American Right Wing beats up on grieving war mother

[Dr. Blutarsky]

Here is something I found at the wall street journal. It comes from a parent who lost his son in Iraq:

By all accounts Spc. Casey Sheehan, Mrs. Sheehan's son, was a soldier by choice and by the strength of his character. I did not have the honor of knowing him, but I have read that he attended community college for three years and then chose to join the Army. In August 2003, five months into Operation Iraqi Freedom and after three years of service, Casey Sheehan re-enlisted in the Army with the full knowledge there was a war going on, and with the high probability he would be assigned to a combat area. Mrs. Sheehan frequently speaks of her son in religious terms, even saying that she thought that some day Casey would be a priest. Like so many of the individuals who have given their lives in service to our country, Casey was a very special young man. How do you decry that which someone has chosen to do with his life? How does a mother dishonor the sacrifice of her own son?
Mrs. Sheehan has become the poster child for all the negativity surrounding the war in Iraq. In a way it heartens me to have all this attention paid to her, because that means others in her position now have the chance to be heard. Give equal time to other loved ones of fallen heroes. Feel the intensity of their love, their pride and the sorrow.

To many loved ones, there are few if any "what ifs." They, like their fallen heroes before them, live in the world as it is and not what it was or could have been. Think of the sacrifices that have brought us to this day. We as a country made a collective decision. We must now live up to our decision and not deviate until the mission is complete.

Thirty-five years ago, a president faced a similar dilemma in Vietnam. He gave in and we got "peace with honor." To this day, I am still searching for that honor. Today, those who defend our freedom every day do so as volunteers with a clear and certain purpose. Today, they have in their commander in chief someone who will not allow us to sink into self-pity. I will not allow him to. The amazing part about talking to the people left behind is that I did not want them to stop. After speaking to so many I have come away with the certainty of their conviction that in a large measure it's because of the deeds and sacrifices of their fallen heroes that this is a better and safer world we now live in.

Those who lost their lives believed in the mission. To honor their memory, and because it's right, we must believe in the mission, too.

We refuse to allow Cindy Sheehan to speak for all of us. Instead, we ask you to learn the individual stories. They are glorious. Honor their memories.

Honor their service. Never dishonor them by giving in. They never did.

Mr. Griffin is the father of Spc. Kyle Andrew Griffin, a recipient of the Army Commendation Medal, Army Meritorious Service Medal and the Bronze Star, who was killed in a truck accident on a road between Mosul and Tikrit on May 30, 2003.

from: http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110007122


The media gives Sheehan all the attention. Isn`t the mainstream media a little biased? She is not the only one who has lost someone.

[journey]

FIGHT IGNORANCE: READ BUZZFLASH


 
 
Cindy Sheehan Is Working To Bring Our Troops Home: "Mr. President. You have daughters. How would you feel if one of them was killed?"

A BUZZFLASH INTERVIEW

Casey Sheehan re-enlisted with the Army in August of 2003, knowing that his unit would eventually be deployed in Iraq. Casey, a Humvee mechanic with the 1st Calvary, was killed in Sadr City on April 4th of this year. He was only 24 years old. He is and forever will remain an American hero.

Casey?s mom, Cindy Sheehan, is a hero too. Angered that her son was sent to fight and die in an unjust war for reasons that have proven to be lies, Cindy is speaking out about the Iraq invasion. Cindy has joined other moms and families who have lost loved ones in the conflict to tell Americans about the true costs of the war. Their group, Real Voices (http://realvoices.org/rv/index.html), is running television ads featuring the voices of Americans like Cindy speaking directly to President Bush about the impact of his failed policies and lies.

We are honored to bring you our interview with Cindy Sheehan about her son Casey and why she decided to speak out about the Iraq war.

* * *

BuzzFlash: Your son Casey died April 4 in Iraq. Whom do you hold responsible for your loss?

Cindy Sheehan: George W. Bush.

BuzzFlash: Why?

