Why Was the Biggest Protest in World History Ignored?

On its 10th anniversary, some wonder why Iraq protests failed

Last Friday was the 10-year anniversary of worldwide protests against the Iraq war. Many call the protests the largest in world history, with estimates putting numbers between 10 and 30 million.

200,000 gathered in New York City and San Francisco, and protests on a similar scale took place in LA, Chicago, and other major US cities. Over 1 million marched in London, UK. The protestors were much more diverse than Occupy Wall Street - they included soccer moms and middle-class main street Americans, according to Time's Ishaan Tharoor.

But the protests were ignored by Bush and Congress, and by the UK government who backed the US decision to invade Iraq just over a month later.

"A decade later, it's hard to understand why the display of people power on Feb. 15 proved so ineffectual," writes Tharoor. He claims that protests back then were ineffectual because 9/11 made everyone more bellicose. Now, he argues, the international climate has changed, and that protests matter again.

Via Time.

Why do you think the Iraq invasion protests failed?

[MadAmerican]

How can the press sensationalize a protest unless officials are dragged into the streets and tarred and feathered? That's why it wasn't covered. Boring!

[mtkopf]

Because halliburton had a lot more money to make.

[talkenhed]

All you have to do is listen to Cheney today. He is still trying to convince anyone with a TV camera. Al Qaeda & Saddam were linked and those WMDs we removed, and we were welcomed with open arm

[mtkopf]

@talkenhed he's so full of himself and greedy he probably wants to be cryogenically frozen just so he could come back in 100 years to count his money and make the same claims about WMDs.

[Zazziness]

The protests failed because most people were still out-of-their-minds crazed with vengeance and fear, not necessarily in that order.

[AlexMIA]

This one is easy. It's the same reason why Cindy Sheehan is still active but you rarely see her on the news anymore. Media will not effectively cover anything that threatens Obama and the left. Iraq is Obama's problem now.

[DARSB]

The protests under discussion took place 10 years ago. "Protecting" Mr Obama would not have been necessary.

[dances-weebles]

@DARSB it's somewhat astounding how you always seem to be able to right through the bullshit. *lol*

[PoliticalSpice]

Let me see if I foolow you reasoning. Bush and the u.s. congress ignored the protest that opposed invading iraq beCause the media felt covering them would threaten obama, who at the time was serving in the Illinois State Senate?

[DARSB]

@dances-weebles "Astounding" it is not. But I do own a flippin' calendar.

[dances-weebles]

@DARSB well, obviously you're the only one.

[jessejaymes]

Haliburton owned the US Govt is why. Cheney was the real president, Bush the hand puppet. Halliburton was the number 30 U.S. supplier under Clinton and went to #1 immediately under former CEO Cheney. It's not rocket science here people. Halliburton doesn't give a damn about protests. FOLLOW THE MONEY, ALWAYS FOLLOW THE MONEY.

[AntiPorcheria]

Halliburton was a bad word when Obama was running...then he gave them those highly lucrative "no-bid" contracts. Quietly. Discreetly. GITMO is still open. We are still at war and gearing up for more. Follow the money.

[kirbstomp1]

And war never runs out of money, at least not when you got Bible thumping Taliban supporting every drone strike and foot that touches ground on other sovereign nations' soils.

[IMAQT]

@AntiBullshit It is rather interesting that under Obama, Halliburton is still getting no bid contracts and yet the Obama lovers are silent. Yes follow the money indeed. He has escalated the "good war" in Afghanistan and we haven't seen Cindy Sheehan since the Bush days.

[jessejaymes]

@IMAQT Excuse me? I have bitched about Halliburton since day one. There is no excuse for that kind of corruption. Under ANY President. Just goes to show how entrenched Halliburton is in our govt.

[IMAQT]

@jessejaymes "Excuse me? I have bitched about Halliburton since day one." Actually your bitch has been about Bush and Cheney as evidenced here.

[morphine-bunni]

the government and mr george bush jr wanted a little thing known as OIL. america was going to war no matter who protested it.

[Heavy-Fed]

That's what happens when Government controls the media... or more properly... the power BEHIND the Government controls the media!!! HeavyFedDotCom

[DARSB]

Protests don't seem to work. I've been protesting against the Kardashians for years, and yet there they still are...

[dances-weebles]

what do you think it'll take to get them to go away?(oh... and take paris with them)

[bsking]

Really absolutely nothing else going on in the news huh ?

[PolitixMary K]

What can I say? It's a federal holiday, the president's on vacation, and Congress is in recess ;)

[bsking]

@PolitixMary well that's all true its like a perfect storm then .. I suppose we should be thankful for a lull in the action... have a nice evening.

[mimi57]

@PolitixMary Everyone's a critic... ( :

[jessejaymes]

@PolitixMary You could have told us that earlier before I went to the post office to mail a package that won't get mailed because "It's president's day". And you wouldn't want employees of a failing business to miss taking that day off.

[mimi57]

@jessejaymes Don't you have a calender Jesse? It's been on the same day since I can remember!

[FollowTheMoney]

In a word <Vietnam>.

[NTBFW]

There was a good reason for going to Iraq and it wasn't Halliburton. There were chemical weapons there I know guys that saw them. I doubt the real story will ever come out.

[mimi57]

Of course there were, and many Dems believed it also.

[PoliticalSpice]

Yea, well here is your chance to break the story. Details, ya know: Who, what, when, why, and how...

[PoliticalSpice]

@mimi57 So now you are relying on what Dems believe? Really? For you that is truley grasping at straws....

