Cindy Sheehan's Mission

CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) -- The angry mother of a fallen U.S. soldier staged a protest near President Bush's ranch Saturday, demanding an accounting from Bush of how he has conducted the war in Iraq.

Supported by more than 50 demonstrators who chanted, "W. killed her son!" Cindy Sheehan told reporters: "I want to ask the president, 'Why did you kill my son? What did my son die for?'" Sheehan, 48, didn't get to see Bush, but did talk about 45 minutes with national security adviser Steve Hadley and deputy White House chief of staff Joe Hagin, who went out to hear her concerns.

Appreciative of their attention, yet undaunted, Sheehan said she planned to continue her roadside vigil, except for a few breaks, until she gets to talk to Bush. Her son, Casey, 24, was killed in Sadr City, Iraq, on April 4, 2004. He was an Army specialist, a Humvee mechanic.

"They (the advisers) said we are in Iraq because they believed Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, that the world's a better place with Saddam gone and that we're making the world a safer place with what we're doing over there," Sheehan said in a telephone interview after the meeting.

"They were very respectful. They were nice men. I told them Iraq was not a threat to the United States and that now people are dead for nothing. I told them I wouldn't leave until I talked to George Bush."

She said Hagin told her, "I want to assure you that he (Bush) really does care."

"And I said if he does care, why doesn't he come out and talk to me."

Sheehan arrived in Crawford aboard a bus painted red, white and blue and emblazoned with the words, "Impeachment Tour." Sheehan, from Vacaville, Calif., had been attending a Veterans for Peace convention in Dallas.

The bus, trailed by about 20 cars of protesters and reporters, drove at about 15 mph toward Bush's ranch. After several miles, they parked the vehicles and began to march, in stifling heat, farther down the narrow country road.

..."I want to ask the president, `Why did you kill my son? What did my son die for?" she said, her voice cracking with emotion. "Last week, you said my son died for a noble cause' and I want to ask him what that noble cause is?"

White House spokesman Trent Duffy said in response that Bush also wants the troops to return home safely.

"Many of the hundreds of families the president has met with know their loved one died for a noble cause and that the best way to honor their sacrifice is to complete the mission," Duffy said.

"It is a message the president has heard time and again from those he has met with and comforted. Like all Americans, he wants the troops home as soon as possible."

My heart breaks for Cindy Sheehan. She believes her son died in vain. It must be unbearable for her. It's not surprising that she's angry with President Bush. She blames him for sending her son to fight in a war that is not noble.
I'm uncomfortable criticizing a grieving mother. She certainly has my deepest sympathy for the loss of her son. Accordingly, she should be cut some slack. I hesitate to judge her too harshly.

That said, I'll comment on the merits of Sheehan's protest from a rational standpoint rather than an emotional one.

First, I think Sheehan should be grateful that National Security Adviser Steve Hadley and deputy White House Chief of Staff Joe Hagin spoke to her. To Sheehan's credit, she said the men were nice. Giving 45 minutes to her was by no means a brief meeting.

(By the way, Bush is on vacation.

Do you think Hadley and Hagin are at the ranch to cut brush?

Why does he need his National Security Adviser and deputy White House Chief of Staff there if not for business?
I digress.)
Did Sheehan really believe that arriving in Crawford on a bus painted red, white and blue and emblazoned with the words, "Impeachment Tour," would be the way to get the President to come out to address her and the group of protesters?

The Secret Security wouldn't allow that and rightly so.

Sheehan intends to keep vigil at the ranch until Bush talks to her. I'm sorry to say it, but that's clearly a publicity stunt. I'm sure the liberal media will eat it up and her vigil will duly serve the anti-Bush crowd's agenda.

She wants to ask Bush, "Why did you kill my son?"

That's a legitimate question to ask the insurgents and the terrorists that took his life, not the President. He didn't kill Casey.

Sheehan certainly can take issue with the administration's Iraq policy, but this "Why did you kill my son?" stuff and "Impeachment Tour" bus are designed for bashing Bush and nothing more. It's like she needs someone to blame and Bush is her target. She isn't hoping to engage in meaningful dialogue with him. That's very clear. Sheehan is playing to the cameras.

It is truly unfortunate that she believes her son gave his life for an ignoble cause. That is a heavy burden to bear. If her "Impeachment Tour" is part of her grieving process, then I hope it helps.

However, I don't think her "tour" will accomplish much else, especially given al-Zawahri's recent threats to kill more innocents in Britain and the U.S._______________________

This is not the first time Cindy Sheehan has been in the headlines. She took part in that bizarre mock impeachment hearing that John Conyers staged back on June 16, 2005.
Read more.

A few days earlier, Sheehan slammed President Bush at an interfaith rally in Lexington, Kentucky.

She said, "Beating a political stake in your black heart will be the fulfillment of my life."

That's a very strong statement, obviously coming from an all-encompassing sorrow and incredible pain.

If Sheehan finds solace in working against Bush, then good for her. She needs to do what she needs to do. Nevertheless, her display of such hate for President Bush personally doesn't really serve the memory of her beloved son very well.

If Casey was proud to serve in the Army and believed in his mission, maybe one day she'll find comfort in that.Read more.