"There are fewer young people here than last month," noted Elizabeth Harris, 20, who had driven from Pittsburgh with several friends. A number of participants remarked that far fewer buses came from their cities for this rally compared to earlier protests.

"The whole world is against this war but this administration just ignores us," said Robert Long, 55, from New Haven, Connecticut. Such comments marked the views and mood of many participants in the protest.

As in past demonstrations, signs and banners predominated throughout the rally focusing on the administration of U.S. president George Bush. Some read "Regime change in 2004!" and "Drop Bush not bombs!" Leaders of International ANSWER, the coalition that organized the rally, led the crowd in chanting, "Stop the occupation! Impeach Bush!"

One group had printed placards with a yellow ribbon tied around a peace symbol. It read: "Support our troops! Bring them home now!"

Coming in the wake of the overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq, the peace protests in every city were substantially smaller than earlier ones. Organizers of the protest here claimed 25,000 participants.

Just days before the march took place, protest leaders moved the assembly and rally point from the more spacious Washington Monument grounds to the two-square block Freedom Plaza.

The ANSWER web site listed only a handful of endorsers, and former attorney general Ramsey Clark was the only prominent political figure who spoke at the rally. He urged those present to make the "impeachment of president Bush" the top priority for opponents of the U.S.-led war.

About 2,500 people marched in a heavy rain in San Francisco, and 4,000 in Los Angeles, the same day. Some carried signs urging UN "peacekeepers" to occupy Iraq, instead of U.S. troops, while others urged voter registration. Some preprinted signs that read "Stop the War against Iraq" had Iraq crossed out and replaced with Syria.  
 
 
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