3,000 in Jordan Rail Against West
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AMMAN, Jordan — Muslim fundamentalists trampled and burned American, British and Israeli flags at a rally in Jordan on Sunday to show anger at Western military action in the Persian Gulf.
“Oh America, assemble your troops, tomorrow the soldiers of truth will crush you,” chanted a mainly Palestinian crowd of 3,000 in the industrial town of Ruseifa, just outside Amman.
Youths masked with checkered head cloths doused the flags with gasoline and set them on fire. The crowd surged forward, ripping at the blazing fragments of cloth.
It was the latest in a series of rallies and protests in Jordan, where anti-Western feelings have exploded since U.S.-led forces arrived in Saudi Arabia to defend it against Iraq.
The Muslim Brotherhood, which organized the Ruseifa rally, has not traditionally supported Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who has crushed militant Shiite Muslim groups in Iraq.
“Maybe Saddam has changed. We hope he is a good Muslim now,” said Omar Obeid, a Brotherhood supporter in the crowd.
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