Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez (Democracy Now!): Protest on the Range

[Jack Rabbit]

From Democracy Now!
Broadcast Friday August 12

Protest on the Range
Cindy Sheehan Calls for Mass Demos at Bush's Crawford Ranch
By Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez

AMY GOODMAN: It’s good to have you with us. We're also here with Juan Gonzalez. Can you talk about President Bush’s statement yesterday and what your demands are?

CINDY SHEEHAN: Well, I want to know what the noble cause is that Casey -- you know, the supposed noble cause that Casey died for. You know, I don't believe that a war of aggression against a country that was no threat to the United States of America, dying for that is a noble cause. I don't believe sending our children to die for something like that is a noble cause. I would like him to tell me if he thinks it's such a noble cause, does he encourage his own daughters to enlist and go over there and take the place of some soldiers who might want to come home. And then another thing, he always says that we have to honor the sacrifices of the fallen by completing the mission. Well, you know what? I don't want him to use Casey's death to justify his killing anymore. And his press conference yesterday, he said, I have his sympathy. I don't want his sympathy. I want answers . . . .

AMY GOODMAN: Cindy Sheehan, the Drudge Report has been leading a campaign against you, along with Bill O'Reilly. And one of the points they make is that when you first met with President Bush, you came out with a very different impression, satisfied with the meeting, they say. And then you changed your tune. And they also talk about dissent within your family about what you're doing.

CINDY SHEEHAN: Well, for one thing, June of 2004 and August of 2005 are two different months. They're 14 months apart. And in June of 2004, we had buried Casey nine weeks before when we met with the President. I was still in a deep state of shock and a deep state of grief. And I'm still in a deep state of grief, and I will be for the rest of my life, thanks to George Bush, but I'm not in shock anymore, and I have informed myself. And I have known that four different reports have come out proving that this war was based on deceptions and lies, and it’s for greed. And not one person should be dead. My son shouldn't be dead. And the killing shouldn't continue. Every day, people are dying, and we need to get our troops out of there right now. And dissent within my family -- the members of my family that wrote that letter are my in-laws. We have never been politically on the same page. But you know what? These people, I think, are using Casey's death, because they didn't know Casey, they didn't have a relationship with Casey, they didn't go out of their way to get to know him. They never spent time with him. And they can't speak for Casey. I can speak for Casey. My children and Casey's father, the five of us are all on the same page, united in our message of this war was a mistake, and we need to bring the troops home.

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