Canberra, Mar 20: Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Australia, beginning a day of protests around the world to mark the first anniversary of the Iraq war. Rallies are expected later in Britain, Italy and Spain - whose governments supported the US-led invasion of Iraq. More than 250 demonstrations are being organised across the United States. Speaking on the eve of the anniversary, US President George W Bush described the war on terror as "an inescapable calling of our generation". Several thousand Australians took part in rallies across the country, addressed by community and church leaders. They planned to bring down a fake statue of Prime Minister John Howard - mocking the toppling last year of the statue of deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.