Global InformationProtests against the Iraq War information
| Protests against the Iraq War | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the opposition to the Iraq War | |||
(top-to-bottom, left-to-right): protests in Washington, D.C. on January 2007; protests in London, United Kingdom on February 15, 2003; protests in Damascus, Syria on September 2005; protests in Barcelona, Spain on February 2003; anti-occupation protests in Samarra, Iraq on April 2003. | |||
| Date | September 12, 2002 – March 19, 2011 (main phase) May 20, 2012 (Chicago, Illinois) March 18, 2023 (Washington, D.C.) | ||
| Location | Global | ||
| Caused by | Criticism of the Iraq War | ||
| Goals | Demonstrations against the US and allied involvement of the Iraq War. Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq (in effect on December 2007–11) | ||
| Methods | Street protests, sit-ins, die-ins, civil disobedience, occupations, mass strike, more+ | ||
| Status | Ended | ||
| Number | |||
| |||
| Casualties | |||
| Death(s) | Unknown | ||
| Injuries | Unknown | ||
| Arrested | 100–1,700+ protesters | ||
| The protest began on September 12, 2002, and raged on throughout the Iraq War from March 2003, until December 2011. | |||
Beginning in late 2002 and continuing after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, large-scale protests against the Iraq War were held in many cities worldwide, often coordinated to occur simultaneously around the world. After the biggest series of demonstrations, on February 15, 2003, New York Times writer Patrick Tyler claimed that they showed that there were two superpowers on the planet: the United States and worldwide public opinion.[2]
These demonstrations against the war were mainly organized by anti-war organizations, many of whom had been formed in opposition to the invasion of Afghanistan. In some Arab countries demonstrations were organized by the state. Europe saw the biggest mobilization of protesters, including a rally of three million people in Rome, which is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest ever anti-war rally.[3]
According to the French academic Dominique Reynié, between January 3 and April 12, 2003, 36 million people across the globe took part in almost 3,000 protests against the Iraq war.[1]
In the United States, even though pro-war demonstrators have been quoted as referring to anti-war protests as a "vocal minority",[4] Gallup Polls updated September 14, 2007, state, "Since the summer of 2005, opponents of the war have tended to outnumber supporters. A majority of Americans believe the war was a mistake."[5]
From the protests before and during the Iraq War, this was one of the biggest global peace protests to occur in the early 21st century, since the 20th century protest of the Vietnam War. Throughout several rallies spanning throughout 2002 until 2011, an unspecified number of people were arrested. Despite the fact that the United States had already withdrawn the troops from Iraq by December 2011, another anti-war protest led by veterans of the Iraq War took place in May 2012 at Chicago during the NATO Summit at the Hyatt Regency, regarding the War in Afghanistan.
- ^ a b Callinicos, Alex (March 19, 2005). "Anti-war protests do make a difference". Socialist Worker. Archived from the original on March 26, 2010. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
- ^ Tyler, Patrick (February 17, 2003). "A New Power in the Streets". New York Times. Archived from the original on December 25, 2013. Retrieved September 7, 2007.
- ^ "Guinness World Records, Largest Anti-War Rally". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on 2004-09-04. Retrieved 2007-01-11.
- ^ Dueling Demonstrations As Thousands March to Capitol to Protest Iraq Conflict, 189 Arrested; War Supporters Take on 'Vocal Minority' Archived 2016-12-02 at the Wayback Machine Michelle Boorstein, V. Dion Haynes and Allison Klein, The Washington Post, Sunday, September 16, 2007; Page A08. Retrieved September 16, 2007.
- ^ "Gallup's Pulse of Democracy: The War in Iraq". Archived from the original on 2007-07-03. Retrieved 2007-09-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), The Gallup Poll. Retrieved August 7, 2007.