Cindy Sheehan: I think he rushed into this war -?this invasion ?- without having proper intelligence. And the reasons he went are so clearly wrong -?from his false claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction to there being no connection between Iraq and Saddam and Osama bin Laden. He diverted attention and troops and resources from Afghanistan and Al Qaeda to Iraq.

I don?t think Iraq has anything to do with the war on terror, except now terrorists are crossing the borders to go and kill innocent Iraqis and our troops. So he went almost unilaterally, with very little international support, to invade a country. They didn?t have a plan for the peace or for the occupation of Iraq.

My son was killed by Shiite insurgents. I believe George Bush created the insurgency by his failed policies and that?s why my son was killed.

BuzzFlash: Tell us a little bit about Casey. What kind of a young man was he? I know he was only 24 years old when he died.

Cindy Sheehan: He was an amazing person. He has been an altar server for 10 years. He finally quit when he graduated from high school and asked me, "You know, Mom, can I quit altar serving? Can I be an usher or something now at Mass?"I was the coordinator of our youth Mass at our parish. And he was an Eagle Scout. He was a Eucharistic Minister, and he had trained to be a Eucharistic Minister in the field when they went to Iraq, to help the priest. But he was only there for two weeks before he was killed on Palm Sunday. He never missed Mass.

He had joined the Army because they promised him he could finish his college degree. He had already been going to college for three years before he joined the Army. My husband and I just went to Ft. Hood a couple weeks ago because the Catholic chapel he always went to was starting a new Knights of Columbus Council, and they decided to name it after Casey. It?s the Specialist Casey Austin Sheehan Knights of Columbus Council because they say that his love for his God, his church, his country and his family embodied what they want to stand for.

He was amazing. He was just the most calm and peaceful and gentle person that anybody would ever know. He was so quiet, but he had such an impact on everybody?s lives. And he was so brave. He saved American lives, but our question is, what are any of them doing there?

BuzzFlash: Casey, as I understand it, technically did not have to go to Iraq since he was a field mechanic. Is that correct?

Cindy Sheehan: He was a Humvee mechanic. He re-enlisted in August of 2003 because he didn?t want his buddies to do the job by themselves. It?s all about what they?re doing now -- our soldiers are trying to keep themselves alive and trying to keep each other alive at this point right now.

BuzzFlash: When did Casey receive news that his unit was being sent to Iraq?

Cindy Sheehan: I think it was probably around last October, 2003, because they went to the National Training Center (NTC) at Ft. Irwin in the California desert in November. So we knew before he went to Ft. Irwin that they were going to be deployed sometime in March. Casey knew the First Cavalry was going to end up going to Iraq when he re-enlisted.

BuzzFlash: Did you have any correspondence with Casey while he was in Iraq before he was killed? Did he say or did you hear about what the situation was like on the ground?

Cindy Sheehan: He called me one time from Kuwait. They still hadn?t gone to Iraq. And he never complained. He said that it was hot and he was really busy because he had to get their vehicles ready to go on the convoy from Kuwait to Baghdad. He was on his way to Mass, and we talked about when he stopped in Ireland to refuel. We?re Irish, so he found an airport employee that was telling him about the history of our name, the Sheehan name.

He started writing us a letter on March 31st, because we didn?t know where we could send him mail or presents or supplies or anything yet. They didn?t tell them until they got to Saudi City where we could send them things. But he started writing us letters. And he said the convoy from Kuwait to Baghdad was real peaceful, and it looked like it was going to be an easy year of deployment. He wrote that on March 31st, and he was killed April 4th.

We never got the letter. It was in his things that we got from Baghdad. He didn?t even finish it.

BuzzFlash: President Bush told you, Casey, and every American, that we needed to invade Iraq to remove weapons of mass destruction -- an assertion that, as you said, has proven to be a lie -- and to fight terrorism, which is also untrue. When Casey left to go to Iraq, did the two of you talk about why you both felt that the United States was in Iraq, and what the United States was fighting for?

