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Cindy Sheehan

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File:Cindy.Sheehan.TV.commercial.screenshot.png
Cindy Sheehan, in a TV commercial released by Gold Star Families for Peace in August 2005

Cindy Sheehan (born c. 1957) is an American anti-Iraq War activist who attracted international attention in August 2005 for her extended demonstration outside President George W. Bush's Texas ranch. She is sometimes referred to by the media as the Peace Mom.

Background

Cindy Sheehan speaks at a peace protest outside of Fort Bragg, North Carolina on March 19, 2005. (Photo: Jeff Patterson)

Sheehan is the mother of the late US 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. [1]

The family was active in the Roman Catholic church in Norwalk, and then in Vacaville, California where Cindy Sheehan worked as a youth minister at St. Mary's Church. [2]

Political activism

Although a lifelong member of the Democratic Party[3], Sheehan did not become politically active until her son's death.

Sheehan and other grieving military families met with Bush in June 2004 at Fort Lewis, near Tacoma, Washington, two months after her son's death. In a June 24, 2004, interview with the Vacaville Reporter published soon after the meeting, she expressed concerns about the president's justifications for war, as well as the way the war had been handled, but also told the reporter that she believed President Bush was sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqi people, and was sorry for the loss of her son. [4]

On July 4, 2005 she gave an interview [5] in which she described the meeting as "one of the most disgusting experiences I ever had, and it took me almost a year to even talk about it." She described President Bush as being "detached from humanity" and said that "his mouth kept moving, but there was nothing in his eyes or anything else about him that showed me he really cared or had any real compassion at all." She continued, "He didn’t even know our names," asking "Who we'all honorin' here today?" when he first entered the room, and then referring to her as "Ma" or "Mom".

Sheehan is also one of the nine founding members of Gold Star Families for Peace, an organization founded in January 2005 that seeks to end the occupation of Iraq and provide support for families of fallen soldiers. As of August 2005, at least 63 other relatives of fallen soldiers are listed as members.

Although she had spoken publicly against the Iraq war and occupation since 2004, Sheehan gained national attention in early August 2005 when she traveled to President Bush's Prairie Chapel Ranch just outside Crawford, Texas, during his five-week summer vacation there. Demanding a second meeting with the President and an explanation of the "noble cause" for which her son died [6] [7], she pitched a tent by the side of the road and announced her intention to stay, day and night, for the full five weeks or until such a meeting is granted. She has also promised that, if she is not granted a second meeting, she will return to Crawford each time Bush visits there in the future.[8]

Sheehan's actions have led supporters such as Rev. Lennox Yearwood, CEO of the Hip Hop Caucus, to describe her as "the Rosa Parks of the antiwar movement." [9]

Rhetoric

In her speeches and writings, Sheehan is direct and often blunt, a characteristic that has been noted by observers on both the left and right, and which Sheehan herself does not deny.[10]

There is controversy over an e-mail that Sheehan sent to ABC's Nightline allegedly containing various comments about Israel. A version of the email was posted to the "bullyard" Google group by "Tony" on March 18, 2005. [11] which allegedly states Casey "was killed for lies and for a PNAC Neo-Con agenda to benefit Israel" and he "joined the Army to protect America, not Israel." Sheehan claims that the email was modified by James Morris to support his own personal agenda. [12] [13] However, James Morris denies altering the email before sending it along to Nightline. And two other individuals, Tony Tersch and Skeeter Gallagher, received a copy of Sheehan's email directly from her. It was Tersch who posted the email he received to the "bullyard" Google group. [14] Sheehan gave a speech to the Veterans for Peace convention stating, "You get America out of Iraq, you get Israel out of Palestine". [15]

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." [16]

In another editorial relating her experience on a June 28, 2005 Larry King Live show she 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." [17]

In an August 15, 2005 interview [18] on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews, Sheehan told Matthews that she thought she wouldn't 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-Qaida 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 [from both Iraq and Afghanistan.]"

