Demonstrators marched from Kufa to neighboring Najaf, 100 miles south of Baghdad. Those marching were overwhelmingly Shiite, but Sunnis — who are believed to make up the heart of Iraq's insurgency — have also called for an American withdrawal.
Some at the rally waved small Iraqi flags; others hoisted a giant flag 10 yards long. Leaflets fluttered through the breeze reading: "Yes, Yes to Iraq" and "Yes, Yes to Muqtada. Occupiers should leave Iraq."
Considering that Sadr is supposed to have tens of thousands of gunmen, I'm not necessarily impressed that tens of thousand marched.
Plus, they are free to march. They just aren't free to kill. And Sadr hasn't decided to try for round three in direct combat with our forces or the Iraqi security forces. So I guess he isn't as confident as he was in 2004 of prevailing against us.
I'm also fairly pleased that the Sadrists chose the day of liberation from Saddam to complain about us. I would think that a day that reminds Iraqis of why Saddam is in an advanced stage of being dead along with his sick spawn is not the best day to complain about our so-called occupation.
As for our presence in general, keep in mind that we would leave if the Iraqi government asked us to leave. Period. We would. Remember also that the Sadr Shias want us to leave not so much because they fear us but that they'd like to be free to kill the Sunni Arabs and many of the Sadr Shias want to deliver Iraq to the Iranians.
And really, without giant puppets I don't even pay much attention to protest marches. I guess I'm spoiled by our professional marching class.
UPDATE: I was right not to be impressed by the turnout. Instapundit notes this post regarding the Najaf protest:
The number of participants that took part in the event ranged from 5,000 to 7,000, based on aerial photographs, said U.S. Army Col. Steven Boylan, a military spokesman with Multi-National Force-Iraq.
And no mention of giant papier-mache puppets, too, I might add. And they call themselves protesters? Feh.
