THOUSANDS of protesters hit the streets of Washington yesterday to demand that the United States abandons militarism and the use of sanctions against its perceived enemies.

The demonstration took place as the country marked the 20th anniversary of the Iraq invasion. In 2003, about 11 million protested across the US against a war which, according to some estimates, went on to kill more than three million Iraqis.

A dossier used by the US and its allies to justify the war alleged that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. This claim was later debunked in congressional hearings.

Saturday’s protest included demands for an end to massive US spending on the proxy war with Russia in Ukraine, the abandonment of “militarism and sanctions” directed at countries such as Syria and massive US aid to “apartheid” Israel to be discontinued.

Demonstrators also denounced the new cold war with China.

Organisers of the protest said that it aimed to give a warning about the threat of “global war” and the impact that the continued US militarism of the US was having at home as well as around the world.

One demonstrator said: “We commemorated people who have lost their lives in US wars from Afghanistan to Iraq, Somalia, Palestine, and Yemen and called on US officials to stop funding the endless wars.”

Protesters also called out the role of the media in promoting the “US war machine.”

Speaking in front of the offices of the Washington Post, journalist and activist Eugene Puryear said: “Whether it’s the war abroad or the war at home, you can count on the Washington Post to be a liar and a warmonger.”

Brian Becker, director of anti-war coalition Answer, described the Washington Post as “an echo chamber for the neocon war machine, [which is] responsible for the deaths of all these people.”