Twenty-three years ago, and 17 months after the 9/11 attack on the U.S. by international terrorist organization, Al Qaeda, the U.S. draws Iraq into a saber rattling match, accusing the country of supporting terrorism and of secretly stockpiling weapons of mass destruction. With a military buildup presaging invasion, the largest public demonstration in history takes place on this day, in over 600 cities around the world. Tens of millions of people march in the streets. The U.S. invades Iraq five weeks later, starting a war that will last 8 years, claiming at least half a million lives. A small U.S. military presence in Iraq continues to this day. The rationales the U.S. government gave for the war all prove false.