[mimi57]

@PoliticalSpice You and I both know that this is not new News...Nancy Pelosi, both
Clintons, Madeline Allbright, E Gore, Ted Kennedy, etc., etc. All believed there were WMD's. I just washed my hair. Do not make me have to look this up. It's very old news and you have to know it, or are you just playing games?..

[PoliticalSpice]

@mimi57 No reason to look it up. You never believe these dems, you always call them liars. How conveinient you cite them as sources now. Those on the left never bought this crap. We said it wasn't true at the time. A big reason obama won the primary was that liberals and leftist voted against Hillary specifically because of her role in the war. Now, dry your hair, wouldn't want you to catch a cold.

@NTBFW made a specific statement,that there were chemical weapons and he knew the guys who saw them. Here is his chance to tell us. If he can. I don't by it for ten seconds. It was a lie then, it is a lie now. What is his evidence. Journalism 101: a news report should tell Who, what, when, where, why and how. He fails to do that. I offer him the opportunity.

[TheJimmy]

The Bilderberg Group, The Illuminati, and The Bohemian Grove crowd must have all joined forces on this one.

[Mytwocents007]

hahahha there are REAL chem weapons in other countries RIGHT NOW as admitted by Assad -whats being done about those ??? Nothing the USA seems to have learned something from Iraq after all -MYOB -dont get involved in someone elses civil war.

[PNWest]

The American media failed big time on this. There never was any real evidence that Iraq was a threat to the US. The TV Networks and major newspapers parroted Bush's lies about the WMD and fanned the flames creating a pro-war atmosphere. The NY Times in particular shamed itself in it's disgraceful reporting leading up to the war. Judith Miller in particular has a lot of blood on her hands.

[PoliticalSpice]

Judith Miller was no better then gobbels on tjis. She should be sitting in prison for life next to chenney, bush and rumsfeld.

[PNWest]

@PoliticalSpice That is the truth. The NYT should be ashamed of what they did.

[mwr]

there are bigger problems inthe world than crying about the history of hte Iraq war.

[Seneb]

Simple: Americans wanted the Iraq war to happen.

[mimi57]

People are getting tired of protesters...Let them do more than 'protest', It's gotten
old...

[PoliticalSpice]

Mimi, this articles were about the protest to the invasion of Iraq, the first major protest that took place since 9/11 had happened. These were not just typical hippie protesters, these rallies were BIG. Military families not wanting to deploy, middle class people, this was an international efforts the likes of which hadn't been seen in decades. The question was not about protest today, but at that time...

[mimi57]

@PoliticalSpice Maybe it's a case of the 'Boy who cried wolf'...people should really
think seriously before they protest, I mean so many are very frivolous...'Bobbies', nudists,etc.. Maybe they should 'choose their battles' more wisely, after awhile it
just gets to be ONE more protest.

[PoliticalSpice]

@mimi57 Precisely the readoning used by the Weather Undrground in bombing the Pentagon, State Department and about 50 other buildings over a period of about a decade.

[marine1]

War make a lot of money for a lot of people with big potential for even bigger money in the reconstruction after the fact.

[Hireman]

Coverage of this would expose an unpopular side of Obama's presidency: continuing so many Bush policies after trashing them.

[PoliticalSpice]

Lets see: the media failed to cover anti-war protest when bush was president, is because obama Illinois state senator obama, would be undermined six years later when he became president?

[Hireman]

@PoliticalSpice The media didn't fail to cover anti-war protests when Bush was president. Remember Cindy Sheehan? She was headline news for a long time while Bush was in office. She fell out of the headlines when she ran against Pelosi, and started criticizing Obama's foreign policies. Pattern?

[PoliticalSpice]

@Hireman She fell out becausr instead of running in the dem primary she ran as a green party candidate and never effectively challenged Pelosi. I happened to know Cindy at that time.

But you are dodging the question. The article is about the protest prior to the invasion pf iraq. Cindy sheenans protest happened long after that time...

[Hireman]

@PoliticalSpice Not dodging the question -- misread the beginning of the article. Although I stand by Sheehan's disappearance due to her criticisms of Pelosi and Obama. However, she never should have run at that level.

[PoliticalSpice]

@Hireman

[harold_lloyd]

It's worth remembering that Bush43 was intent on invading Iraq.

Everything he did was to back up his predetermined course of action.

[Fishbone345]

It's also worth mentioning that he had full Congressional approval to declare war.

[Russell797]

@Fishbone345 Because they bought the same faulty rational that most folksat the time did. We acted on a lack of evidence, assured the threat from weapons of mass destruction was real. It wasn't and there was no solid evidence in support of what we did. Getting rid of Sadam may have been a good thing, but not for the reason we were assured we had to.

[Fishbone345]

@Russell797 Me pointing that out, is by no means support. I was pretty disappointed and angry when Congress voted Yay on the war. I am absolutely 100% with you on that and I was one of the protestors mentioned in the story above.
I just think its wrong for people to point at Bush & Cheney and fault them completely. Congress should be held responsible too.

[harold_lloyd]

Actually, congressional approval wasn't unanimous, and approval was a result of the Pres filtering what congress got to hear. Some sceptical persons might suggest that he lied to congress both directly, and through surrogates.

Colin Powell still hasn't forgiven Bush43 for setting him up to lie.

[Fishbone345]

@harold_lloyd It doesn't matter if I was unanimous. Congressional approval was achieved to go to war, or we wouldn't have gone. Period. That's the way it works.
The ones that voted against it (Ron Paul did!) are true Patriots and should be exempt from blame, I'll give you that. But, the majority was attained. Just like it was for the Patriot Act.