I was at the Peace March in Washington on Saturday. One of the reasons I went was to see it for myself. I knew there would be no press coverage of the event, and in fact there was very little coverage.
For one thing, there were WELL OVER 100,000 people. It was HUGE. According to Stars & Stripes Magazine, the estimate was around 250,000 by mid-afternoon. As for counter-protestors, there were maybe 200, located in an area of about 2 blocks of city sidewalk along the route.
And yes, it was Sheehan's intent to get arrested. The three day event, organized by United for Peace and Justice, included the march, rally and concert on Saturday, training and conferences on Sunday, and peaceful civil disobedience on Monday.
Cindy Sheehan is not tool of the left, but she did galvanize the peace movement.