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Final Weekend of Camp Casey Draws Thousands to Protest Outside Presidential Estate
The last weekend of Cindy Sheehan's vigil outside President Bush's property in Crawford drew more than fifteen hundred people for an anti-Bush protest. Also in Crawford were two thousand Bush supporters. We hear from Cindy Sheehan, military families
This weekend was the culmination of the anti war protest started by Cindy Sheehan near President Bush's vacation ranch in Crawford Texas. Cindy Sheehan is the mother of son Casey who was a solider killed in Iraq last year. In early August she went to Crawford Texas and vowed to stay there until President Bush met with her to discuss the justification for the war. Over the past month Cindy has been joined by thousands of mothers, wives, family members, veterans and supporters who have camped out at two different sites dubbed Camp Casey One and Two. Camp Casey Two, which is in a field donated by a local landowner, is at the edge of the Bush ranch. On Saturday, thousands came there for a rally and barbeque to protest the war and Bush's policies in Iraq. In a moment we'll here the voices of some of those who spoke at the rally.
About two thousand supporters of the war also came to Crawford and held their own rally at the local community center on Saturday. They also lined up across the road from Camp Casey One creating a tense standoff between the two groups for most of the day. A handful of people were arrested from both sides of the political spectrum.
On Sunday, Reverend Al Sharpton came to Camp Casey to meet with Sheehan as did actor Martin Sheen. Sharpton said that he felt it was his "moral obligation to stand and to be courageous with these families, and particularly Cindy, that have become the conscience of this nation.
Sheehan and her supporters have attracted international attention for their protest and have galvanized the anti -war movement in these dog days of summer. And though Bush has so far refused to meet Cindy, she has forced him to repeatedly defend the war in light of polls showing dwindling support for his handling of the war and increased skepticism of the rationale for the invasion. Bush spoke in Utah and Idaho earlier this week and yesterday at his ranch in Crawford where he insisted that America's actions in the Middle East were making the nation safer.
* President Bush, speaking Sunday
President Bush speaking at his ranch in Crawford, Texas yesterday where just down the road thousands had gathered to protest Bush's policies in Iraq and to demand that the troops be brought home.
Sheehan has also drawn the condemnation of the right-wing media and some supporters of the war in Iraq. The conservative group, Move America Forward also mobilized their supporters and organized a multi-city "You don't speak for me, Cindy," Campaign which started off in San Francisco and ended in Crawford on Saturday. Move America Forward is based in Sacramento and was started by California Republicans and staff members of the public relations firm Russo Marsh and Rogers, which has strong ties to the Republican Party. They are the same group that organized the "Truth Tour" in Iraq earlier this summer, which brought six conservative talk show hosts to Iraq to counter what they say was the bad news being spread by the mainstream media about the U.S. occupation.
Deborah Johns, who has a son that served in Iraq, led the "You don't speak for me, Cindy" tour. She is also featured in ads produced by Move America Forward. After the pro-war rally, Johns came to Camp Casey One and removed some names from a memorial of dead soldiers' crosses that had been erected by Sheehan and her supporters. Johns said that the families had contacted her and asked that their childrens' names be removed because they do not agree with Sheehan" protest.
* Deborah Johns, her son served in Iraq
Democracy Now!'s Yoruba Richen talked to Bill Johnson who is the owner of the Yellow Rose in Crawford, a store that boasts the largest collection of George W. Bush paraphernalia in the country. Johnson also helped organized the pro-war rally that took place on Saturday.
* Bill Johnson, counter-protest organizer and owner of the Yellow Rose in Crawford
* Cindy Sheehan, mother of soldier killed in Iraq and founder of Camp Casey in honor of her son Casey Sheehan who was killed in Iraq in April, 2004. She is also a co-founder of Gold Star Families for Peace.
* Amy Branham and Jane Bright, both had sons who died in Iraq. They spoke at the Camp Casey rally on Saturday.
LISTEN ONLINE
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/08/29/145213
About two thousand supporters of the war also came to Crawford and held their own rally at the local community center on Saturday. They also lined up across the road from Camp Casey One creating a tense standoff between the two groups for most of the day. A handful of people were arrested from both sides of the political spectrum.
On Sunday, Reverend Al Sharpton came to Camp Casey to meet with Sheehan as did actor Martin Sheen. Sharpton said that he felt it was his "moral obligation to stand and to be courageous with these families, and particularly Cindy, that have become the conscience of this nation.
Sheehan and her supporters have attracted international attention for their protest and have galvanized the anti -war movement in these dog days of summer. And though Bush has so far refused to meet Cindy, she has forced him to repeatedly defend the war in light of polls showing dwindling support for his handling of the war and increased skepticism of the rationale for the invasion. Bush spoke in Utah and Idaho earlier this week and yesterday at his ranch in Crawford where he insisted that America's actions in the Middle East were making the nation safer.
* President Bush, speaking Sunday
President Bush speaking at his ranch in Crawford, Texas yesterday where just down the road thousands had gathered to protest Bush's policies in Iraq and to demand that the troops be brought home.
Sheehan has also drawn the condemnation of the right-wing media and some supporters of the war in Iraq. The conservative group, Move America Forward also mobilized their supporters and organized a multi-city "You don't speak for me, Cindy," Campaign which started off in San Francisco and ended in Crawford on Saturday. Move America Forward is based in Sacramento and was started by California Republicans and staff members of the public relations firm Russo Marsh and Rogers, which has strong ties to the Republican Party. They are the same group that organized the "Truth Tour" in Iraq earlier this summer, which brought six conservative talk show hosts to Iraq to counter what they say was the bad news being spread by the mainstream media about the U.S. occupation.
Deborah Johns, who has a son that served in Iraq, led the "You don't speak for me, Cindy" tour. She is also featured in ads produced by Move America Forward. After the pro-war rally, Johns came to Camp Casey One and removed some names from a memorial of dead soldiers' crosses that had been erected by Sheehan and her supporters. Johns said that the families had contacted her and asked that their childrens' names be removed because they do not agree with Sheehan" protest.
* Deborah Johns, her son served in Iraq
Democracy Now!'s Yoruba Richen talked to Bill Johnson who is the owner of the Yellow Rose in Crawford, a store that boasts the largest collection of George W. Bush paraphernalia in the country. Johnson also helped organized the pro-war rally that took place on Saturday.
* Bill Johnson, counter-protest organizer and owner of the Yellow Rose in Crawford
* Cindy Sheehan, mother of soldier killed in Iraq and founder of Camp Casey in honor of her son Casey Sheehan who was killed in Iraq in April, 2004. She is also a co-founder of Gold Star Families for Peace.
* Amy Branham and Jane Bright, both had sons who died in Iraq. They spoke at the Camp Casey rally on Saturday.
LISTEN ONLINE
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/08/29/145213
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