 AM CST
10,000 Iraqis Protest Troop Deal
Followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr burn the American flag as thousands converge at Firdous Square in central Baghdad, to protest a proposed U.S.-Iraqi security pact, Nov. 21, 2008.   (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

More than 10,000 Muqtada al-Sadr supporters gathered in Baghdad today to protest the US-Iraqi security pact that would keep troops in the country for another 3 years. The protesters hanged an effigy of President Bush from the same plinth Saddam Hussein’s statue was once toppled from by US forces, placing a black bag around Bush’s head in reference to Saddam’s execution.

Protesters arrived overnight, ensuring that the Maliki government couldn’t block the central square. They have so far remained peaceful, sitting in rows of 50 stretching a half mile from the square. Sadr himself did not appear, though an aide read a statement from him. “America is and will not be of any use to us,” he said, “because it is the enemy of Islam.” The pact still needs to be approved by the Iraqi parliament.
(More Iraq stories.)

Get breaking news in your inbox.
What you need to know, as soon as we know it.
Sign up
Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X