A woman who has camped outside President George W Bush’s Texas ranch in an anti-war protest following the death of her son in Iraq has become one of America’s most divisive figures.
The demonstration by Cindy Sheehan, 48, has provoked a fierce counter-campaign by the president’s backers, who call her an extremist.
She has demanded to meet Mr Bush and vows to maintain her protest until he returns to Washington from his summer break in a few weeks.
As her vigil reached its 11th day yesterday, Mrs Sheehan, a Californian, was preparing to move her camp and multiplying supporters and other bereaved parents a mile closer to the president’s Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford.
Fred Mattlage, an army veteran, has invited her to use a corner of his one-acre plot. He said: “I think people should have a right to protest without being harassed. I’m against the war. I don’t think it’s a war we need to be in.”
Nicknamed Attila the Honey by admiring friends, Mrs Sheehan and scores of supporters shuffled through the near-100 degree heat moving tents, anti-Bush banners and portable lavatories in time for their nightly candlelit prayer vigil.
In their wake came the ranks of camera crews and reporters who have made Mrs Sheehan the biggest domestic story of America’s hot summer of 2005 and a nightly feature on news bulletins.
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President Bush said Tuesday that anti-war protesters “are advocating a policy that would weaken the United States.” It was his most direct response yet to Cindy Sheehan, who has been camped near his Texas ranch demanding an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
Bush told reporters during a visit to Donnelly, Idaho, that Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in Iraq last year, “doesn’t represent the view” of many other military families with whom he has met.
Bush meets privately today in Nampa, Idaho, with families of servicemembers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. It will be his 25th such visit since
Cindy Sheehan has vowed to remain camped out in Crawford, Texas, until either President Bush meets with her or until his summer vacation is over later this month.
At this point, it appears the end of the president's vacation will be what sends Sheehan back to her home in Vacaville, California.
Sheehan is in the throes of grieving over her son's death in Iraq. Ostensibly, the California mother wants an explanation — a reason — for her son's death. In fact, she wants to express her outrage over losing her son and to protest the war which has taken something very precious
After more than a week out of the public eye, President Bush left the seclusion of his Texas ranch Monday to remind Americans why he thinks they must not give up on peace and stability in Iraq.
Bush chose the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Republican-friendly Utah as the site for the first of two speeches this week, both to reaffirm his plan to stay the course despite the recent focus on problems in Iraq. The second comes Wednesday to a National Guard group in Idaho.
Bush has not left his ranch since Aug. 13. Meanwhile, anti-war protesters
Bush: America Safer, But Not Yet Safe
During a day of briefings and strategy sessions at the National Counterterrorism Center, President Bush on Tuesday again lamented that the enemy has an advantage, reports CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller.
Theyve got to be right one time and weve got to be right 100 percent of the time to protect the American people, Mr. Bush said.
The president hailed the disruption last week of the plot to blow up U.S.-bound airliners with liquid explosives. He said because of the counterterrorism efforts of the United States and its allies, America is safer
Sikhism, America share common values: Bush
nited States President George W Bush has greeted Sikhs across the world on the 536th birth anniversary of their faith's founder Guru Nanak, saying that both Sikhism and America shared the same values of equality, family, humility and service.
"I send greetings to those gathered to celebrate the 536th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak," a Sikh Council on Education and Religion statement quoted Bush as saying in his message.
President Bush also praised American Sikhs for their accomplishments and contributions to the success of the United States.
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