ewer protest Iraq invasion's anniversary

Protesters marking the third anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq made their voices heard around the world, with the largest marches in London, Portland, San Francisco and Chicago, though in numbers that were notably lower than in previous years. Events were reportedly held in over 500 cities throughout the US. About 10,000 anti-war protesters in Portland, OR, marched through downtown streets on Mar. 19, some carrying signs that said "Impeach the Evildoer." "It is time now for you to take back your country," said Steven DeFord, whose son, Oregon National Guard Sgt. David Johnson, 37, was killed in Iraq by a roadside bomb in 2004. About 1,500-2,000 demonstrators marched through the shopping district of Pittsburgh, PA, to chants of "While you're shopping, bombs are dropping." In Louisiana, 200 war veterans, hurricane survivors and others gathered at the Chalmette National Cemetery to protest how the war had hurt the country's ability to help the Gulf Coast recover from last year's hurricanes. "We attacked a country [that] never did anything to us," said Philadelphia resident Al Zappala, whose 30-year-old son was killed in Iraq in 2004. "He was sent to Iraq based on lies." About 200 marched down New York City's Fifth Avenue. The day before, a rally in Manhattan drew more than 1,000 people. Also that day, more than 7,000 people marched through downtown Chicago. Meanwhile, more than 10,000 enthusiastic anti-war protesters filled the streets of San Francisco. The protests drew crowds far short of the millions who protested the Iraq invasion in March 2003 and the anniversary in 2004. In Reno, NV, some 400 anti-war protesters were greeted by about two dozen counter-demonstrators. Eight activists were arrested in an attempt to block access to Sen. Diane Feinstein's (D-CA) office in Los Angeles, CA, while a few thousand marched in the streets. Five peace activists were arrested in Lansing, MI, after shutting down a local Marine recruiting center for a few hours. In solidarity with activists in 32 countries, they demonstrated under the theme "Recruiting with lies for a war based on lies." The activists had pasted up 21 signs on the windows and doors of the center with statistics like "33 percent of Veterans are Homeless," "72 percent of US Soldiers want the US to leave Iraq" and "87 percent of Iraqis want US out of Iraq." Linking arms, some of the protesters then blocked the doors of the recruiting center. They were arrested shortly thereafter. On Mar. 20, a delegation of 19 Oregonian peace activists were arrested in an attempt to serve a petition of some 2,000 signatures demanding an end to the US occupation of Iraq to Sen. Ron Wyden's (D-OR) office. The activists were arrested after they engaged in a nonviolent civil disobedient act of refusing to leave the office. President Bush marked the anniversary on Mar. 19 by briefly speaking with reporters about what he described in broad terms as the invasion's positive outcomes. He avoided any mention of the continuing daily violence there and didn't once utter the word "war."