Cindy Sheehan is in the news. She is the mother of Soldier Casey Sheehan. Soldier Sheehan was killed in Iraq on 4 April 2004. Watching the news, you might get the impression that Soldier Sheehan died recently and that Cindy Sheehan is a grieving mom looking for answers and that is why she is camped out outside the President’s Ranch in Texas demanding accountability from the President for her son’s death.
I hope that the President feels accountable for every soldier’s death and from the news, it would seem that he does show concern in this regard. He visits with wounded soldiers. He also often visits with relatives of those who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.
My first thought was that she would only need to wait for her opportunity to get a chance to meet with/confront the President and then she could ask him whatever she wanted.
Any of these family members can put the President to task for his actions. If anything, there seems to be no news concerning these meetings. It is White House policy to not release too many details about these meetings, but there is nothing holding the families back from talking to the press about meeting the president about the loss of their relative. Guess there is not enough badmouthing of the President to be news-worthy.
Which brings us to Cindy Sheehan. She wants her time with the President. Turns out, she already had her time with the President last June. She explains that she was in shock at the time, and didn’t think of holding him accountable then. Now she wants another meeting.
So there she sits on the side of the road in Texas, creating news for the MSM that they can twist into an anti-Bush story, neglecting to mention she already met with him. There is no real news here. There are over 100,000 troops currently in Iraq that the President is accountable to. Now the White House could have ignored this woman, but instead they sent out White House Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Hagin and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley. They met with her for 45 minutes, which I find amazing taking into account her open letter to the President, dated 4 November 2004, two days after the election.
Some highlights: (Keep in mind that her son died in Iraq)
You can find the whole letter here.
Her words speak for itself. I added some color to the more interesting bits.
I hope that the President feels accountable for every soldier’s death and from the news, it would seem that he does show concern in this regard. He visits with wounded soldiers. He also often visits with relatives of those who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.
My first thought was that she would only need to wait for her opportunity to get a chance to meet with/confront the President and then she could ask him whatever she wanted.
Any of these family members can put the President to task for his actions. If anything, there seems to be no news concerning these meetings. It is White House policy to not release too many details about these meetings, but there is nothing holding the families back from talking to the press about meeting the president about the loss of their relative. Guess there is not enough badmouthing of the President to be news-worthy.
Which brings us to Cindy Sheehan. She wants her time with the President. Turns out, she already had her time with the President last June. She explains that she was in shock at the time, and didn’t think of holding him accountable then. Now she wants another meeting.
So there she sits on the side of the road in Texas, creating news for the MSM that they can twist into an anti-Bush story, neglecting to mention she already met with him. There is no real news here. There are over 100,000 troops currently in Iraq that the President is accountable to. Now the White House could have ignored this woman, but instead they sent out White House Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Hagin and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley. They met with her for 45 minutes, which I find amazing taking into account her open letter to the President, dated 4 November 2004, two days after the election.
Some highlights: (Keep in mind that her son died in Iraq)
“It has been seven months since your ignorant and arrogant lack of planning for the peace murdered my oldest child. It has been two days since your dishonest campaign stole another election…but you all were way more subtle this time than in 2000, weren’t you? You hardly had to get the Supreme Court of the United States involved at all this week.”
“If you think I am going to allow you another four years to do even more damage, then you truly are mistaken. I will fight for a true vote count and if that fails, your impeachment. Also, the impeachment of your Vice President. The only thing is, I'm not politically savvy, and I don't have a Karl Rove to plan my strategy, but I do have a big mouth and a righteous cause, which still mean something in this country, I hope.”
“The 56,000,000 plus citizens who voted against you and your agenda have given me a mandate to move forward with my agenda. Also, thanks to you and your careless domestic policies, I am unemployed, so this will be my full-time job.”
“By the way, George, how many more innocent Iraqis are your policies going to kill before you convince them that you are better than Saddam?”
You can find the whole letter here.
Her words speak for itself. I added some color to the more interesting bits.
Note: Fred is a commissioned reserve officer.