Cindy Sheehan: We didn?t understand why the United States was there. We never thought that Iraq was an imminent threat to the United States. But Casey told me, "Mom, this is what we trained for. I?m ready. It?s my job. Because the sooner I get there, the sooner I?ll come home."And he came home three weeks later in a flag-draped coffin.

BuzzFlash: Right now you, along with many other families who have lost loved ones in Iraq, are speaking out in various ways, part of which is a television ad criticizing Bush?s decision to mislead our country into a war. What made you decide to speak out, knowing the toll that it would take on you?

Cindy Sheehan: I have to. I can?t bring my son back. I can?t go back to April 3rd and bring Casey home. I can?t stand on the side while other mothers and families will have to go through what we?re going through. I have to speak out, and I have to help try to bring the troops home.

No matter who wins November 2 -?I hope it?s Kerry -?but no matter who wins, we have to hold them accountable. We have to start putting pressure on our elected officials to bring our troops home from the most unjust and mess of a war that our selected president has got us into.

BuzzFlash: Every month, there have been higher and higher American casualties.

Cindy Sheehan: Except for April, that was the highest. That?s the month my son was killed.

BuzzFlash: Right now, the situation is clearly deteriorating into a civil war. As a mom who?s lost a son in this war, how do you respond when you hear the president say that we need to stay the course in Iraq?

Cindy Sheehan: I respond: How can you stay a course that is so obviously not working? You?re going the wrong way. If you?re on a wrong course, you turn around and go the other way. He has betrayed us. He?s still betraying us, by telling us that everything is going well there. It?s shameful.

BuzzFlash: What would you say to President Bush if you could sit down in the same room and speak to him directly?

Cindy Sheehan: I actually got to meet face to face with the president. He called me "Mom"because he didn?t know my name, and he didn?t know my son?s name -- he just knows that he?s meeting with these families that have lost loved ones. He said, "Mom, I can?t imagine the pain you?re going through."

I said, "I think you can imagine it a little bit, Mr. President. You have daughters. How would you feel if one of them was killed?"

I told him, "Trust me, Mr. President ?- you don?t want to go there."

He said, "You?re right. I don?t."

BuzzFlash: Cindy, thank you so much for speaking with us.

Cindy Sheehan: Thank you.

 

[SLCPUNK]

The media gives Sheehan all the attention. Isn`t the mainstream media a little biased? She is not the only one who has lost someone.

No, it is just the story du jour....that's all.

Besides Fox has a bullseye on this woman...you call that biased?

[sandman]

cindy sheehan has no credibility. just like some other life-long liberals, she likes to flip flop.

this is from an article in JUNE 2004....

["Pat noted that Bush wasn't stumping for votes or trying to gain a political edge for the upcoming election.

"We have a lot of respect for the office of the president, and I have a new respect for him because he was sincere and he didn't have to take the time to meet with us," Pat said.

Sincerity was something Cindy had hoped to find in the meeting. Shortly after Casey died, Bush sent the family a form letter expressing his condolences, and Cindy said she felt it was an impersonal gesture.

"I now know he's sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis," Cindy said after their meeting. "I know he's sorry and feels some pain for our loss. And I know he's a man of faith."


and this is from an article from JULY 2005...

Instead of a kind gesture or a warm handshake, Sheehan said she immediately got a taste of Bush arrogance when he entered the room and "in a condescending tone and with a disgusting loud Texas accent," said: "Who we?all honorin? here today?"

"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. This is a human being totally disconnected from humanity and reality. His eyes were empty, hollow shells and he was acting like I should be proud to just be in his presence when it was my son who died for his illegal war! It was one of the most disgusting experiences I ever had and it took me almost a year to even talk about it," said Sheehan in a telephone conversation from Washington D.C. where she was attending a July 4th anti-war rally."

[SLCPUNK]

So...you make my point.

Thanks.

[sandman]

So...you make my point.

