Thousands of protestors marched to the UN headquarters in Manhattan, New York, on Sunday to call for an end to the Iraq war and no military attacks on Iran on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the U.S. preemptive strike on Baghdad.

"As everyone has seen, war does not resolve problems," said Leslie Kielson, a member of United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ), an anti-war nongovernmental organization which called the demonstration. "Thousands of Iraqis were killed and U.S. soldiers were dying," she said.

As for Iran, she suggested that the Bush administration engage in dialogue and political settlement instead of drawing the nation into another war.

Some 35,000 protesters took part in Sunday's rally in Midtown Manhattan, according to the organizers. The protestors assembled east of the sixth Avenue at 1 p.m. (1700 GMT) and marched to the offices of Senator Hillary Clinton and Charles E. Schumer before arriving at the UN headquarters.

A woman pushed a baby carriage alongside, and set up a sign into a car reading "Money for education, not war."

For New Yorkers, President George W. Bush's proposed budget of 100 U.S. billion dollars more for the war means 77.2-million-dollar cut from Low-income Energy Assistance, 23.4-million-dollar cut from Head Start, 131.5-million-dollar cut from Community Development Block Grants, 44.1-million-dollar cut from Special Education and more, UFPJ said on its website.

Two American media personnel who joined the protest said they were calling for a full withdraw of U.S. troops from all parts of the world, such as South Korea, Guantanamo, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Four U.S. university students coming from Philadelphia drew colorful peace symbols on their faces.

A girl student said the two-hour travel was worthwhile. "After 911, many people supported the Iraq war because people needed a remedy at that time, but now everyone has got a clear picture of what's happening in Iraq everyday," she said.

A Sunday poll finds that 61 percent of those surveyed say it was not worth invading Iraq, but when the Iraq war began, 68 percent of Americans said they felt the situation in the country was worth fighting over.

Last week, a survey showed the president's so-called "New Way Forward" plan was unpopular. Some 59 percent Americans opposed an increase of troops, and 58 percent wanted to see U.S. troops withdraw from Iraq by 2008 or sooner.

Bush announced in January that he was deploying another 21,500 U.S. troops to Iraq to crack down on the sectarian warfare and insurgency in the country.

Local media reported that a group called the "Peace Actions Coalition" is planning a protest near Wall Street Monday morning to draw the public attention to the economic and human costs of war.

Wat Stearnt, a vendor who designed scores of anti-war T-shirts said he sold some 30 ones on Sunday afternoon.

Written on one of the T-shirts, remarks made by Martin Luther King, Jr. read "We are either for nonviolence or we are for nonexistence."

The front of a baby sweater was printed "War -- Bad."

Editor: Donald