Cindy Sheehan
9 comments:
Sad. Really sad. Not just her misguided and ignorant beliefs and positions, but what must have been done to her over the past year. If we've ever wondered what a year camping out with moonbats can do to a grieving mother, I guess we have the answer.
My every condolence for your loss, Ms. Sheehan, but please recognize whose victim you truly are.
she is abusing the memory of her son, who not only believed in what he was doing, but volunteered for combat duty.
Ms. Sheehan's grief is normal. I wonder what her politics were prior to her Son Joining the Army. I understand she offerred to run over her Son with her car to prevent his serving in Iraq. Sounds like she has a few screws loose. She is a propaganda arm for the Extreme Left. Funny no mention of the Terrorists who killed her Son. Or that the majority of Americans voted to return Bush to the White House. Cindy with all due respect and I would never impugn the memory of her Son. Go get some Help, grieve, and do something constructive. This war is not about You get a clue. It is about preventing Al-Queda from achieving its aims of a worldwide Islamic Caliphate.
It is truly amazing how patriotic people with a righteous cause are twisted in the media. How dare anyone say she is "abusing the memory of her son"?!
Just imagine, for just a full 100% of a single moment, that you lost a brother or a sister during this war. Would you not question what they really died for?
If the rationale for war was just, it would not be changing every 5-6 months. from WMD, to terrorism, to democracy, and now to the "global struggle against terror". If you ask a 100 people why we are in iraq, you will not get any answer that a vast majority (like over 75%, or even 50) of people will agree on.
If you recall the 60th anniversary of utah beach, it was really moving to see veterans describe how the GOAL they helped to achieve was worth all the rows and rows of white crosses. As a viewer, you feel so proud that you can almost wish you were that veteran. To wish to be there in 1945, even if you were one of the dead.
That is America.
That is America making a positive difference, undisputed, in the peace loving world.
Undoubtedly, the same cannot be said for iraq. Do you really wish you could be there making a positive difference for a just cause? To even die for it? Well, why the fuck aren't you there then? Please go, quickly! As you may know, the army desperately needs more volunteers, you know you will be in good hands, and maybe all you self-righteous patriots will help to create a more positive outcome sooner.
Go. Volunteer. Now. ... and tell your family that you may die but it is for 'something' worthwhile ...
Coward!
To: Anonymous said...
Thank you for your comments.
Too bad you did not provide us some details about yourself. I am not sure if you are a Finn or not, but I know that you are located in Finland.
As for me being a coward, I would like to point out that I joined the Navy reserves in 1990 and remain in the reserves. I have been to the Middle East amoung other places. I can also say that I stand behind the President in his actions. I received notice that I may be called up, but this does not effect my opinion that we should stay in Iraq until the job is done, even if I have to go.
You seem to put a price on my being able to comment on the War on Iraq, that being service, which I think is wrong. If your a Finn, then even though you have an opinion on the matter, as long as your living over there, you can lisclose that your opinion is of a person in Filand, so that your comments can be taken in perspective.
As Americans, we have free speech, which means that I can comment on Mrs. Sheehan's actions without having to experience the same pain as her.
If you are an American living over there, I wonder if your one of the people in this article:
http://www.helsinginsanomat.fi/english/article/1076154436245
I have thought about losing a loved one, but not in Iraq (but I know some who are there.) I am more worried about my wife and child being terrorist victims in DC. or my other family members being victims in NY. I lived throught 9/11 in DC as well as the DC sniper. We laughed as we would walk to and from the car, moving our heads around the whole time, laughing, because this was the only defense we had against him.
You see, there are two sides to the coin, doing nothing does not mean that no Americans will die. Yes, Cindy Sheehan's son died. He died a volunteer. He volunteered against his mother's wishes. I feel sorry for her. I wished that we did not have to invade Iraq, but then that was not completely our decision. In over ten years, the UN could never prove that Iraq disarmed. Not that we are there, we know better. Sure we did not find the warehouses or WMD, but they did find a whole report of violations. Violations Saddam was hiding from the UN. Now we know better. Thanks to Saddam, he gave a reason to go into Iraq. Not WMD, but faiiure to prove he had no WMD.
