Instead of donning green and drinking whiskey in the afternoon, many folks in Washington will be spending Saturday speaking out against the war in Iraq. A march on the Pentagon is expected to draw tens of thousands of people, including veterans and soldiers’ families. You may have already seen some of the protesters along Constitution Ave. erecting memorials to the fallen and preparing signs.

The event’s primary sponser, ANSWER, says the protest marks not only the start of the Iraq war four years ago, but also the 40th anniversary of the anti-war march which brought demonstrators and military police into direct confrontation at the Pentagon. While playing down the melee that ensued, a spokesman told the Post, “The 1967 march wasn’t the biggest, but in some ways it’s the most historically significant because of the target. It represented a shift in public opinion.”

Whether or not their message has an impact at the Pentagon and Oval Office, one thing is certain: the event will cause a whole host of street closures on Saturday afternon. Marchers will gather at 23rd and Constitution Ave beginning at 8 a.m. and then head towards the Pentagon at 12:30 p.m. At noon, Constitution Ave. between 17th and 23rd Sts. closes. Then, rolling street closures will take place along the protest route, which stretches along the Memorial Bridge and Washington Blvd., ending with a rally at the Pentagon’s north parking lot.

Photo by Flickr user Dolinator.