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Cindy Sheehan Writes from Crawford: Camp Casey, Day One


Link to original Daily Kos diary

Camp Casey, Day One
Peaceful Occupation of Crawford, Texas
by Cindy Sheehan

Sun Aug 7th, 2005 at 14:13:38 PDT

The first day of the beginning of the end of the occupation of Iraq.

Today we went into the belly of the beast in Crawford, Texas...and lived to tell about it.

On Wednesday, August 3rd, 2005, I had a brainstorm. I was so furious about the horrible loss of life, especially from the Marine National Guard unit from Ohio. I was also so heartbroken for the families who have been wrongfully left behind. Then to top off the indignity and profanity of the needless deaths, George Bush spoke out after the deaths and said 2 things that enraged me further:

"The families of the fallen can rest assured that your loved ones died for a noble cause."

And:

"We have to honor the sacrifices of the fallen by completing the mission."

The first statement is so blatantly false that it angered me for a couple of reasons. First of all, what is the noble cause? The cause changes at will when the previous cause has been proven a lie. Secondly, because many people in America, when they hear such drivel, allow themselves to be "assured." A lot of people heard that falsehood and said: "Whew, 14 Marines in one incident, that's bad, but the President said they died for a noble cause. We can get on with our consumering now."

George Bush has spewed the second filth many times and each time it upsets me more. As a mother, why would I want any other mother (American or Iraqi) to go through the same pain as I am suffering through? My son, Casey was an honorable man filled with an integrity rarely seen these days. I am sure that he would be appalled that George uses his death to justify continued killing. I am appalled that George exploits the senseless sacrifice of my family to justify his murderous policies in the Middle East. Also, does it bother anyone else that this man can take a 5 week vacation when our soldiers are suffering, dying and being maimed in Iraq? When innocent Iraqi people are being murdered everyday? When I will never be able to fully enjoy another vacation for the rest of my life?

So, I was so full of rage and feeling so helpless and like such a failure after all the work for peace that I have done. I was typing an email venting my rage when I had a brainstorm: I am going to Dallas for the Veterans for Peace convention, why don't I travel up to Crawford and confront George Bush? Why don't I go and demand answers to my questions. I deserve answers to my questions, it is Geroge's moral obligation as the man who is responsible for my son's death to see me. (Please, no emails telling me that he has no morals. I know that.) What did Casey and over 100,000 other wonderful human beings die for? What exactly is, George, the "noble cause?" And: I demand that you stop using my son's name and my family's sacrifice to continue your illegal and immoral occupation of Iraq.

After I wrote this piece of inspired and impassioned prose, I put my contacts into the email address line and pressed send. That's how the peaceful occupation of Crawford, Tx. began.

We convoyed up to Crawford from the VFP convention Saturday morning. We had the Impeachment Tour Bus filled with 12 people. We had representatives on the bus from VFP (Veterans for Peace), IVAW (Iraq Veterans Against the War, VVAW (Vietnam Veterans against the War), and GSFP (Gold Star Families for Peace). By the time we got out near Bush's vacation home, we had about 40 cars following us.

The details of what we went through when we got to Crawford have been well-blogged. From having to walk in a ditch, to being blocked by the county sheriff's department for walking on the road, to the Deputy Chief of Staff and George's personal National Security Advisor coming out to try and b.s. us into submission, to the Secret Service continuously warning our overnight group that we were going to get run over and killed during the night.

After the initial action of trying to walk up to the ranch, we all went down to a shady place to set up our camp. We were trying to think of a name for our temporary home, when one of the men in IVAW suggested Camp Casey. So in honor of our fallen heroes, we dedicated the camp to the brave men and women who have had their lives ripped away from them by the greedy and power hungry people who rule our country.

The dozens of people who came out to support GSFP and the dozen or so who spent the night with me last night would like to tell America a few things:

We are not giving up until George talks to us.

We are humbled and grateful for the support and love we are getting from all over the world.

The beginning of the end of the occupation of Iraq was on August 6, 2005, and in of all places, Crawford, Tx.

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Cindy, you truly are an inspiration. Thank you. I think you are right, I think you are bringing about the beginning of the end of the war in Iraq.

Cindy,
I am so sorry for the loss of your son. We all want answers and you are doing a very courageous thing. It is the right thing. Your son did not die in vain.

Yup, check out Raw Story.
Bush destined to hell.
Gotta feel sorry for right-wing scum and moderates who still put up with this creep, and gotta feel courage for Cindy who's brave enough to stand close to a sh*tmonster like W. The stink of W must be pretty intense from 5 miles away. Would issue a gas mask if getting any closer. As a previous poster noted, W is the WMD.

Go Cindy. We love ya.

Dear Friends,
We are deeply sorry for the loss of the Sheehan family, and greatly admire their courage. God is, however, using this tragedy for His glory. This is the beginning of the end of the lie, and it had to start with a mother.

As the parents of a daughter who was recently commissioned a second lieutenantin the Air Force, we are proud that she wants to serve her country. The absolute shame is that she, and so many other young people, do so knowing full well that this war is a fraud. Please add us to your mailing list, and let us know how we can help your cause.

I'm a publicist and writer for a local weekly newspaper, ready to help write web text, press releases, speeches - whatever you need. My husband is a magazine circulation specialist with a Colorado Springs based publishing company. He understands databases, demographics, how to write membership and subscription materials, etc. How can we help?

We live in Colo. Springs, and are appalled at the nodding of heads that goes on in this fiercely Christian (and very military) community. We know that people who disagree with Bush are afraid to speak out, especially Christians. Bush's strategists have made this a "forgivable war" that is "in the nation's best interest." But Bush has never asked the nation's forgiveness for his mistakes. Nor can anyone justify the taking of young lives, as if by public domain, in order to line the petroleum soaked pockets of oil barons and the industries that serve them.

Please let us share our skills for the sake of bringing our troops home. This is the organization we've been waiting for. But let it not stop with military families. Others will want to get involved, too: college students, high schoolers, teachers, and people from every walk of life. We need to grow leaders for a movement that will stir Americans to respond quickly and with conviction. Together we can change the course of history, and save the lives of our children.

Sincerely,
Mike and Patricia Harvey
719-328-9129

GW may have the strongest military wver in the history of man...but Casey, you and the people with you have the power of the majority on your side. His army is broken and can't win...they don't know what they are fighting for...noble cause???? empty words. You have a cause with meaning...stop the killing. It is very powerful and more people agree with yours than his. He has lost the war...for hearts and minds.
Thank you for confronting this war with no guns just heart. We are with you in spirit, you have an army behind you and we will win.
Thank you Mary

Cindy
I wonder if thousands of us came to Camp Casey we could draw so much attention to the cause of pulling our sons/daughters out of Iraq that "W" would really begin sweating it. "W" couldn't ignore us forever.The world is watching. Could this be the start of something REALLY BIG? I live in Alaska but would be willing to fly down. I'll be paying close attention to how things unfold over the next day or so. Maybe I'll see you in Crawford!!!

You're my hero Cindy....I'm so sorry for your loss and all the others who have lost loved ones. Keep up the fight.

Cindy,
My husband and I are truly awed by your courage...we all are in your debt.
Please let us know which would be more support to you....that we join your rally in Crawford or that we donate money/supplies for Camp Casey. We can't do both, but we do want to help.

Hi,

EVen though I am also anonymous, I would also like to suggest that President Bush ask his daughters to volunteer to serve this great country of ours to be an example to the rest of our young people that love this country. Ask them to join the service and volunteer to go to Iraq to preserve their father's memory. It would prove to us that President Bush does understand the platform from which we come

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