Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Newest threat to national security: grieving mothers

Cindy Sheehan is in one sorority that nobody wants to join: the sisterhood of grieving mothers. She is one among far too many parents, siblings, spouses and children who lost a loved one in a war started illegally, justified with lies and for which no exit strategy was planned.

Cindy's 24-year old son, Casey, died in April 2004 - he'd arrived in Baghdad only 5 days prior to his death. Two months later his mother and sister were invited for a private meeting with the President to honor him. At that meeting, the President
added insult to injury by being flippant, referring to her as "ma" or "mom" and not even bothering to learn the name of the soldier he was to honor prior to walking into the room. Cindy Sheehan is mad as hell and she's not going to take it anymore.

While George Bush takes his 49th vacation in 5 years (a 5-week sojourn to his ranch in Crawford, TX), Cindy Sheehan is on active duty camped out on the road to Prarie Chapel and that is where she plans to stay until Bush agrees to meet with her, ends his vacation, or she is arrested. Maybe if those who so vociferously support this war were to trade places in Iraq, along the Syrian border, or in graves/hospitals/homeless shelters with those who do not, Sheehan might consider the price tag to this war negligible and stop protesting - somehow, I doubt that.
It is not clear how the White House will handle Ms. Sheehan. Mr. Bush usually comes and goes from the ranch by helicopter, but he might have to drive by her on Friday, when he is scheduled to attend a Republican fund-raiser at a ranch just down the road from where Ms. Sheehan is camped out. She will no doubt get another wave of publicity on Thursday, when Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice join Mr. Bush at the ranch to discuss the war. [NYT]

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