en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cindy_Sheehan#Sheehan.27s_sister-in-law
She de scribed President Bush as being "detached from humanity" and said that " his mouth kept moving, but there was nothing in his eyes or anything els e about him that showed me he really cared or had any real compassion at all." She continued, "He didnt even know our names," asking "Who we'al l honorin' here today?" when he first entered the room, and then referri ng to her as "Ma" or "Mom".
During the Presidential Inauguration in January, 2005, Cindy traveled to Washington DC to speak at the opening of Eyes Wide Open: the Human Cos t of War, a traveling exhibition created by the American Friends Service Committee that displays pairs of combat boots to represent every US m ilitary casualty. There she met other families who lost loved ones in Ir aq, and together they discussed the need to create an organization for s imiliar familes.
January 2005 that seeks to end the occupation of Iraq and provide support for families of fallen soldie rs. As of August 2005, at least 63 other relatives of fallen soldiers ar e listed as members.
Camp Casey by pitching a tent by the side of the road and announced her intention to stay, day and night, for the full f ive weeks, or until such a meeting is granted.
PNAC Neo-Con agenda to benefit Israel" and that he had "joined the Army to protect America, no t Israel." Sheehan claims that the email was modified by James Morris to support his own personal agenda, and that she did not write the stateme nts about Israel and a "PNAC Neo-con agenda."
Two other individuals, Tony Tersch and Skeeter Gallagher, received a copy of Sheehan's email directly from her; both claim that the e-mail they received is consistent with Morris's story, rather than Sheehan's.
William Rivers Pitt, she stated, "And most imp ortantly and devastatingly, this war is based on lies and betrayals. Not one American soldier, nor one Iraqi should have been killed. Common sen se would dictate that not one more person should be killed for lies. One of the people, my son, was more than enough for me and my family. First of all, because my first bo rn was killed violently, and second of all, because he was killed for a neo-con agenda that only benefits a very chosen few in this world. This agenda and their war machine will chew up and spit out as many of our ch ildren as they can unless we stop them now."
She said, "this war is a catastrophe" and " we should bring the troops home and quit forcing the Iraqi people to pay for our government's hubris and quit forcing innocent children to suffe r so we can allegedly fight terrorism somewhere besides America. How abs olutely racist and immoral is it to take America's battles to another la nd and make an entire country pay for the crimes of others?
US invasion of Afghanistan was "almost the same thing" as the Iraq war and that in both cases it was wrong to invade an entire country to fight an ideology that did not necessarily represent all of the people of that co untry.
al-Qaida which is the group that attack ed us on 9/11," Sheehan replied, "Well then we should have gone after Al -Qaeda and maybe not after the country of Afghanistan."
Similarly, Sheehan wrote that "C asey was killed in the Global War Of Terrorism waged on the world and it s own citizens by the biggest terrorist outfit in the world: George and his destructive Neo-con cabal."
In an interview given to Mark Knoller of CBS, Sheehan states her belief t hat the Iraq War has made terrorism worse and referred to the foreign in surgents coming to Iraq as "freedom fighters".
August 31, Sheehan wrote that "George is finished playing golf an d telling his fables in San Diego, so he will be heading to Louisiana to see the devastation that his environmental policies and his killing pol icies have caused. Recovery would be easier and much quicker if almost of the three states involved National Guard were not in Iraq."
September 16, Sheehan likened the National Guard presence in New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina relief to that of occupied Iraq stating, " George Bush needs to stop talking, admit the mistakes of his all around failed administration, pull our troops out of occupied New Orleans and I raq, and excuse his self from power."
Th e Times also reported that Ms Sheehan told the two officials she apprec iated their meeting with her. After the interview she said, "I think the y thought I'd be very impressed and intimidated that these two high-leve l officials came to talk to this little grieving mother, and that I'd le ave."
George W Bush did speak to reporters at his ranch, saying: "I sympathize with Mrs Sheehan. She feels strongly about her position, and she has every right in the world to say what she believes. She has a right to her position, and I thought long and hard about her position.
Cox Enterprises: "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 think the people want the president to be in a position to make good, crisp decisions and to stay healthy. On the other hand, I'm also mindful that I've got a life to live and will do so."
Bush said: "America lives in freedom because of families like the Pruetts." A picture of Pruett and Bush hugging each other was later placed at the t op of the White House website home page. Supporters of Sheehan have pointed out that an attempt to use Pruett as a counterpoint to Sheehan is a faulty one, as Pruett has lost none of her sons in Iraq. When Pruett was interviewed about this, she replied: "Actually, I would agree with them completely. I have not experienced what they experienced, and I wouldn't judge how they chose to express their grief."
pundits have attacked her personally, her honesty is unimpeachable. Now more and more mothers (and fathers, brothers, sisters, wives, husbands, sons and daughters) are standing up with Cindy.
Supporters say that the Crawford protest highlights the claim that the Bu sh administration believes in selective violence and the claim that the President fails to take responsibility for the deaths of those he comman ds.
Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), was one person traveling to Crawford, and says this of the protest: "We'll be sleeping in a tent in the ditch along the roadside (the only pl ace that the authorities will allow us to be). She said that local authorities have told her that i f we're still there by Thursday we'll be arrested as "national security risks"...
Just as Rosa refused to leave the bus, Cindy is refus ing to leave the roadside. She's the spark that is igniting the anti-war movement." On August 9, 2005, Sheehan began writing a blog concerning (among other t hings) her experience at Camp Casey, her thoughts on the Iraq War, and h er response to criticism of her.
Evan Ashcroft, attended a vigil in support of Sheehan, saying "thei r son's memory would not be lost in the anti-war movement." They also sa id their son, like Sheehan's son, "was a hero who died for what he belie ved in." Jim Bright went on to say "People are looking inside themselves and saying, is this war worth it?"
Sherwood Baker, the first Pennsylva nia National Guardsman to die in Iraq, said, at a press conference at th e Crawford site: "When we buried Sherwood, I knelt down beside his coffin and I vowed to him I will speak the truth for him. And it's a betrayal of the democracy they seek to protect."
"I think they have absolutely no idea what they're doing, I think we're getting to the point where normal, reasonable people are starting to see that. We're here to support the troops, to bring them home now, alive.
Minnesota State Senator Becky Lourey, a vocal critic of the Iraq War, and mother of fallen Army helicopter pilot Matthew Lourey, traveled to Craw ford to protest Bush's refusal to meet with Sheehan. "There is an isolation here of President Bush from the people," said Lourey, "(and)it seems to me as I am looking around that it is wrong, that a person who makes life and death decisions is insulated from the people who suffer the consequences of those decisions." She also traveled to Crawford to grieve and support her fellow militar...
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