Unfortunately for Mrs. Sheehan, some on the left have decided to take advantage of her anger at the president and exploit it. They demanded the President not exploit 9/11 victims politically, but that is exactly what they are doing with her....
Not only is she abusing the memory of her son, but the left is using her as a tool. I am not alone in this opinion. Hell, her own husband filed for divorce on Friday.
She is not the only mother who has lost a son in Iraq. Some of them are speaking too, and they are being much less diplomatic in telling her to shut up than I am.
Since you are feeling very emotional about the Iraq war, how about doing something proactive and start protesting outside the Iranian Embassy:
-------------------------
Comm. Section, Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Address: Kulosaarentie 9, 00570 Helsinki, Finland
Telephone: +358-9-6869 2416, Fax: +358-9-6869 2410
E-mail: commerce@iran.fi
-------------------------
See, they are ignoring the EU and the UN and are driving forward with their nuclear program. So why not save time. They are just giving the US a reason to invade (in addition to getting the oil, right....) Now is your chance to prevent the next war. Don't tell the US that war is not the answer, tell Iran that "Secret Nuclear Programs are not the answer."
We all know you'll be outside the US embassy chanting for us to stay out of Iran when they finally tell the EU to go to hell. Why not protest the other side, Iran. Sure, they won't give damn about your opinion, and the press probably won't cover you either, but it will be good for practice.
>>Thank you for your comments.
>>Too bad you did not provide us some details about yourself. I am not sure if you are a Finn or not, but I know that you are located in Finland.
I am located in Finland at the moment, however I am not a Finn (thank 'god').
>>As for me being a coward, I would like to point out that I joined the Navy reserves in 1990 and remain in the reserves. I have been to the Middle East amoung other places. I can also say that I stand behind the President in his actions. I received notice that I may be called up, but this does not effect my opinion that we should stay in Iraq until the job is done, even if I have to go.
I have been to the Middle East too, big deal. Have you been shot at during combat?
Now in addition to ridiculing a fellow American who lost a son in war, you are a navy reserve that defies cowardice while safely standing on American soil. That only further proves how clueless you are. Please continue to stand behind the president and his actions, he is omniscient after all. Why don't you reply to your notice? Tell them you will go now. Do it. Go. Now. Just go.
Coward.
>>You seem to put a price on my being able to comment on the War on Iraq, that being service, which I think is wrong. If your a Finn, then even though you have an opinion on the matter, as long as your living over there, you can lisclose that your opinion is of a person in Filand, so that your comments can be taken in perspective.
Actually, I would prefer that you take my comments as they are instead of associating them with some sort of foreign generalization. As a result, my identity will remain a mystery.
I never put a price on your ability to comment on the Iraq war. My entire argument hinges on one question: Would you not question what [a love one] really died for [in Iraq]? If you cannot agree on the importance of this simple question, then I see no point in you continuing to read my reply. I propose that in order for a person to move on after a loved one passes away, there are two things that are essential: the body and some type of satisfying reason. The latter is severely missing in Iraq.
Why do you think that no mothers have protested the loss of a son or daughter in Afghanistan? The answer is that there were clear reasons for war and the cause was justified. America was attacked, 'people' situated in Afghanistan claimed responsibility, and America rightfully responded with the military. If Sheehan's son died in Afghanistan in early 2002, do you think she would be protesting? Do you think she would get any support from democrats, the media or anyone else? ... Think about it. THINK.
>>As Americans, we have free speech, which means that I can comment on Mrs. Sheehan's actions without having to experience the same pain as her.
Defending yourself with free speech is downright laughable. What does free speech have to do with audacity? I suppose in your world terms like perjury, slander, and audacity should be rendered obsolete because, hey, it's free speech. Well then, let me rephrase my earlier statement: It is a sad day in America when a person has the audacity to ridicule a parent of a soldier who died in war. Jefferson would be proud of you. What happened to compassion in America?
>>If you are an American living over there, I wonder if your one of the people in this article:
http://www.helsinginsanomat.fi/english/article/1076154436245
You can stop wondering, I was not one of those people.
