Hundreds Show Up For Anti-Hussein Rally
Marchers Call For Ouster Of Iraqi Leader
POSTED: Wednesday, September 18, 2002
UPDATED: 2:26 pm EDT September 18,
2002
DETROIT -- About 500 Arab men marched around the McNamara Federal Building Wednesday to voice their anger at Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and to show their support for the United States.
The demonstrators, most of whom were of Iraqi descent, carried signs and banners denouncing Hussein, Local 4 reported. The marchers shouted "down, down Saddam," and "Saddam is a fascist," and made other derogatory remarks against the Iraqi leader.
Many in the group have family in Iraq and are calling for Hussein's ouster, Local 4 reported. The demonstrators favored U.S. military action against Iraq to put an end to the current regime, according to the station.
One of the participants told Local 4 that he and other demonstrators were worried about Hussein using chemical weapons against the Iraqi people.
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Wednesday urged Congress to move swiftly on a resolution authorizing U.S. military action on Iraq, warning that such approval must be in place before further U.N. action on the issue.
Speaking to the House Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill, Rumsfeld echoed President George W. Bush's sentiments that the issue is disarmament, not war, and that Hussein's offer to readmit U.N. weapons inspectors is a tactical ploy to delay international action on disarmament.
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