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Cindy Sheehan

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Death of her son

Sheehan is the mother of the late U.S. Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, who first joined the U.S. Army in May 2000. He re-enlisted in August 2003, at the age of 24. Casey was killed in action on April 4, 2004, just five days after his arrival in Sadr City, Iraq, during the Iraq occupation. Casey had volunteered for a rescue mission in which he and several others were killed. Casey was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart .

Sheehan's campaign against the Iraq War

Sheehan has stated that she has "always been a Democrat," and had initially questioned the urgency of the invasion of Iraq, but did not become active in the anti-war effort until after her son's death .


In a letter to author William Rivers Pitt, she stated, "And most importantly and devastatingly, this war is based on lies and betrayals. Not one American soldier, nor one Iraqi should have been killed. Common sense 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. I will live in unbearable pain until I die. First of all, because my first born 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 children as they can unless we stop them now."

In a column relating her experience on a June 28, 2005 Larry King Live show, Sheehan described President Bush as having "moronic and callous foreign policies" and said Senator John Warner "fell in lockstep behind his Führer." 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 suffer so we can allegedly fight terrorism somewhere besides America. How absolutely racist and immoral is it to take America's battles to another land and make an entire country pay for the crimes of others? To me, this is blatant genocide."

In an August 15, 2005 interview on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews, Sheehan told Matthews that she thought she would not have responded differently to her son's death had he died in Afghanistan rather than in Iraq. Sheehan argued that the U.S. 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 country. When Matthews pointed out that "...Afghanistan was harboring, the Taliban was harboring al-Qaida which is the group that attacked us on 9/11," Sheehan replied, "Well then we should have gone after Al-Qaeda and maybe not after the country of Afghanistan." Sheehan also argued that American efforts in Afghanistan were not "having any success" and that "our troops should be brought home ."

In a speech given on April 27, 2005 at San Francisco State University, Sheehan is quoted as stating "We are not waging a war on terror in this country. We’re waging a war of terror. 'The biggest terrorist in the world is Cindy Sheehan."'


On 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 Iraq, and excuse his self from power."

On September 24, Sheehan wrote "I am watching CNN and it is 100 percent rita... even though it is a little wind and a little rain... it is bad, but there are other things going on in this country today... and in the world!"[http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2005/9/24/85619/4714/25#25. This just goes to show you how ignorant this bitch really is.

Reactions

"I sympathize with Mrs. Sheehan. She feels strongly about her position, and she has every right in the world to say what she believes. This is America. She has a right to her position, and I thought long and hard about her position. I've heard her position from others, which is: 'Get out of Iraq now.' And it would be a mistake for the security of this country and the ability to lay the foundations for peace in the long run if we were to do so."

Sheehan later issued a statement, which among other things outlined the purpose of the protest .

On August 24 2005, in a speech to Idaho National Guard families, President Bush singled out Tammy Pruett, who has four sons serving in the National Guard in Iraq and a husband and another son who have returned from Iraq. 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 top of the White House website home page.


Sheehan's sister-in-law

On 11 August 2005 Matt Drudge made public an email he had received from Sheehan's sister-in-law (and Casey's paternal aunt), Cherie Quartarolo, in which she was quoted as saying:

"We do not agree with the political motivations and publicity tactics of Cindy Sheehan. She now appears to be promoting her own personal agenda and notoriety at the expense of her son's good name and reputation. The rest of the Sheehan Family supports the troops, our country, and our President, silently, with prayer and respect."

Quartarolo signs the email "Casey Sheehan's grandparents, aunts, uncles and numerous cousins.", but does not mention the individual names of these relatives.

During a series of interviews published on several websites, Sheehan responded to Quartarolo's statement:

"My in-laws sent out a press conference disagreeing with me in strong terms; which is totally okay with me, because they barely knew Casey. . . ."
"We have always been on separate sides of the fence politically and I have not spoken to them since the elections when they supported the man who is responsible for Casey’s death." Casey enlisted and reenlisted knowing what could happen. I feel bad for you and your loss but I along with millions and millions of other real Troop Supporting Amercians think that your in-laws are correct, it is all about you, not about your son, and that is why your husband got smart and left your retared ass.