Thanks.

i'm not "beating her up" as  you call it.

i just think it's a scary day when people are able to say whatever they want without being challenged. so call it beating her up all you want, but the fact is everyone has a right to investigate what she's saying, question it, and identify her true motives. is that so wrong???

and i thought you were all for being open minded, questioning everything, and speaking your mind. you're not going back on all that are you?

[pilferk]

So...you make my point.

Thanks.

i'm not "beating her up" as? you call it.

i just think it's a scary day when people are able to say whatever they want without being challenged. so call it beating her up all you want, but the fact is everyone has a right to investigate what she's saying, question it, and identify her true motives. is that so wrong???

and i thought you were all for being open minded, questioning everything, and speaking your mind. you're not going back on all that are you?

You're doing exactly what the conservatives are "programming" their constituency to do:? Attack her character and her credibility rather than addressing her questions/points.

Because the answers to her questions, no matter what you think of her character and credibility, paint the administration in an unfavorable light. Period.? End of story.

And I also get a kick out of the conservative element who are now parading around, to the press, the grieving parents who DON'T AGREE with her.? Now there's a shock:? There might be people who disagree with other people in this country.? I'm floored, shocked, completely dumbfounded.? I mean..the contentious 2004 elections were, what..less than a year ago? Just another way to try to "minimize" her, rather than deal with her.  And that's what the Repubs "strategy" (and make no mistake about it...it is a STRATEGY you're seeing employed, not any type of honest reaction) has been in regards to Ms. Sheehan since she became prominent in the press.

But notice they don't mention the recent polls which actually show the people supporting this administrations actions in Iraq are in the minority....

[SLCPUNK]

So...you make my point.

Thanks.

and i thought you were all for being open minded, questioning everything, and speaking your mind. you're not going back on all that are you?

Of course not.

But if you are calling her a flip flopper then you are missing the point of the thread....

Call her what you want, but you are still trying to mud her character up, so her opinion somehow means less.

It's in poor taste, and to treat a citizen like that who lost a child.....is pretty low.

[sandman]

aah, the typical left wing response accusing conservatives of not being able to think for themselves. how original. 

why is it so hard to understand that many military families are offended by her actions?

is it really major news that a woman living in the US is against the war??? more than half the country is agains the war!!

i think it's normal to disagree with someone, and i think it's fair to point out their contradicting statements. that does not mean i'm trying to mud up her character. lighten up people. 

[Dr. Blutarsky]

She doesn`t speak for all military families who have lost a child in Iraq. That is what many do not understand.

[D]

Casey Sheehan re-enlisted with the Army in August of 2003, knowing that his unit would eventually be deployed in Iraq. Casey, a Humvee mechanic with the 1st Calvary, was killed in Sadr City on April 4th of this year. He was only 24 years old. He is and forever will remain an American hero.

Casey?s mom, Cindy Sheehan, is a hero too. Angered that her son was sent to fight and die in an unjust war for reasons that have proven to be lies


read the bold print, kind of a contradiction wouldnt you say?

Truth is Casey was free, he served his time he was out but yet he RE Enlisted knowing he was going to Iraq, he wasnt ambushed or surprised and he obviously SUPPORTED the war or he wouldnt have re enlisted.

Cindy Sheehan needs to realize that her son was a grown man and he made a choice out of his own free will. no one held a gun to his head and made him.

[SLCPUNK]

Right, and what you both fail to forget is that when somebody signs up for the military, they sign up to defend this country. They also sign up their trust in our government by doing so. They believe that Uncle Sam would never take them into a conflict unless it was 100% needed. This woman feels that her son (and the country) was lied to. Her son re-enlisted based on what he was told by the government. Which in fact turned out NOT TO BE TRUE.

Simple as that.

The rest is strawman.

[D]

Yeah but he already served one tour over in Iraq so he already knew the war was "bullshit" but it obviously wasnt bullshit to him cause he volunteered to go back.

