In Iraq, tens of thousands of Shiite Iraqis demonstrated in Baghdad Saturday to call for the withdrawal of U.S. troops. The protesters–organized by Shiite cleric Moqtada al Sadr–gathered in the same square where U.S. forces pulled down a statue of Saddam Hussein two years ago. To mark the anniversary, the Shiites burned effigies of Saddam as well as President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The crowd chanted “Yes, yes to Islam, No, no to America!” The protesters issued three demands: the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, the release of Iraqis from US-run prisons and for the speedy trial of Saddam Hussein. The Los Angeles Times reported that the crowd was as large as 300,000 protesters. Middle East analyst Juan Cole said even if the crowd was half that size it would mark the largest popular demonstration in Iraq since 1958.

Meanwhile Sunni Iraqis marked the two-year anniversary of the fall of Baghdad with anti-U.S. protests in Ramadi. The Sunni-led Iraqi Islamic Party issued a statement blaming the U.S. for the chaos and destruction that has enveloped the country over the past two years. The statement read QUOTE “The 9th of April is a day in which one tyrant fell so that another occupying tyrant could take his place”