Parents of other military personnel killed in Iraq

Linda Ryan, mother of Corporal Marc T. Ryan, a Marine who was killed in Ramadi, says of Sheehan:

"She's going about this not realizing how many people she's hurting. When she refers to anyone killed in Iraq, she's referring to my son. She doesn't have anything to say about what happened to my son."

On August 15, 2005, Matt and Toni Matula, parents of Matthew Matula, a Texas Marine killed in Iraq, requested that the white cross representing their dead son as a victim of the war in Iraq be removed, stating that they did not wish their son's name to be part of an anti-war demonstration. Mr. Matula said:

"It's fine for people to grieve their own way. It aggravates me to see them using other people's names to further their cause."

Natalie Healy, mother of Dan Healy, a Navy SEAL who was killed in the line of duty in Iraq, organized a rally on August 20, 2005 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in order to counteract Sheehan's message, stating:

"We just want to let the fellas know that we’re supporting them and that we’re not going to wimp out on them."

Gary Qualls, whose son, Marine Corporal Louis Wayne Qualls, died in Iraq, started what was dubbed "Fort Qualls" in Crawford, Texas to counter the "Camp Casey" protests. Qualls has repeatedly removed the white cross bearing his son's name from the Arlington West display set up by "Camp Casey."

Gregg Garvey, whose 23 year old son died in Iraq, joined the pro-Bush counter protests stating "people have had enough Bush bashing", and that Sheehan "does not represent all of America".

Criticism of comments

Sheehan has come under criticism for a number of comments, one such comment she wrote on the Daily Kos Sheehan blog on September 24 2005:

  • "I am watching CNN and it is 100 percent (Hurricane) Rita...even though it is a little wind and a little rain...it is bad, but there are other things going on in this country today...and in the world!!!!"

This comment caused outrage to many supporters and critics, calling her jealous of media coverage of other's suffering and "The right-wing media has painted you as a self-centered, self-absorbed woman and you're living up to that image".

Criticism of the critics

The criticism of Sheehan by pro-Iraq war pundits and bloggers has in turn been widely criticized by anti-Iraq war pundits and bloggers. Joe Conason described the criticism as "baiting a bereaved mother as a traitor". That is what she is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

Keith Olbermann attacked Rush Limbaugh for his coverage of the Sheehan story, describing him as the "World's Worst Person". Olbermann ridiculed Limbaugh for claiming that "There's nothing about that's real." and accused Limbaugh of hypocrisy, "He also referred to her supporters as dope-smoking FM types. I guess the painkillers wipe out your memory along with your ethics."

Sheehan, commenting on mothers of other soldiers killed in Iraq who support Bush and the war, wrote:

"How can these moms who still support George Bush and his insane war in Iraq want more innocent blood shed just because their sons or daughters have been killed? I don't understand it. I don't understand how any mother could want another mother to feel the pain we feel. I am starting to lose a little compassion for them. I know they have been as brainwashed as the rest of America, but they know the pain and heartache and they should not wish it on another. However, I still feel their pain so acutely and pray for these 'continue the murder and mayhem' moms to see the light." This statement just goes to show you how igorant she really is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chronology

Casey Sheehan

Casey Sheehan was the son of Cindy Sheehan and died as a soldier in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Growing up, he was a Cub Scout and a Boy Scout who attained the rank of Eagle Scout. In May 2000 Sheehan enlisted in the United States Army hoping to continue the training he had as an altar boy and become a chaplain's assistant. The Army trained him as a mechanic instead. Near the end of his tour of duty, the US invasion of Iraq began. Sheehan re-enlisted, knowing that his unit would be sent to Iraq. Sheehan's division, the First Cavalry Division, was sent to Iraq. On March 19, 2004 Sheehan's company, Charlie Battery, arrived at FOB War Eagle in Sadr City. Just a few weeks later, on April 4, 2004 Sheehan was killed in action after volunteering as part of a Quick Reaction Force to rescue American troops.

Generally opposed