Followers of Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr took to the streets of Baghdad on Thursday to demand a total end to the American presence in Iraq. Reports indicate the crowd numbered in the thousands. The demonstration comes amid reports that Iraq’s government plans to ask the U.S. to delay the final departure of American troops. The demonstrators stomped on American, British and Israeli flags that were painted onto the pavement in the streets while others burned American and Israeli flags. Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki has called for a national debate over asking the U.S. to leave its troops in place beyond the deadline of the end of 2011 that was incorporated into a bilateral agreement, an idea U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates endorses. Al-Sadr, whose militia was at one time a primary force battling U.S. troops, is threatening to reactivate his fighters if American soldiers remain past the existing deadline.