>>I have thought about losing a loved one, but not in Iraq (but I know some who are there.) I am more worried about my wife and child being terrorist victims in DC. or my other family members being victims in NY. I lived throught 9/11 in DC as well as the DC sniper. We laughed as we would walk to and from the car, moving our heads around the whole time, laughing, because this was the only defense we had against him.
You are cracking my ribs, please stop your humour of mass destruction. Haha, is that why Americans should feel pride for the loss of their children, because of potential Iraqi terrorism in DC? How brainwashed can an educated person be to fear terrorism in DC from an Iraqi, even before the war! And to say that now after what is known is simply astounding. It is so obvious from your regurgitation of sound-bites that you watch way too much TV. Do yourself, and America, a favour by leaving it on the sports channels. The good news is the timing, the NFL is about to start (Go Pats!).
>>You see, there are two sides to the coin, doing nothing does not mean that no Americans will die. Yes, Cindy Sheehan's son died. He died a volunteer. He volunteered against his mother's wishes. I feel sorry for her. I wished that we did not have to invade Iraq, but then that was not completely our decision. In over ten years, the UN could never prove that Iraq disarmed. Not that we are there, we know better. Sure we did not find the warehouses or WMD, but they did find a whole report of violations. Violations Saddam was hiding from the UN. Now we know better. Thanks to Saddam, he gave a reason to go into Iraq. Not WMD, but faiiure to prove he had no WMD.
Even if that made coherent sense, all that mumbo-jumbo fails to explain why families are losing loved ones. Stop watching TV and read newspapers you disagree with as often as you read newspapers you agree with.
>>Unfortunately for Mrs. Sheehan, some on the left have decided to take advantage of her anger at the president and exploit it. They demanded the President not exploit 9/11 victims politically, but that is exactly what they are doing with her....
Fair enough, and this justifies the ridicule toward the mother of a dead soldier because ...?
>>Not only is she abusing the memory of her son, but the left is using her as a tool. I am not alone in this opinion. Hell, her own husband filed for divorce on Friday.
Hell, that's exactly how families get torn apart when love ones are lost for such questionable reasons. You think you have an intelligent opinion, but you really have no clue.
Refer to the link below, emphasis starting on frames 5 and 6.
http://images.ucomics.com/comics/db/2005/db050710.gif
>>She is not the only mother who has lost a son in Iraq. Some of them are speaking too, and they are being much less diplomatic in telling her to shut up than I am.
Your insistence for your self-professed right to attack a mother of a dead soldier does not make America a better place.
And "shut up"?! What happened to defending freedom of speech?!?
Just go to Iraq, ASAP. Be all you can be.
"I have been to the Middle East too, big deal. Have you been shot at during combat?"
I have delayed responding to your last post because to be honest, I am simply lost at how to, mainly because of the comment above. I have to say that your setting the bar pretty high now. Serving my country is not good enough? Volunteering is not good enough? Well I am not going to detail all of my contributions, not just because I cannot, but I see that it will do no good no matter what my service has been.
I have served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, just not in Iraq, as have thousands of other servicemen, and women.
No, I have not been shot at, at least as far as I know of. I have had weapons pointed at me and that was bad enough. I hope you have not had the experience either. You do not mention if you have ever been in the military.
Not for anything but over half the troops serving in Iraq cannot say that they have been shot at either. I guess they would not count according to your standard. As you say, big deal...
"ridiculing a fellow American who lost a son in war"
...Who also happens to be taking advantage of the situation (her grief) to make wild statements through the media.
"defies cowardice while safely standing on American soil"
I do travel out of the country quite often. You are welcome to call me a coward in person the next time I visit Finland in December. I'll even buy you a beer just for showing up.
"my identity will remain a mystery."
That is your option. I do not require registration and I am not in the habit of deleting comments that I do not agree with. I prefer to let people be judged based on thier comments.
"Would you not question what [a love one] really died for [in Iraq]?"
That is hard to say because we have not yet seen the end product. I would be pissed though if the remaining troops just pulled out. That would negate the sacrifice. Regardless, and I have mentioned this before, that these families pay too high a price, but it is the entire society that benefits from their actions. Is it worth a policemen's life to try and stop a robbery? No, but we still need policemen.
