COUNTERING MILITARY RECRUITMENT
Articles: War Protests: General
Grieving Mother's War Protest Draws Notice
ANGELA K. BROWN, Associated Press
Aug 11, 2005
CRAWFORD, Texas - Cindy Sheehan's eyes well with tears when she talksabout her oldest son, Casey, an easygoing young man with a quiet wit.
Casey joined the Army in 2000, never imagining he would see combat.
Five days after he arrived in Iraq last year, the 24-year-old was
killed in Sadr City.
Sheehan knows nothing can bring back her son, but she wants to talk to
President Bush. The Vacaville, Calif., mother has been camping out
along a road near his ranch since Saturday, vowing to remain until his
Texas vacation ends later this month.
"Before my son was killed, I used to think that one person could not
make a difference," she said Wednesday under a tent where she has
slept since arriving. "But one person that is surrounded and supported
by millions of people can be heard."
Speaking with reporters at his ranch Thursday, Bush expressed sympathy
for Sheehan.
"She feels strongly about her position. And she has every right in the
world to say what she believes," Bush said.
"And I thought long and hard about her position," he said. "I've heard
her position from others, which is: Get out of Iraq now. And it would
be a mistake for the security of this country and the ability to lay
the foundations for peace in the long run if we were to do so."
"One way to honor the fallen," he said, "is to lay the foundation for
peace."
Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, and a deputy White
House chief of staff talked to Sheehan on Saturday. She said the
meeting, which she called "pointless," lasted 20 minutes. The White
House said it lasted 45 minutes.
By Thursday, about 50 people had joined her cause, pitching tents in
muddy, shallow ditches and hanging anti-war banners; two dozen others
have sent flowers. Her name was among the most popular search topics
Wednesday on Internet blogs.
The soft-spoken Sheehan, 48, is surprised and touched at the
overwhelming response — most of which is positive, she says.
But not everyone supports her. Kristinn Taylor, co-leader of the
Washington, D.C., chapter of FreeRepublic.com, said Sheehan's protest
is misguided and is hurting troop morale.
"She has a political agenda that goes way beyond her son's death in
combat," said Taylor, whose conservative group has held pro-troop
rallies since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and counter-protests
of anti-war demonstrations.
Sheehan, a Catholic youth minister for eight years, never wanted Casey
to join the military. She said he did after being misled by his
recruiter. Although he also opposed the war, he didn't try to back out.
"I begged him not to go," she said through tears. "I said, 'I'll take
you to Canada' ... but he said, 'Mom, I have to go. It's my duty. My
buddies are going.'"
Sheehan has spent the past several days in rainy weather talking to
scores of reporters, hugging fellow protesters and taking brief breaks
to eat sandwiches and fruit brought by supporters.
She and her husband are separated, affected by the stress of losing
their son.
But her three other children, ages 19 to 24, may join her in Crawford,
she said.
Sheehan did meet with Bush in June 2004: She was among grieving
military families who met with the president at Fort Lewis, Wash. She
has said her feelings have shifted from shock to anger since then, in
part because of various reports that have disputed some of the Bush
administration's justifications for the war.
Many supporters decided to go to Crawford because of rumors that
Sheehan would be arrested.
But no protesters will be arrested unless they trespass on private
property or block the road, said Capt. Kenneth Vanek of the McLennan
County Sheriff's Office.
Trucker Craig Delaney, 53, was in Georgia on Monday when he heard
numerous radio shows discussing Sheehan — some criticizing her. He
altered his route to California, heading for Texas, and got to
Sheehan's site Wednesday morning.
"I felt compelled to come and tell her I support her," said Delaney, a
self-described hippie from Sly Park, Calif. "The way they were
bad-mouthing a mother whose son was killed in the war is un-American."
Nearly 40 Democratic members of Congress have asked Bush to talk to
her. On Wednesday, a coalition of anti-war groups in Washington also
called on Bush to speak with Sheehan, who they say has helped to unify
the peace movement.
"Cindy Sheehan has become the Rosa Parks of the anti-war movement,"
said Rev.
Lennox Yearwood, leader of the Hip Hop Caucus, an activist group.
"She's tired, fed up and she's not going to take it anymore, and so
now we stand with her."
Earlier this year Sheehan formed Gold Star Families for Peace and has
spoken to groups across the nation and overseas.
Judith Young, national president of the The American Gold Star Mothers
of America Inc., said she is concerned the public will mistake her
76-year-old Washington, D.C., nonprofit organization with Sheehan's
group.
In Young's group, commonly known as Gold Star Moms, mothers whose
children died in the line of duty volunteer in veterans' hospitals and
programs. Members don't do advocacy work, Young said.
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