Huge turnout at 600 marches from Berlin to Baghdad

The Guardian (Great Britain) offers a very good survey of actions around the world - "from Tasmania to Iceland," and involved as many as 30 million people.

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A New Power in the Streets

Patrick E. Tyler, writing in the New York Times, pictures "A New Power in the Streets." "There may still be two superpowers on the planet," he says: "the United States and world public opinion."

This display of public will, combined with the chilly reception by the UN Security Council and other international bodies to Bush's calls for war, may be enough to break the administration's momentum in seeking some excuse for military action. Tyler acknowledges that "[t]he fresh outpouring of antiwar sentiment may not be enough to dissuade Mr. Bush or his advisers from their resolute preparations for war. But the sheer number of protesters offers a potent message that any rush to war may have political consequences for nations that support Mr. Bush's march into the Tigris and Euphrates valleys."

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We are the People

Madeleine Bunting wrote for The Guardian in Britain that the huge march in London "was a defining moment in contemporary political culture - whatever it achieves in the debate on the war with Iraq." It showed that the British will no longer be cowed by powerful neighbors, or by fear of other nations.

She added that "This was a protest with no leaders and with little to say; it was not interested in debate. The 'little' it had to say, was NO. It was as simple as that.

"This was the most important aspect of all. The demonstration was driven by one very powerful and very accessible emotion: a deeply felt revulsion against modern warfare."

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Edgar went on to say "It took organized religion 10 years to oppose the Vietnam War. During that time, people were thought to be un-American if they stood up against the war. ... Now it is considered very American for the church to stand up. The idea of a pre-emptive strike that does not have broad multi-national support seems strange to many religious leaders."

Jimmy Breslin writes a delightfully human story of his own experience in the massive New York demonstration. He begins: "On streets of beauty, the warm people inched along or stood and chanted and laughed against a war and for peace and their warmth made the winter temperature irrelevant."

One of the most creative organizations rallying resistance to the war, MoveOn.com, is not saying much about the protests in the streets. They are focusing on a "Virtual March on Washington" on February 26th, sponsored by The Win Without War Coalition. The aim is that on that day "every Senate office will receive a call every minute from a constituent, as they receive a simultaneous crush of faxes and email."