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Monday, August 15, 2005
Other ways to grieve
Maureen Dowd: "The moral authority of parents who bury children killed in Iraq is absolute."
But apparently only if they also become mouthpieces for the angry left.
So how about the absolute moral authority of Lynn Kelly, Maureen?
"I don't agree" with Sheehan's views, said Lynn Kelly of Pitman, whose son, Marine Cpl. Sean P. Kelly, was killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq in January.
"I wouldn't say, 'Bush, you killed my son.' I don't agree with that," said Kelly.
"I think we had to do something and I believe that ultimately, I was one of the few that had to make the ultimate sacrifice, which isn't fair, in my eyes," she said.
"But I don't believe that Mr. Bush was the one that pulled the trigger," said Kelly.
Or Linda Ryan:
Marine Cpl. Marc T. Ryan, of Gloucester City, was killed in an explosion in Ramadi, Iraq in November.
"I would tell Cindy Sheehan that, as one mother to another, I do realize your loss is your loss and there's nothing you can do to heal from it," said the corporal's mother, Linda Ryan.
"George Bush didn't kill her son, it's the evildoers who have no value of life who killed her son. Her son made a decision to join the Armed Forces and defend our country, knowing that, at any time, war could come about," Ryan said.
She said she's been on the end of those kinds of conversations several times. Recently, when she took her dog in for medical treatment, the veterinarian, despite seeing Ryan's memory bracelet and the necklace bearing a portrait of her son, started telling her how much she hates George Bush.
"I've decided I'm just going to say, 'I realize you have your opinions, but it aches me, it's heart-wrenching for me'," said Ryan.
"George Bush was my son's commander-in-chief. My son, Marc, totally believed in what he was doing," she said.
Or Thomas Zapp:
Among those attending the pro-Bush rally was Thomas Zapp, of Richmond, Texas, whose 20-year-old son, Marine Lance Cpl. T.J. Zapp, was killed by a bomb in Iraq on Nov. 8, 2004.
Zapp said that it was unfair for Sheehan to demand a second meeting with the president when many parents of slain GIs, like himself, have not even had a single meeting.
"I have not met with President Bush," he told the Tribune-Herald. "Why should she get to meet with President Bush again?"
"I firmly believe our president is sincere with what we have to do and I believe that he's under enormous pressure and he's doing the best he can. I'm here to support him," Zapp added...
The story of Cindy Sheehan is a sad story all the way round. It is sad she lost her son in the Iraq War. It is sad that she is being exploited by far left. It is also sad that she is being exploited by the media and that she seems to enjoy it. [by Cliff Kincaid and Roger Aronoff.]
The latest example of this crass exploitation is the August 13 page-one story in the Washington Post about how the anti-war mother has gained visibility. The Post and other media have given her this visibility. They are feeding off one another to promote an anti-war agenda.
Sheehan, who once described herself as friendly toward President Bush, now says she wants to personally meet with the President and for him to tell me that my son died for oil. She wants to say to Bush: You tell me that my son died to make your friends rich. You tell me my son died to spread the cancer of Pax Americana, imperialism in the Middle East.
As Byron York of National Review noted, Sheehan has also said that without left-wing bloggers promoting her cause, America would already be a fascist state.
In her view, therefore, an effort to transform the Middle East by creating a democratic state in Iraq has become imperialism and cancer, and the U.S. is itself close to becoming a fascist state. She may be a crackpot, as Fred Barnes of Fox News commented, but she is also someone to be pitied because she has clearly been brainwashed.
Consider how her views have changed.
Sheehans son Army Spc. Casey Sheehan was killed in Iraq in April of 2004. And like all families who have lost children serving their country, they are owed our gratitude and respect, and our condolences. Mrs. Sheehan was not happy about how the war was going even last year when she and her family met with Bush. She had criticized the handling of the war, and accused Bush of having changed his reasons for being over there every time a reason is proven false or an objective reached.
But after meeting with him, she told the Reporter, of Vacaville, California, that I now know hes sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis. I know hes very sorry and feels some pain for our loss. And I know hes a man of faith. And being with other families in similar situations apparently made the family feel better. That was the gift the President gave us, the gift of happiness, of being together, Mrs. Sheehan told the paper.
Mrs. Sheehan went from being somewhat critical of the war to believing that the U.S. is on an imperial crusade and that the President himself is an evil man.
A tip-off as to what happened to Mrs. Sheehan is that she has been blogging on the website of Michael Moore, who is known for his far-left politics, dishonest documentaries, and comparing the terrorists in Iraq to the Minutemen, the patriots who fought in the American Revolution. One of her blog entries said, We have such a strong coalition of groups. GSFP, Code Pink, Veterans for Peace, Military Families Speak Out and the Crawford Peace House.
The New York Sun did something the media never do―analyze the groups that have embraced Mrs. Sheehan. It notes that the Crawford Peace House website, for example, includes a photo of the entire nation of Israel identified only as Palestine. In other words, Israel has been wiped out. The Crawford Peace House also directs people to several other groups, including the National Meditation Center for World Peace.
Mrs. Sheehan has become a media star, writing on her blog, I did tons of interviews. It looks like I will be on the cover of People Magazine. Time Magazine, Vanity Fair and Oprahs magazine will be interviewing me also.
One can assume that these news organizations will neglect the critical matter of how Mrs. Sheehan has become, in effect, a hostage of far-left elements.
The Sheehan family is itself divided. The Drudge Report posted an email from other members of the Sheehan family, including Casey Sheehan's grandparents, aunts, uncles and numerous cousins, who said in part that We do not agree with the political motivations and publicity tactics of Cindy Sheehan. She now appears to be promoting her own personal agenda and notoriety at the expense of her son's good name and reputation. The rest of the Sheehan Family supports the troops, our country, and our President, silently, with prayer and respect.
True respect for Casey Sheehans sacrifice also requires exposing those who want the U.S. to fail and the terrorists in Iraq to win. Is this now Cindy Sheehans notion of peace? Why dont reporters ask her? Or are they afraid of the answer?
