Obama camp meets with Iraq war veterans protesting at Democratic convention

Doug Pensinger / Getty Images
The Iraq Veterans Against the War group led the four-mile procession from the Denver Coliseum to the Pepsi Center, the site of the Democratic National Convention, calling for Barack Obama to end U.S. involvement in Iraq and improving healthcare for veterans.

Obama camp meets with Iraq war veterans protesting at Democratic convention
About 50 members of Iraq Veterans Against the War lead 4,000 protesters on a march that ends five hours later outside the Pepsi Center when their request to meet with a liaison is granted.
By Nicholas Riccardi and DeeDee Correll, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
August 28, 2008
DENVER -- About 50 Iraq war veterans led a boisterous crowd of about 4,000 protesters to the gates of the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday evening, demanding to speak at the podium inside.

The four-mile march began at the site of a concert by leftist rock group Rage Against the Machine. It ended five hours later, after the Obama campaign resolved a tense standoff outside the Pepsi Center by agreeing to meet with representatives of the group, Iraq Veterans Against the War.


The marchers said they wanted to hold Obama to his promise to end the Iraq war and called for him to pull troops out immediately. The Democratic presidential candidate has instead vowed to bring all combat troops home within 16 months of taking office.

"We're here to hold the Democrat Party accountable," said Jason Hurd, one of the veterans at the front of the procession. "We voted them in to end this war. They've not done that. . . . We want our brothers and sisters to come home now, not later. Now."

The veterans march was the largest demonstration so far in what otherwise has proven to be a generally subdued week; injuries were reported, but no arrests were made.
click post title for more