Coffins and anti-war chants take gloss off pomp and circumstance

FLAG-DRAPED coffins and anti-war chants competed with pomp and circumstance yesterday at the inauguration of President George W Bush along the snow-dusted, barricaded streets of Washington.

As the president was sworn in for a second term amid the tightest security in inaugural history, protesters chanted “Hell no, we won’t go! We won’t go for Texaco” and other anti-war slogans. They carried hundreds of mock coffins along 16th Street, a downtown thoroughfare leading to the White House, to remind Americans of the mounting casualties in Iraq.

While some protesters played drums, others held signs such as “Iraq is Arabic for Vietnam,” “Down with King George,” and “Your taxes at work killing.” Other placards called for electoral reform, gay rights, abortion rights and the use of renewable energy.