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 George W. Bush." [19] Similarly, Sheehan wrote that "Casey was killed in the Global War OF Terrorism waged on the world and its own citizens by the biggest terrorist outfit in the world: George and his destructive Neo-con cabal." [20]

Reactions

The White House

On August 6 2005, Sheehan met with two high-level Bush administration officials, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and deputy White House Chief of Staff Joe Hagin. According to The New York Times (August 6, 2005) the meeting lasted 45 minutes. The Times also reported that Ms. Sheehan told the two officials she appreciated their meeting with her. After the interview she said, "I think they thought I'd be very impressed and intimidated that these two high-level officials came to talk to this little grieving mother, and that I'd leave."[21]

There had been reports that the police had threatened to arrest all protesters on site on Thursday, August 11, 2005 when Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would be at the president's nearby ranch. However, no arrests in connection with the protest were made. President 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. 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." [22]

Prior to going on a bicycle ride on his Texas ranch on August 13, 2005 Bush gave journalists and aides a defense of his not meeting with Sheehan stating, as reported by Ken Herman of 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 ... I think the people want the president to be in a position to make good, crisp decisions and to stay healthy. And part of my being is to be outside exercising. So I'm mindful of what goes on around me. On the other hand, I'm also mindful that I've got a life to live and will do so."[23]

Sheehan later issued a statement, which among other things outlined the purpose of the protest [24].

U.S. Congress

At least sixteen Democratic congressmembers signed a letter on August 9, 2005, asking that Bush meet with Sheehan and the other relatives of fallen soldiers, as well as calling on Bush to ensure that no one will be arrested for having a peaceful demonstration. [25]

Support

Since beginning her vigil, a number of organizations and individuals have expressed and provided support to Sheehan. One of these is the national organization Veterans for Peace, at whose convention Sheehan spoke just prior to beginning her vigil in Crawford. Members of the organization have also assisted at the "Camp Casey" site, installing and maintaining the Arlington West display there.

The website MoveOn.org announced on August 10, 2005 that it was gathering comments via email to place in a two-page newspaper spread in a Sunday edition of the Waco Tribune newspaper in support of Sheehan and her efforts. MoveOn gathered more than 250,000 comments, many of which were included in the advertisement.[26] Tom Matzzie of MoveOn said:

"In her grief and bravery, Cindy has become a symbol for millions of Americans who demand better answers about the Iraq war. Though right-wing 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. Please join us, and together, we'll make sure that President Bush can't escape the reality of this war—even in Crawford, Texas."

Supporters point out that the Crawford protest highlights the Bush administration's belief in selective violence and the claim that the President fails to take responsibility for the deaths of those he commands. [27]

On the week of August 8, 2005 several other groups were reported traveling to Texas to join the protest. Sherry Bohlen, field director of the 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 place that the authorities will allow us to be). I spoke with Cindy by phone again yesterday. She said that local authorities have told her that if we're still there by Thursday we'll be arrested as "national security risks"... She could well be the Rosa Parks of the movement against the Iraq War. Just as Rosa refused to leave the bus, Cindy is refusing 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 things) her experience at Camp Casey, her thoughts on the Iraq War, and her response to right-wing criticism of her. It has been featured on several websites, including The Huffington Post, Daily Kos, and Michael Moore.com.

She has spoken at the laissez-faire Ludwig von Mises Institute, whose founder and president, the free-market capitalist Lew Rockwell, regularly features Sheehan's columns on his website.

Parents of other troops killed in Iraq

On August 17, 2005, Jane and Jim Bright, parents of slain Army Sgt. Evan Ashcroft, attended a vigil in support of Sheehan, saying "their son's memory would not be lost in the anti-war movement." They also said their son, like Sheehan's son, "was a hero who died for what he believed in." Jim Bright went on to say "People are looking inside themselves and saying, is this war worth it?" [28].

Celeste Zappala, mother of slain Sgt. Sherwood Baker, the first Pennsylvania National Guardsman to die in Iraq, said, at a press conference at the Crawford site: "When we buried Sherwood, I knelt down beside his coffin and I vowed to him I will speak the truth for him. This war is a disaster. It is a betrayal of our military. And it's a betrayal of the democracy they seek to protect." [29] "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. The war has to stop. We don't want anyone else killed. We're here to support the troops, to bring them home now, alive. ... My little piece in all this was to say, 'We've got to tell the truth.'" [30]

Minnesota State Senator Becky Lourey, a vocal critic of the Iraq War, and mother of fallen Army helicopter pilot Matthew Lourey, traveled to Crawford 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 military parent, stating that she wanted to "put her arms around" Sheehan and offer her support.[31]

Lynn Bradach, mother of Marine Cpl. Travis Bradach-Nall, who died from a land mine explosion in Iraq during the summer of 2004, travelled from Portland, Oregon to Crawford to join Sheehan in her vigil. "'I don’t want to be a center of anything,' said Bradach. 'But when you strongly believe something, at some point you have to stand up for it." [32]

Karen Meredith, whose son, Army Lt. Ken Ballard, was killed in Iraq in May 2004, [33], defended Sheehan, saying, "Some people are trying to paint her as one crazy woman against the war, and she’s not. A lot of people feel like her and want to know what the noble cause is." [34]

Criticism

Since embarking on her vigil in early August 2005, Sheehan has been criticized by various individuals.

