国际英语新闻：Peace activists rally in Washington to mark 6th anniversary of Iraq war

WASHINGTON, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of peace activists marched on the streets of Washington D.C. Saturday, marking the 6th anniversary of the Iraq war and demanding an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.

    Protesters first gathered in front of 23rd Street and Constitution Avenue NW in Washington D.C. by noon time, and then marched to the Pentagon in the Arlington County, Virginia across the Potomac river.

Anti-war protestors hold up slogans during a rally in Washington, capital of the United States, March 21, 2009. Thousands of protestors attended the rally here on Saturday.

The protest, known as "March on the Pentagon," will end at offices of big defense contractors in Arlington, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and KBR, according to the rally's organizers.

    They are holding various anti-war banners and signs. Some of them reads "Bring all our troops home," "Stop occupation," "End the war now" and so on.

Protestors shout during an anti-war rally in Washington, capital of the United States, March 21, 2009. Thousands of protestors attended the rally here on Saturday.

Demonstrators also carried some 170 cardboard coffins covered with flags from various countries where they said innocent people are killed as result of "U.S. hegemony."

    Organizers said the rally is aimed to press the Obama administration to immediately withdraw troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and "end injustices around the world."

    "We are marching on the Pentagon and several Corporate War Profiteers on Saturday, March 21, because the people must speak out for what is right," Sarah Sloan, National Staff Coordinator of anti-war Act Now to Stop War & End Racism Coalition (ANSWER), told the rally.

Anti-war protestors hold a rally in Washington, capital of the United States, March 21, 2009. Thousands of protestors attended the rally here on Saturday

"More than 1 million Iraqis have died and tens of thousands of U.S. troops have been wounded or killed since 2003. The Iraq and Afghanistan wars will drag on for years unless we act now," she said.

    Organizers said major anti-war groups took part in the march, including Veterans For Peace-National (VFP), Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), the Muslim American Society Freedom (MASF) and the National Council of Arab Americans (NCA).

Anti-war protestors hold a rally in Washington, capital of the United States, March 21, 2009. Thousands of protestors attended the rally here on Saturday

Demonstrations also are planned in Los Angeles, San Francisco and elsewhere in the country.

    On March 19 2003 (U.S. eastern time), the Bush administration launched the Iraq war on the grounds that the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein produced weapons of mass destruction and plotted with terrorists.

    Although both asserts has been proved to be baseless, more than 4,250 U.S. troops lost their lives in Iraq since then and the price tag will approach 800 billion U.S. dollars by September 2010.

    Obama announced last month he will pull out all combat troops from Iraq in 18 months and withdraw all troops by the end of 2011.

    However, he frustrated some anti-war groups for being unable to stick to his campaign promise to withdrawal all U.S. combat troops within 16 months after swearing-in.