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Anti-war protesters from across the nation including Jane Fonda rallied in the shadow of the Capitol building in Washington today to demand that Congress block President George W. Bush’s new plan to send more troops to Iraq and withdraw those already there.The demonstration, the first national peace rally since voters gave Democrats a majority in the U.S. Congress in the November elections, drew tens of thousands of people. Among them were activists such as Jesse Jackson, politicians such as Representative Dennis Kucinich, an Ohio Democrat, active-duty soldiers and families with children serving in Iraq.

Speakers looking out on the crush of people, many holding aloft signs calling for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq and some waving American flags, said the event was proof the nation had lost confidence in Republican Bush’s policies.

The loss of trust in the Bush administration was echoed by active-duty members of the military who attended the rally as members of Appeals for Redress, a group of about 1200 active duty servicemen and women who have signed a petition calling on Congress to bring the troops home from Iraq.

Filed under: USA by lrenz