Anti-war forces tell new British P.M.: 'Out now!'

Tony Blair, George W. Bush’s main outside prop for his wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has handed over the post of British prime minister to the former exchequer, Gordon Brown. Blair had become hated in his own country for both his domestic and foreign policies.

On June 24, thousands of anti-war protesters marched past the Special Labour Party Conference in Manchester where Blair was stepping down. The leaders of the Stop the War Coalition (StWC) and Military Families Against War (MFAW) handed over a letter addressed to Brown calling for a radical change of policy and an immediate withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan and Iraq.

MFAW leader Rose Gentle requested a meeting with Brown on behalf of the Military Families, whom Blair had consistently refused to see. The answer was “evasive and non-committal,” according to the StWC Web site.

At the same time, the MFAW was also holding a loud protest in London outside 10 Downing St., the prime minister’s residence. They carried large portraits of their loved ones.

—Deirdre Griswold