Coleen Rowley

Over a week ago, I resurrected the ghost of Coleen Rowley while discussing Tony Shaffer and Able Danger and whistleblowers.

I can't believe that this face from the summer of 2002 has decided to show up in Crawford to go camping with Cindy Sheehan.

By taking up with the far Left axis of extremists, I don't think Rowley is helping her image as a nonpartisan, heroic whistleblower. Of course, now that she's running for Congress, she can't pretend that she isn't driven by political motives. Like in the past, it appears that she has a lot of axe grinding to do.

OAKDALE, Minn. -- Former FBI whistleblower Coleen Rowley, along with a state senator whose son died in Iraq, are headed to Texas this week to join a growing anti-war demonstration near President Bush's ranch.

Rowley, now a Democratic candidate for Congress, and Sen. Becky Lourey will join a protest initiated by Cindy Sheehan, whose son Casey died in Iraq last year. Sheehan started the vigil Aug. 6, coinciding with Bush's summer vacation. She has said she won't leave until the president meets with her.

Rowley said Tuesday that she and Lourey would leave Thursday and stay at least through Sunday, sleeping in a tent at the site. They are paying their own way, she said.

...Rowley, a former special agent in the FBI's Minneapolis office, gained fame in 2002 for her criticism of FBI leadership. She said officials failed to act on information that cast suspicion on some Sept. 11 hijackers in the months before they carried out their attacks, and was later named one of Time magazine's people of the year for her efforts.

Now challenging incumbent U.S. Rep. John Kline, a Republican, Rowley has emerged as a harsh critic of the war in Iraq.

"It puts a human face on this issue," said Rowley, who mentioned the trip briefly in a campaign appearance here and then elaborated afterward in an interview with The Associated Press. "Many people, if they don't have a personal connection to the troops, it's so easy for this to become a discussion that lacks seriousness and urgency. I think it's good to show that there are real people that are being affected."

Rowley met Sheehan earlier this month at a Veterans for Peace convention in Dallas, where both women spoke. At that meeting, Sheehan shared her plans to stake out Bush's ranch.

A few days later, Rowley said, she called Lourey — whom she'd never met — and suggested a trip to Crawford to lend support to Sheehan. Rowley said Lourey had already considered making the trip.

Rowley said she wants to "stay in the background" and offer moral support to Lourey, especially since the vigil has drawn critics and counter-demonstrations in recent days.

Stay in the background?

What a joke!

If she wanted to stay in the background, why is she making a publicized trip to join Sheehan in Crawford?

I know Rowley is a harsh critic of the war, but perhaps her moral support is needed elsewhere.

I think Rowley should camp out in front of Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer's house, to show her solidarity with a fellow whistleblower. She could split her time between his place and the home of Cpt. Scott J. Phillpott, another member of Able Danger who has come forward.

Showing up in Crawford looks like a cheap political move. Then again, the entire Sheehan-centered protest in Crawford is exploitative and opportunitistic.

Rowley is right where she belongs.