``It's proof there are far more people disagreeing with their ideas than people agreeing with them,'' said Joel Tomlinson, 34, part of a socialist group in the counter-protest. He declared the march's cancellation ``a victory. The Nazis were intimidated by the police and the anti-demonstrators''.

Washington police had mobilised 86 percent of their forces to deal with possible clashes between the Knights of Freedom Nationalist Party, who had expected to number as many as 300, and the far larger group in the counter demonstration.

``People are drumming, people are chanting. This is a victory rally,'' said spokesman Jim Bullington for the ad hoc group DCUnited to Stop the Nazis. ``They tried to march on the White House in the capital of the United States, and we showed them they can't do it,'' he said, adding, ``It was a multiracial, multiethnic demonstration that shut 'em down.''

The counter demonstration pulled together an array of organisations, from Shalom International, whose membership includes Holocaust survivors, to a loosely organised gathering of young people in black caps, sunglasses and veils with a banner reading `Show solidarity against fascism.' ``Our colour, black, is the opposite of the white the Nazis have chosen as a symbol of purity,'' said Michael Hopkins, 24, a sales clerk who emphasised that despite their severe attire, ``nobody's here trying to be violent.''Shalom International passed out posters reading `Remember the Holocaust' and `Never again.'

A group of long-haired youths sat under a banner proclaiming, `Fight racism, not freedom of expression,' and played music on drums, water cans and tambourines.

A blind, grey-hairedhippie listened to their tunes as a friend led him through the crowd, with `love and peace' initials on his shoulder. The march that wasn't did attract lots of attention, especially from tourists. One Asian tourist had a protester pose with him for a photo under his sign, `No to Nazis, yes to humanity.'

Police said they had not prohibited the march, but had mobilised 1,426 officers to head off potential conflicts between the neo-Nazi Knights of Freedom and counter-protesters. ``We have mobilised 86 percent of our forces, whereas on any given day we might have only 40 percent of them on hand,'' said police Chief Charles Ramsey.

Past white supremacist marches in Washington have ended in violence, and Ramsey said, ``If something had happened, we wouldn't have been too many.'' ``We didn't cancel it we issued them a permit to do it,'' said police spokesman Quentin Peterson.``They said they expected between 150 and 300 participants (but) a carload of approximately four people showed up and decided they didn'twant to march,'' he said. ``It shows you that the people of Washington DC and the area and actually the rest of the United States don't want them here,'' said Bullington. ``But you have to take the threat seriously.''

-- Agence France Presse