"If Sheehan's son died in Afghanistan in early 2002, do you think she would be protesting? Do you think she would get any support from democrats, the media or anyone else? ... Think about it. THINK."
Not true. She has mentioned that it made no difference where her son died.
"I believe that our troops should be brought home out of both places where we're obviously not having any success in Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden is still on the loose and that's who they told us was responsible for 9/11" - Cindy Sheehan
More of her comments here:
Leader of protest explains her stance
"Iraqi terrorism in DC?"
I have never mentioned anything about 'Iraqi' Terrorism. Iraq was a terror enabler. I can care less the nationality of the terrorist. I just want them captured or neutralized.
"you watch way too much TV. Do yourself, and America, a favour by leaving it on the sports channels"
Yes, the perfect solution. Lets all hide from reality. One problem is that people do not bother to study the fact before spouting off about things...
"read newspapers you disagree with"
What do you suggest I read. I already get enough from the NY Times and the Washington Post.
I suspect that Mrs. Sheehan's mement in the spotlight is coming to an end. Perhaps then she will be allowed to greive in private. As you can see from my latest blog entries, I have moved on from the Sheehan subject. It is only a matter of time before she moves from the front pages of the paper. The President is not going to meet with her a second time, especially with her openly calling for his impeachment.
As for you, I have a fundamental disagreement with your opinions. However, my offer for the beer still stands.
>>No, I have not been shot at, at least as far as I know of. I have had weapons pointed at me and that was bad enough. I hope you have not had the experience either. You do not mention if you have ever been in the military.
I've been in the military. I have had weapons pointed at me, I have been shot at, and I've had my best friend (not to mention a father of baby girl he would never see) take a load of bullets to the face a foot away from me. Not pretty.
>>I do travel out of the country quite often. You are welcome to call me a coward in person the next time I visit Finland in December. I'll even buy you a beer just for showing up.
I'm sorry, but I cannot allow a visitor to pay for beers. You are welcome to buy me a beer if I ever go to DC.
>>That is hard to say because we have not yet seen the end product.
That statement basically supports those who are against the Iraq war. The question of sacrifice should not be "hard to say" based on the unknown future. As someone who has served in OIF, it really amazes me that you would say that. If an enemy attacked DC and God told you personally that the enemy would win, would you surrender or go down fighting? I for one would go down fighting. The end product is irrelevent during times of sacrifice. Sacrifice is only justified by the cause.
Maybe you would feel differently if you were shot at, and that was the point I was trying to make. I was not discrediting your service.
>>Not true. She has mentioned that it made no difference where her son died.
At worst, Sheehan should be tolerated and ignored as someone who is overly expressive over her loss. Which is exactly what the president has done.
>>I have never mentioned anything about 'Iraqi' Terrorism. Iraq was a terror enabler. I can care less the nationality of the terrorist. I just want them captured or neutralized.
This is another statement that supports Sheehan's protest. Why is America losing her children in Iraq if there was no threat of Iraqi terrorism?! Furthermore, there are many other countries that clearly posed a significantly higher "terror enabler" threat than Iraq. Especially towards America.
>>Yes, the perfect solution. Lets all hide from reality. One problem is that people do not bother to study the fact before spouting off about things...
Or people ignore facts to spout things like "Iraq was a terror enabler".
>>What do you suggest I read. I already get enough from the NY Times and the Washington Post.
Papers that the right does not dismiss as liberal garbage. Try Non-American papers. http://www.world-newspapers.com/
Gulf News, Globe and Mail, BBC, also try http://www.iraqfoundation.org/
>>I suspect that Mrs. Sheehan's mement in the spotlight is coming to an end.
Only the President and Paris Hilton can keep the spotlight these days. I think her "moment" was pretty substantial considering.
>>As for you, I have a fundamental disagreement with your opinions. However, my offer for the beer still stands.
I don't think you're a bad guy, your assessment of Finland was amusing. I will decline however for 3 reasons:
- If one equates Finland to Degobah, I live in the middle of nowhere of Degobah, so I doubt you will visit anywhere near me
- I will be home sweet home for most of December for Xmas
- I have nothing to prove to you
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