Media pundits

Some conservative media personalities have been critical of Sheehan.

Early criticism of Sheehan was led by Internet news analyst and conservative talk radio host Matt Drudge, who on August 7, 2005, alleged that Sheehan had been inconsistent in her position on the Iraq war. He provided evidence that she had previously spoken highly of Bush by quoting part of a June 24, 2004, interview with Sheehan published in the Vacaville Reporter newspaper shortly after her meeting with the President.[35] In it, Sheehan says of Bush: "I now know he's sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis...I know he's sorry and feels some pain for our loss. And I know he's a man of faith."[36] This criticism was also repeated by other pundits including Bill O'Reilly. A closer examination of the original interview shows that Drudge's story had involved selective editing; Sheehan is also quoted as saying "We haven't been happy with the way the war has been handled...The president has changed his reasons for being over there every time a reason is proven false or an objective reached."

On August 9, The O'Reilly Factor television program host Bill O'Reilly spoke critically of Sheehan, stating:

"I think she has been hijacked by some very, very far left elements...there is no question that she has thrown in with the most radical elements in this country... I think Mrs. Sheehan bears some responsibility for this and also for the responsibility of other American families who have lost sons and daughters in Iraq, who feel that this kind of behavior borders on treasonous."[37]

O'Reilly went on to announce that Sheehan would appear on the next evening's episode of his program. The next day, however, O'Reilly stated that Sheehan had backed out of the interview because she believed that he had lied about her.[38] That same day, Sheehan stated her reasons for cancelling her appearance to a blogger, via telephone.[39]

On the August 15, 2005, episode of The Rush Limbaugh Show, host Limbaugh said:

"I mean, Cindy Sheehan is just Bill Burkett. Her story is nothing more than forged documents. There's nothing about it that's real, including the mainstream media's glomming onto it. It's not real. It's nothing more than an attempt. It's the latest effort made by the coordinated left."[40].

Limbaugh did not explain what about Sheehan's story he believed to be false, nor did he provide any evidence to support his claim. Later, on the August 17, 2005, episode of his show, Limbaugh claimed that his previous remarks had been taken out of context.[41]

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."[42], 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."[43]

Sheehan clarified that:

"...my immediate family, Casey's dad and my three children and my sister, we're all on the same page. And I really think that some of my husband's siblings are with us too." [44]

Sheehan's husband (Casey's father) filed for divorce from her on August 12, 2005, though he has not publicly stated his position on his wife's protest.

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". [45].

Keith Olbermann attacked Rush Limbaugh for his coverage of the Sheehan story, describing him as the "World's Worst Person". [46] Olbermann ridiculed Limbaugh for claiming that "There's nothing about [Sheehan's story] 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."

Parents of other troops 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," [47]

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."[48]

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." [49]

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 states that he has to keep taking down the white cross bearing his son's name from the Arlington West display set up by "Camp Casey". [50]

Chronology

Casey Sheehan

  • May 29, 1979: Casey Sheehan born.
  • May 2000: Sheehan joins the United States Army.
  • August 2003: Sheehan re-enlists knowing that his unit would be sent to Iraq.
  • March 2004: Sheehan's division, the First Cavalry Division, is sent to Iraq.
  • March 19, 2004: Sheehan's company, Charlie Battery, arrives at F.O.B. War Eagle in Sadr City.
  • April 4, 2004: Sheehan killed in action.[51]