I could see if he got killed during his first tour of duty but to go back makes it less a tragedy because he already knew what was goin on, he wasnt ambushed or surprised.

[SLCPUNK]

Yeah but he already served one tour over in Iraq so he already knew the war was "bullshit" but it obviously wasnt bullshit to him cause he volunteered to go back.

I could see if he got killed during his first tour of duty but to go back makes it less a tragedy because he already knew what was goin on, he wasnt ambushed or surprised.

that is the point. He believed what they told him to be true. He put his faith in the government...

It was not.

[D]

All Im saying is, u make it sound like he was brainwashed.

I can see if he signed up for Afghanistan and the war on terror but then got sent to Iraq and died

but that wasnt the case

he served a full tour in Iraq and was a free man

He knew there were no weapons of mass destruction, Im sure he watched TV and read newspapers but he must have believed in the cause of liberating Iraq, he had to feel he was doing something special because he volunteered to go back

U dont volunteer to do something u dont believe in or have strong feelings for.

there were hundreds of people where I lived who signed up voluntarily to go to Iraq.? I think they are idiots to do so but hey its their right the blame should be on them and not anyone else if they die.

[SLCPUNK]

Again, she feels her son was lied to. Which, he was.

How can we argue what info he understood fully or did not? We can only speculate.

[D]

True its only speculation, no one knows exactly but I think the fact he went back voluntarily for a second term proves he believed in the war.  I mean why else would u re enlist?

If he was against the war, when he got out he would've stayed out but the fact he went back makes it appear like he supported the war.

[sandman]

there are two view points here. neither is right. they are opinions. and the fact is that many military personel and many military families still believe in this war. proactively fighting foreign regimes that are supporters of terrorism is reason enough to fight (similar to us sticking our nose in bosnia in the 90's).

a guy i grew up with just died in iraq about 3 weeks ago. friends of mine are hurtin big time. and i know first hand that his closest friends and his immediate family members strongly disagree with this woman, and they are offended by her comments.

it's easy to argue that soldiers and their families are brain-washed. but it's also insulting and it's an unfair cheap shot to that about others.

[pilferk]

aah, the typical left wing response accusing conservatives of not being able to think for themselves. how original.?

why is it so hard to understand that many military families are offended by her actions?

is it really major news that a woman living in the US is against the war??? more than half the country is agains the war!!

i think it's normal to disagree with someone, and i think it's fair to point out their contradicting statements. that does not mean i'm trying to mud up her character. lighten up people.?

I'm not accusing anyone of anything.  I'm simply stating that what you're saying is exactly what the conservative "party line" is. Verbatim.  And that the higher ups in the party are actively "programming" the sentiment into their constituency.  Both are undeniable facts.  I wouldn't presume to say how you formed your opinion on the matter...

No, it's not hard to understand why some military families are "offended" by her actions...just as it's not hard to understand why some military families support her whole heartedly.  It's just irrelevant to the discussion at hand.  Again, for some odd reason, the fact that SOME people might be offended by her questions somehow means they shouldn't be answered?  That's hogwash.  The fact is...the questions aren't being answered because the answers don't paint the administration in a very flattering light.  Everything else is a straw man.

You're right! More than 1/2 the country IS against the war.  And the questions SHE is asking are precisely the ones they'd like answered. You show exactly WHY her character is irrelevant and WHY answers are justified.  Thanks for making the point so elequently.

It's normal to disagree, yes.  However, "smearing" someone to minimalize their opinion is an old fashioned Repub "Dirty Trix" tactic from days of Nixon.  When you choose to point out "contradicting statements" (which, FYI, are not contradictions, at all), simply to "minimize" someone, or their opinion, you are engaging in character assasination, by definition.  You can call it what you like, but, quite frankly, it's not much of an argument to make, given the topic at hand.

[pilferk]

She doesn`t speak for all military families who have lost a child in Iraq. That is what many do not understand.

On the contrary, I think everyone understands that.  It's just irrelevant.