Americans call for end to Iraq occupation

David Barrows (L) of Washington, DC and Leigh Smith of New York City protest at the "Speak Truth to Power Rally" near the White House Saturday in Washington, DC. Protesters marched from the White House to US Defence Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's house. PHOTO: AFP

Protesters chanting "Bring the troops home" gathered in a park across the street from the White House. President Bush was in Europe.

The protesters heard from Michael Berg, whose son, Nicholas, was beheaded by Islamic militants in Iraq. A video of the slaying was posted on the Internet.

Tap Here to Add The Daily Star As A Trusted Source

Berg invoked the words of Martin Luther King Jr., saying, "The people of America and the world have told me that they have a dream and a vision ... and that that dream is a dream of peace, a vision of all nations living together in harmony and in love."

Similar anti-war demonstrations were held by hundreds in Los Angeles and San Francisco, organized by International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism).

Actor Danny Glover and people who said they were relatives of troops killed in Iraq expressed outrage at a rally outside the federal building in Los Angeles, before dissipating rapidly in an oppressive afternoon heat.

"We're here to say there will be no empire in our name," Glover told the crowd, saying he meant to send a message both to Bush and the presumed Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry.

In San Francisco, five people were arrested two for blocking traffic as hundreds of anti-war demonstrators marched from City Hall to the waterfront downtown.

The Berg family considers the Bush administration at least partly responsible for what happened to Nicholas Berg.