DNC Face Off Produces a Victory - Sort Of

Wednesday Night at the DNC (August 27, 2008)

It was a nightmare scenario for Barrack Obama and the Democrats. Two platoon sized groups of IVAW veterans in dress blues, cammies and dress greens faced off a huge force of Denver riot police prepared to fire tear gas, pepper balls and rubber bullets into their ranks only a block from the Pepsi Center where speeches were being given by John Kerry, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden.

The riot police were perched atop platforms of extended construction cranes and military green tactical vehicles with communication dishes. They were on foot in groups of 8 and ten in all directions. Horse patrols were at ready. Gas launchers and pepper ball guns were in clear view, face shields were down, and riot batons were at ready.

It was a nightmare scene resembling recent traumas for the vets as an "enemy" was about to fire on them once again. They had just marched with five to six thousand demonstrators from a Rage Against the Machine concert 4 miles to the area of the Pepsi Center. It was a long and hot march with many stops, including Obama's hotel in downtown Denver.

The Denver Police led the veterans along the route at rush hour. Once in the area of the Pepsi Center the cops attempted to escort the protest march into the "freedom cage". The veterans balked and refused to enter. They did an about face and marched back out of an area of eight foot fences on both sides. The claustrophobic pen the cops had sent the group in wasn't acceptable. The Gitmo type guard tower over the "freedom cage" was visible as the sun was setting.

The vets marched around to the open street leading to Auraria Parkway, the street on which the Pepsi Center was located. One block away from the arena, a blockade was set up. And the face off began. Riot police at ready on one side of the blockade and American war veterans on the other side. One with orders to shoot on the young men and women who had served in the wars of their country and those veterans determined to reach the Pepsi Center to present three demands. They wanted the Democrats to hear the demands for immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq, adequate and timely healthcare which includes mental health for all veterans and reparations to the Iraqi people to rebuild their country.

The three to four thousand remaining demonstrators behind the veterans wanted more. They wanted an end to racism, sexism and bias toward the gay community. They wanted rights for immigrants. They wanted adequate housing, living wage jobs, improved education systems, an end to corporate greed at the expense of the poor and marginalized, an end to the criminalization of young and old for possession of marijuana and reestablishment of basic human rights. They wanted an end to torture.

The young veterans stood their ground in the face of an overwhelming force they could not win against. They had no plan to fight but they had no plan to abandon their goal of a response from Obama or one of his designated liaisons.

The police, as they have been prone to be throughout the DNC in Denver, continued their tactics of intimidation using all the new "toys" the 50 million dollars for security provided as a show of force.

Behind the ranks of the IVAW were Ron Kovic and a couple of VVAW members and a local mother who represented MFSO. Amy Goodman and her sound person were front and center throughout the stand off. Hoards of press swarmed the area anticipating the story of the convention….a blood bath. Or at least a violent conflict between young war veterans and well armed police. If it went down the story would overshadow the scripted events inside the Pepsi Center.

The veterans slowly moved forward as the cops above on the platforms and the armored tactical vehicle got into a shooting position. Cops on the ground took up an assault posture with batons and shields at ready. Calls went out to the crowd for any one not willing to be arrested to break ranks and leave the street. Many did. The vets demanded the press move from in front of them to avoid using them as human shields in any encounter.

Negotiations between veteran liaison and police were breaking down. The police told the veterans they would not go past the barricade and would be gassed and arrested by any means. The tension of the moment was as great as the stand offs of the 70's when I was young and a combat veteran demanding much of the same these vets demanded.

As many of us prepared with bandannas for our faces, water to rinse eyes and securing of personal items, a police attack seemed imminent. But it never came. At the point the veterans were about to take another step forward and probably have a police response of violence, a message came from the Obama campaign asking for two members of IVAW to meet with a liaison of the Senator.

Two IVAW members went through the police lines and held a brief meeting. They returned with news the Obama campaign had heard the three demands and were in agreement to have a discussion about them. Unfortunately, a poor sound system made the message impossible to hear for the larger group. It seemed like the veterans were saying the Senator had endorsed the demands.

A cheer went up from veterans and demonstrators. Veterans hugged each other as if they'd won a state championship. Some of the group had tears in their eyes. The crowd chanted, "Yes we can". The same crowd had earlier sung a gentle song of peace. It was a dramatic moment of inspiration and emotion.

Still, as I left the area, I left thinking the endorsement had happened. Only when I got a call later from a high ranking IVAW member did doubt begin. She indicated IVAW was waiting for some response from the Obama camp. I went online and searched to find out what I had missed. Obama's people were not talking. Reporters were saying all the veterans had secured was an audience with the Obama camp.

Five hours of marching and standing in a face off with the police secured an audience with some representative of the Obama campaign. It was hardly a victory of change or revolution. The best that could be said was the IVAW members stood bravely face to face with a repressive and intimidating police state group of riot cops. They acted with honor and grace. No doubt they prevented a violent incident. But I feel the victory shallow and unsatisfying. It seems the best a group of decorated veterans could secure was a campaign promise. The rest of the demonstrators seeking a change in the fabric of this nation's government were left out of the picture. And I think many will come away feeling the veterans did little to secure the basic rights so desperately wanted by those who chose to follow them. The struggle didn't progress by much at all in the end. Campaign promises are shallow and insincere in most cases. They mean about as much as the vapid election ads flooding the television sets of Americans.

Too bad. The march and the face off with the dark knights of the oppressive government had so much potential but in the end it only seems to reinforce the intimidation and fear meant to force the masses to comply.

I know many in IVAW and love them as brothers and sisters. They are who I became forty years ago this year. And once again I have joined with an older Ron Kovic in a march against an illegal and immoral war. Once again promises by politicians have been made but I no longer believe such promises. I'm saddened that Ron and others who fought the struggle against the war in Vietnam had to once again go to the streets with the same angry demands. It shouldn't take long marches and near riots with police to be heard by the political parties of this nation!

The struggle is far from over. IVAW acted honorably against the threats of an oppressive show of force. Had they not worn their uniforms and just been kids with bandannas they would have been beaten down. One of the ironies of the peace movement is men and women who have gone to war and been forced to violence are more respected. Those who have dedicated their lives to peace are beaten down and jailed with great frequency.

The struggle is far from over. We still have many more miles of marches and many more threats of harm to go. And the brave men and women of IVAW know that more than any of us. They have transformed themselves to men and women of peace and justice following the horrors of war they endured. For them, the marches and the struggles are very personal.


Wm. Terry Leichner, RN

Denver VVAW member

USMC combat vet of Vietnam ('67-'69)