So that's how they're using their freedoms

On the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad, this happened:

Tens of thousands of Shi'ites -- a sea of women in black abayas and men waving Iraqi flags -- rallied Monday to demand that U.S. forces leave their country. Some ripped apart American flags and tromped across a Stars and Stripes rug.

It is truly heartwarming to see the march of freedom in Iraq, particularly the freedom to "desecrate" the American flag, something quite a few people in Washington feel a need to stop.

Of course, the White House sees this as progress:

Iraq, four years on, is now a place where people can freely gather and express their opinions. And that was something they could not do under Saddam. And while we have much more progress ahead of us -- the United States, the coalition and Iraqis have much more to do -- this is a country that has come a long way from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein.

I suppose this is a great step forward for Iraq, but also for irony--we have given them the freedom to demand that we leave. Good enough for me.

What do you have to say about flags, transvestite British comedian Eddie Izzard?