Posted on 08/14/2005 1:24:47 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
CRAWFORD, Texas - Cindy Sheehan's antiwar protest entered its second week, gaining momentum and spurring counterrallies, as hundreds of people with conflicting opinions about the war in Iraq descended on a road leading to President George Bush's ranch.
More than 350 antiwar demonstrators gathered at a park near downtown Saturday, then moved the rally several miles away to the peace vigil's makeshift campsite along the road to Bush's ranch.
''Who knew that the beginning of the end of the occupation in Iraq was going to start last Saturday in Crawford, Texas?'' said Sheehan, of Vacaville, Calif., who started the protest Aug. 6 in memory of her 24-year-old son Casey, killed in Iraq last year. ``We're here to change the world.''
In the meantime, President Bush defended staying with his schedule.
`PART OF THE JOB'
Before leaving for a two-hour bike ride with some of his staff and journalists, Bush said he is aware of Sheehan's antiwar sentiments and those others who have joined her protest near his ranch.
''But whether it be here or in Washington or anywhere else, there's somebody who has got something to say to the president, that's part of the job,'' Bush said. ``And I think it's important for me to be thoughtful and sensitive to those who have got something to say. But I think it's also important for me to go on with my life, to keep a balanced life.''
Sheehan is seeking a justification for the war, as well as her son's death.
''I don't want comfort from him,'' she said Friday. ``I want answers. I want the truth.''
In addition to the bike ride, the president's schedule included an evening Little League Baseball playoff game, a lunch meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, some fishing and some reading. ''I think the people want the president to be in a position to make good, crisp decisions and to stay healthy,'' he said when asked about bike riding while Sheehan wanted to speak with him. ``And part of my being is to be outside exercising.''
''So I'm mindful of what goes on around me,'' Bush added. ``On the other hand, I'm also mindful that I've got a life to live and will do so.''
BUSH BACKERS
As about a dozen Bush supporters stood across the street holding signs, down from more than 250 who gathered there Saturday morning, one exchange became heated. A Bush supporter approached an antiwar veteran, and they stood chest to chest as deputies tried to separate them.
When the veteran shouted about his wartime experiences and yelled, ''I earned the right to be here!'' several of his fellow protesters subdued him, moving him away as he sobbed and his knees buckled.
Sheriff's deputies and Secret Service agents otherwise kept the groups on opposite sides of the road, and no one was arrested.
''I feel sorry for Cindy, but I think she went about this the wrong way,'' said Bill Garrett, a member of Protest Warrior, a group that holds counterprotests to antiwar rallies.
"As about a dozen Bush supporters stood across the street. . "
Seems like a whole heck of a lot more than "about a dozen."
I retired from the Navy - I was off the coast of Vietnam for about 30 days. Other than that never saw any combat. In fact 99% of Navy veterans during the vietnam war never saw any "combat" like swift boat sailors or ground troops. Simply stating what is probably the case with the protester in that they may be a veteran, but were never shot at.
Hey Clueless yourself. I retired from the Navy - 99% of sailors vietnam never were shot at, or fired a shot in combat. The number of Navy vets intimately invovlved in combat are such a significant minority of Navy (or Air Force) vets that any Navy vet claiming they were "Intimately involved" in combat should be looked at closely.
your 99% figure is way off. the navy hospital corps is the largest rating in numbers in the navy and most navy corpsmen that served in the vietnam era did at least one tour with the marine corps in vietnam and a large number of them earned the combat action ribbon while there.
Isn't she a disgrace! No pride nor dignity to stop her from bawling in front of the world. Poor Casey; he would be so ashamed of her.
Isn't the msm a disgrace?
***...President Bush defended staying with his schedule...***
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