Activism

Demonstration - Week 1

  • August 6, 2005: Cindy Sheehan starts her demonstration. She makes a makeshift camp in a ditch by the side of the road about 3 miles from George W. Bush's Prairie Chapel Ranch near Crawford, Texas and announces her intention to stay (sleeping in a pup tent at nights) until she is granted a face-to-face meeting with the President.[64]
  • August 6, 2005: National security adviser Stephen Hadley and deputy White House chief of staff Joe Hagin meet briefly with Cindy Sheehan. Sheehan later calls the meeting "pointless."[65]
  • August 8, 2005: Cindy Sheehan states that she has been informed that beginning Thursday, 10 August 2005 she and her companions will be considered a threat to national security and will be arrested. [66] [67]Later there was a retraction of the story by the Daily Kos. [68] Sheehan's camp is first referred to in the media as "Camp Casey."[69]
  • August 9, 2005: Democratic congressmen request that Bush meet with Sheehan and the other relatives of fallen soldiers. The congressmen call on Bush to ensure that no one will be arrested for having a peaceful demonstration.[70]
  • August 10, 2005: Bush holds a press conference, during which he mentions Sheehan's right to her view.[71]
  • August 11, 2005: Cindy Sheehan writes an open letter to President Bush in response to his press conference statement. [72] In this open letter, she demands to know the "noble cause" behind the war in Iraq, as well as the reason why, if the cause is so noble, Bush's daughters are not volunteering in the war effort.
  • August 12, 2005: Gold Star Families for Peace releases a TV commercial featuring Cindy Sheehan, broadcast on Crawford and Waco cable channels near Bush's ranch.[73]
  • August 12, 2005: Camp Casey protest draws hundreds of supporters (including actor Viggo Mortensen), with a constant presence of just over 100.[74][75][76].
  • August 12, 2005: Southern California members of Veterans for Peace install Arlington West, a memorial consisting of nearly 1,000 white crosses (as well as stars and crescents), each bearing the name of a fallen U.S. soldier in Iraq, along the side of the road near Sheehan's camp.[77]
  • August 12, 2005: Bush's motorcade passes within 100 feet of Sheehan's roadside encampment en route to a nearby ranch to attend a fundraising barbecue expected to raise US$2 million for the Republican National Committee; Sheehan holds a sign reading "Why do you make time for donors and not for me?"[78]
  • August 12, 2005: Patrick Sheehan files for divorce from Cindy Sheehan in a California court, citing "irreconcilable differences". Mr. Sheehan was the father of Casey Sheehan.

Demonstration - Week 2

  • August 13, 2005: Cindy Sheehan makes front page news in the Washington Post.[79]
  • August 13, 2005: A morning counter protest is reported to bring over 250 people, who shout pro-Bush slogans for several hours. Sherry Bohlen, National Field Director for PDA, estimates that 1000 to 1500 people gathered at a park in Crawford for a peace demonstration, and that 500 cars ferried these people to Camp Casey. (Source: Email from Bohlen to PDA members) [80][81]
  • August 13, 2005: Activists in Chico, California found "Camp Casey Chico," in solidarity with Cindy Sheehan and supporters in Crawford, Texas.
  • August 14, 2005: Larry Mattlage, who owns a cattle ranch across where Sheehan has set up her protest site, fed up with traffic near his home, fires a shotgun several times into the air. He later claims to have been practicing for dove hunting season but also hints to reporters that the shots may also have been meant to drive off the protesters.[82][83][84][85]
  • August 14, 2005: U.S. Representative Maxine Waters, as well as a group of Iraqis living in Texas, visit Sheehan at Camp Casey.[86]
  • August 14, 2005: News first breaks regarding Sheehan's husband's filing for divorce.[87][88][89].
  • August 15, 2005: Late in the night, a pickup truck driven by Waco, Texas resident Larry Northern tears through the rows of white crosses stretching about two-tenths of a mile along the side of the road at the Crawford camp, each bearing the name of a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq. Several hundred of the crosses are damaged but no one is injured. Northern is later arrested and charged with criminal mischief by police.[90][91]
  • August 16, 2005: Sheehan announces plans to move her camp closer to the Bush ranch after being offered the use of a piece of land owned by a supporter, Fred Mattlage, who also happens to be a third cousin of Larry Mattlage, the rancher who had fired a shotgun on his property near the demonstration site several days earlier.[92]
  • August 16, 2005: MoveOn.org announces a nationwide "Vigil for Cindy Sheehan" to take place Wednesday, August 17.[93]
  • August 16, 2005: Move America Forward announces a "You Don't Speak For Me, Cindy" caravan ending in Crawford, on August 27. [94]
  • August 17, 2005: More than 1,600 anti-war candlelight vigils in support of Sheehan are held around the United States, including one outside the White House.[95][96]
  • August 18, 2005: Sheehan announces she is leaving Crawford to see her elderly mother, who had suffered a stroke, but vows to return if possible and as soon as she can. [97]
  • August 18, 2005: A walk is made by the Gold Star Mothers for Peace towards President Bush's ranch in Crawford to deliver letters written by them to First Lady Laura Bush, appealing to her as a mother for support towards their movement.[98]

Demonstration - Week 3

  • August 20, 2005: President George W. Bush embarks on a five-day campaign to defend the Iraq war, speaking to veterans' and military groups around the United States.[99]
  • August 20, 2005: Supporters of the Iraq war set up an opposing camp, named "Fort Qualls," also located near the President's ranch outside Crawford, Texas.[100]

See also

Reference

Wikiquote has quotations related to Cindy Sheehan.

Video & Audio

Interviews

News articles about Cindy Sheehan

Criticism and support

Articles by Cindy Sheehan

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