Anti-war veterans speak out in Boston

BOSTON -- Cramped inside the basement auditorium of the Boston Public Library, the group Veterans for Peace wrapped up its national convention Saturday, speaking out against the American-led war in Iraq and aiming its anti-war message at the delegates streaming into the city for the Democratic National Convention.

More than 400 veterans from all over the country, many of them now silver-haired men, gathered for the four-day event to hear speakers and attend workshops.

"We want to send a strong message for Democrats to bring our soldiers back," said David Cline, the president of the organization and a Vietnam veteran. "We need to look beyond the flag-waving."

At Saturday's closing events, the organization gave an award to Scott Ritter, the former U.N. weapons inspector who has been critical of President Bush and was one of the first to challenge the administration's claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

"Getting rid of (Saddam) Hussein has shredded our credibility," said Ritter, who resigned from his inspection position in 1998. "George (W.) Bush is a domestic enemy of the Constitution."

A cheering crowd gave Ritter standing ovations at several points during his 20-minute acceptance speech. Afterward, some convention attendees called him a hero and a courageous whistle-blower.

Ritter criticized both President Bush and presumptive Democratic nominee John F. Kerry. He urged veterans to unite, voice their concerns, and make other Americans understand the truth about what war is really like.

Organizers said they planned the event to coincide with the convention and were surprised that it did not draw more attention.

, particularly because Kerry is a Vietnam veteran who became a vocal opponent of the war after returning home.

"We were trying to get media coverage, but the DNC is like the big story," said Cline. "You are always competing for attention."

Cline said his group is not partisan but tries to push issues important to veterans such as increased benefits.

Like Ritter, members of the group spoke out against both Bush and Kerry, although Bush received the lion's share of the criticism. Many attendees had antiwar slogans written on their shirts and anti-Bush buttons on their military-style caps.

The crowd included veterans from World War II, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf War, and even recent Iraq veterans, who members of the group said were particularly important to their cause.

"The day George Bush sent my daughter to war was the day I declared war against Bush," said Sean Dougherty, who was wearing a pin on his shirt with a picture of Bush and the slogan "9/11: Expose the Deception."

"We need the younger voice," added his daughter, Kelly Dougherty, who spent 10 months in Iraq with the 220th Military Police Company and is a member of the newly formed group Iraq Veterans Against the War.

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