Counting the morning after

There are various morning-after estimates on the size of the demonstration that swept peacefully through midtown Manhattan past heavily guarded Madison Square Garden.

Police won't offer an official estimate. Protest organizers say there were nearly 500,000. That would make it the largest demonstration in New York City in decades.

“This is beyond our wildest dreams,'' said Cathy Ingram, a spokeswoman for United for Peace and Justice, the main protest group.

John Settles, 23, a marcher from New York, said protesters wanted a peaceful demonstration. "We don't want the message of this protest to be violence,'' he said. ``We want to tell the world that we're against the war and Bush.''

Police said approximately 200 demonstrators were taken into custody, most for disorderly conduct.