BUSH PROTESTING MOM CALLS FOR 'ISRAEL OUT
OF PALESTINE'; VOWS NOT TO PAY TAXES
Posted on 08/14/2005 1:47:33 AM PDT by Mo1
Crawford, Texas is always a center of world attention when President Bush is vacationing at his ranch. But this week, it's an even bigger focus, largley because of the protests of Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier who was killed in Iraq.
When News 8 talked to Sheehan in Dallas last week, she had been on the road for a year protesting the war, traveling from one forum to another.
She outlined her irritation at President Bush and the war in Iraq at the Veterans for Peace Conference.
The soft spoken 48-year-old wears a bracelet in honor of her son Casey, who was killed in Baghdad just five days after he was stationed there 16 months ago.
"I don't want one more mother to feel the way I feel—Iraqi or American," Sheehan told News 8. "And I'm going to Crawford, and I want him to give me these answers."
For the past week, she's been in Crawford, camped outside the President's ranch. She demanded a meeting, and the whole world is watching.
Hundreds of supporters have joined her in her quest. One of them was Dr. Barbara Portia, the mother of a U.S. soldier.
"There were no weapons of mass destruction, no imminent threat, and no connection to 9/11," Dr. Portia told other protesters.
On Saturday, war supporters came to Crawford and took up a position on the other side of the road. They carried flags and signs that read, "God bless the soldiers that sacrifice for our country."
"Not every parent of an injured or killed soldier believes that President Bush is wrong," said Mike Gallagher, a radio talk host and suppporter of the war in Iraq. "In fact, I daresay most parents support the war in Iraq, support the Commander in Chief, support the war on terror and support the effort to rid the world of terrorists, wherever they are on the planet. God bless President Bush for having the courage and the fortitude to do what he's doing."
Sheehan's attempts to gain an audience with Bush have not been successful. Now, her supporters have paid for a TV ad running on stations near Crawford. In it, she has a message for the president.
"You lied to us," Sheehan says in the ad, looking directly into the camera. "And because of your lies, my son died."
Cindy Sheehan said she will camp out at Crawford until the president's vacation ends at the end of the month—or until he meets with her.
What we need are a couple of WWII veterans to just show up and tell her that actions don't go with the wishes of her son...that she is dishonoring him. This is the problem with today's society...they all want to represent someone else...but they aren't walking in that person's shoes or seeing life in the fashion of the other person.
She wants to meets with President Bush as a political activist - not a grieving mother. Just another reason to despise the MSM for what they are doing to our country and the morale of our troops in this 24-7 coverage of this leftist-orchestrated gathering. Oh, but there are more than 100 people there and she is speaking for the growing number of those discontented with the war, so they say. BS. She is a spokesperson for the left, which includes most of the news media. I hope her 15 minutes of fame are soon over so these talking heads can come up with another topic.
Article Launched: 06/24/2004 06:00:00 AM
From our archive: Bush, Sheehans share moments
By David Henson/Staff Writer
Since learning in April that their son, Army Spc. Casey Sheehan, had been killed in Iraq, life has been everything but normal for the Sheehan family of Vacaville.
Casey's parents, Cindy and Patrick, as well as their three children, have attended event after event honoring the soldier both locally and abroad, received countless letters of support and fielded questions from reporters across the country.
"That's the way our whole lives have been since April 4," Patrick said. "It's been surreal."
But none of that prepared the family for the message left on their answering machine last week, inviting them to have a face-to-face meeting with President George W. Bush at Fort Lewis near Seattle.
Surreal soon seemed like an understatement, as the Sheehans - one of 17 families who met Thursday with Bush - were whisked in a matter of days to the Army post and given the VIP treatment from the military. But as their meeting with the president approached, the family was faced with a dilemma as to what to say when faced with Casey's commander-in-chief.
"We haven't been happy with the way the war has been handled," Cindy said. "The president has changed his reasons for being over there every time a reason is proven false or an objective reached."
The 10 minutes of face time with the president could have given the family a chance to vent their frustrations or ask Bush some of the difficult questions they have been asking themselves, such as whether Casey's sacrifice would make the world a safer place.
But in the end, the family decided against such talk, deferring to how they believed Casey would have wanted them to act. In addition, Pat noted that Bush wasn't stumping for votes or trying to gain a political edge for the upcoming election.
"We have a lot of respect for the office of the president, and I have a new respect for him because he was sincere and he didn't have to take the time to meet with us," Pat said.
Sincerity was something Cindy had hoped to find in the meeting. Shortly after Casey died, Bush sent the family a form letter expressing his condolences, and Cindy said she felt it was an impersonal gesture.
"I now know he's sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis," Cindy said after their meeting. "I know he's sorry and feels some pain for our loss. And I know he's a man of faith."
The meeting didn't last long, but in their time with Bush, Cindy spoke about Casey and asked the president to make her son's sacrifice count for something. They also spoke of their faith.
While meeting with Bush, as well as Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, was an honor, it was almost a tangent benefit of the trip. The Sheehans said they enjoyed meeting the other families of fallen soldiers, sharing stories, contact information, grief and support.
For some, grief was still visceral and raw, while for others it had melted into the background of their lives, the pain as common as breathing. Cindy said she saw her reflection in the troubled eyes of each.
"It's hard to lose a son," she said. "But we (all) lost a son in the Iraqi war."
The trip had one benefit that none of the Sheehans expected.
For a moment, life returned to the way it was before Casey died. They laughed, joked and bickered playfully as they briefly toured Seattle.
For the first time in 11 weeks, they felt whole again.
"That was the gift the president gave us, the gift of happiness, of being together," Cindy said.
David Henson can be reached at dixon@thereporter.com.
Somebody get this self-centered bi+ch some batteries for her vibrator so she'll go away and leave the sane people alone.
Cindy Sheehan's remaining children deserve to have their mother be a mother to them.
This woman is spitting on the memory of her son's bravery, when instead, she should be honoring his memory, not disrespecting it. I'm sure he's shouting from above for her to stop this idiocy. Rest in peace dear Casey, even if your selfish mother won't let you.
"Bush Lied and people died"
"You're son should come back from the dead,
and put a bullet in your head."
I'd like to know the 'true' backgrounds of these 'veterans for peace.' Sounds like a modern-day version of traitor John's Winter Soldiers; most of whom never even served in the military let alone a combat zone .
I'm sorry. This woman sickens me but I do feel sorry for her because she is so misguided. Please, Cindy...do move to Canada or anywhere else if this country is so reprehensible. Can someone tell me why all these people who hate the USA stay here?
"In a tribute to Peter Jennings last week, ABC told us that Jennings' reporting from Cambodia was "singlehandedly" responsible for the cut off of funding to the pro-USA forces there."
Well then, Peter Jennings is also singlehandedly responsible for the millions of deaths that occurred in the years following that cutting off of funds. I always blamed the dems for all those deaths. What goes around, comes around. AND Peter Jennings paid a price even though it was years later. Dying from lung cancer is not without its pain.
Whose buying her all those hats? LOL
I agree. She will be the "human face" of the anti-war movement, as you say, as long as she is useful to them. I won't be surprised to see a few other glory hounds rising from obscurity and trying to get face time. The chances are, if they have the ability to articulately express themselves beyond the leftist talking points, as she so obviously can not do, they might usurp her, or join her, at least.
Good point about someone else joining or ursurping her. She's a useful tool for now until someone more sane-seeming comes along, and then the media will jump to that person, and Sheehan, I'm afraid, will do some crazy stunts to get the attention back, like confronting Bush while covered in fake blood everytime he makes a public appearance.
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