More than fifty thousand Americans gathered at the National Mall in the center of Washington, D.C., on January 18, 2003, to protest the looming possibility of a U.S.-led war against Iraq. With chants such as "No War for Oil," and placards stating "Regime Change Starts at Home," the protesters were part of a massive barrage of antiwar demonstrations taking place around the United States and the world.

On the same day thousands of protesters marched in Paris, shouting in English, "Stop Bush! Stop War!" In Moscow, Russians chanted "U.S., Hands Off Iraq!" and "Yankee, Go Home!" at a march outside the U.S. embassy. One Russian banner read "U.S.A. Is International Terrorist No. 1." More than four thousand people attended a peace concert in Tokyo—the largest of about ten demonstrations in Japan—and in the Pakistani capital...