Posted on 08/18/2005 10:34:05 AM PDT by LouAvul
While Cindy Sheehan continues her anti-war protests outside of President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, there are many others personally affected by the fighting in Iraq who support the president and the war.
CBS News Correspondent Lee Cowan spoke with widows at Fort Hood, Texas, who have seen a side of President Bush rarely seen in public.
It's true that Mr. Bush doesn't attend the funerals of those he sends to war, Cowan observes. It's also true the administration would prefer if cameras were not around when the fallen come home in caskets.
But for hundreds of soldier's families, the president isn't necessarily a man who turns a deaf ear to the war's grief and frustration.
When Staff Sgt. Robert Thornton died in Baghdad's Al Rashid district, Mr. Bush met with his young widow, one on one, during a visit to Fort Hood.
"He's very sincere, he's very caring and very compassionate," Ellen Thornton says. "You can tell that he struggles every day with the loss of life."
Mr. Bush's meetings with families of troops killed in war are private moments, Cowan says. The press is never allowed, and the meetings are brief.
Inge Colton took her son, Lance, hoping the president would apologize to him for the loss of his father, Shane Colton.
He did.
"I'm not going to say it helped about how I felt about losing my husband," Inge Colton says. "It didn't. But it helped me know that he cared."
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
Not really, "some" is a much weaker word than "most".
How about thousands.
From WWII forward, all shaking their heads in disgust of this sad and misguided woman.
Monkeys are flying outta my butt!
How about this...MOST War Widows Oppose Sheehan? Or, The absolute majority of war widows oppose Sheehan?
That would be the truth.
how far did they burry the story? I notice they didnt speak with parents who support the war.
First, let me say that as a parent, my heart goes out to Cindy Sheehan. No parent wants to outlive a child, for any reason, period. Im truly as sorry for her loss as I am for those of any parent in similar circumstances, from this war and all others before it. I knew families whose sons didnt return from Vietnam (my brother did, fortunately, and hes a fine man for it) and my parents both knew many folks who never returned from Battaan, Normandy, and Inchon. Hell, I served 15 years in the Peacetime Army, and I lost friends. Frankly, the military is a hazardous occupation, but it is composed of volunteers. I say a prayer for every young man and woman of this new generation who are willing to put their own self-interests aside and serve something larger than themselves and their immediate needs. Bless them all.
Her adult son made the decision to join the military. From all accounts, he willingly went to Iraq to support something in which he believed, he accepted the potential consequences as part of that higher service, and was a good soldier. Bless him. Pray for him too.
Well, the sad truth is that hes gone now, and she has to put that anger somewhere. I believe that she is now subconsciously trying to punish her son for his defiance of her (emphasis on her) values. In light of what has been revealed as her long-established leftist political perspective and activism, his decision to embrace a warrior culture was very likely an extremely unpopular one with his mother. In short, she was probably very angry with him.
Now, all she has left to focus that anger on is his memory. Anger is a secondary emotion that, among other origins, often grows out of fear and frustration. Im sure she was scared for him, in the same manner as are all mothers left behind by warrior sons. And Im sure that, upon his death, her frustration at her inability to tell him how hurt she was (by both his decision and his death) melded and festered into pure, white-hot anger. As is typical in our no-accountability society, it was easier to displace her anger at him, and at herself, than it was to face it and move forward. What better target for a classic American leftist than President Bush?
As long as she is unwilling to move forward, she will remain pathologically angry, and it will eventually consume her as certainly as any cancer. Anger and hate will kill her from the inside, far sooner than it will harm the object of her hatred. In the meantime, Casey Sheehans memory as a warrior is besmirched by her words and actions, the world of his comrades-in-arms is weakened by her words and actions, and his remaining family is apparently rent apart by her words and actions.
Unfortunately, she is being rewarded on some level by all of the current attention. I believe its as simple as vanity. In spite of her assertions to the contrary, she certainly appears to be basking in the attention. The fact that she is being exploited by others with far more sinister goals is beyond tragic, its reprehensible. Gleefully exploiting any mothers grief for politics merely illustrates the lengths to which the left will go to discredit the President (as if thats a surprise). Allowing them to do so over her sons legacy for the sake of rubbing elbows with fame illustrates how morally bankrupt she truly has become.
Seeing as there are more than 3600 other parents who have lost a son or daughter in the Iraqi war, I would assume there are lots of families who object to Sheehan using her son's casket for a soapbox!
Semper Fi,
Kelly
I'm glad that someone is looking at the point of view from spouses. A family is made up of much more than Mommies.
Nearly All Some War Widows Oppose Sheehan ?
That is one of the best things I have read on this subject.
Perhaps they are starting to get the clue that this woman and those who surround her are not playing as well as hoped. Wait, what am I saying!!! Forget it, they are just running this to SAY they were objective.
Sheehan is so sorry about her son that she is aiding and abetting those who killed him. Giving comfort to his killers by attacking her own country and president.
Bin Laden loves her, she is a personal favorite of Al-Zarkawi. Iam sure CAIR thinks she is great. Is she really sio stupid that she doesnt realise that. A media Whore.
Hey, dog. You like kitties?
Wow, what a nice story about President Bush.
You registered today just to spew this hate? Enjoy your short stay!!
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