On the third anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq, the US capital's historic protest venues were surprisingly serene yesterday. Outside the White House tourists had their pictures taken next to a cardboard cut-out of the president, families enjoyed the sun on the Mall and several bored-looking policemen stood guard outside the vice-president's DC home. Not a placard in sight or a chant to be heard.

Americans may have turned decisively against the war in Iraq in recent months, but their change of heart has been largely expressed quietly to pollsters rather than in loud public protests. The micro-protests that have taken place around the anniversary - including a few hundred who gathered to hear anti-war speeches in the affluent DC neighbourhood of Dupont Circle - pale by comparison with the monster demonstrations against the Vietnam war.