The Los Angeles Times on November 23 reported that tens of thousands rallied in Baghdad against a security pact with the U.S.

Tina Susman and Caesar Ahmed reporting from on the scene in Baghdad wrote the following:

"At the spot where U.S. forces toppled a statue of Saddam Hussein in 2003, protestors Friday tore down an effigy of President Bush and set it afire during a demonstration over plans to keep American troops in Iraq through 2011."

The people of Iraq are recognizing the fact that the U.S. embassy in Iraq is among the largest in the world.  They also are aware of the U.S. request for 50 bases for the U.S. to operate from.