Thursday, August 18, 2005
Unbelievable
I'm sorry, this is just disgusting:
CINDY UNLEASHED: 'THE BIGGEST TERRORIST IN THE WORLD IS GEORGE W. BUSH'Unbelievable.
"We are not waging a war on terror in this country. We’re waging a war of terror. The biggest terrorist in the world is George W. Bush!"
So declared Cindy Sheehan earlier this year during a rally at San Francisco State University.
Sheehan, who is demanding a second meeting with Bush, stated: "We are waging a nuclear war in Iraq right now. That country is contaminated. It will be contaminated for practically eternity now."
Sheehan unleashed a foul-mouth tirade on April 27, 2005:
"They’re a bunch of fucking hypocrites! And we need to, we just need to rise up..." Sheehan said of the Bush administration.
"If George Bush believes his rhetoric and his bullshit, that this is a war for freedom and democracy, that he is spreading freedom and democracy, does he think every person he kills makes Iraq more free?"
"The whole world is damaged. Our humanity is damaged. If he thinks that it’s so important for Iraq to have a U.S.-imposed sense of freedom and democracy, then he needs to sign up his two little party-animal girls. They need to go to this war."
"We want our country back and, if we have to impeach everybody from George Bush down to the person who picks up dog shit in Washington, we will impeach all those people."
As Mike Gallagher commented this morning (I listened to part of his radio show on my way to work): this is supposed to encourage President Bush to want to meet with this woman? "I'm sorry, Mrs. Sheehan, I thought that one meeting with you was enough... but now that you've called me the biggest terrorist in the world, I see the error of my ways. Do have some more cheese puffs."
I have to wonder: has she lost all touch with reality? Clearly she has forgotten that her son re-enlisted, and that he was serving where he wanted to be (by her own admission):
...Casey Sheehan had reenlisted in the U.S. Army voluntarily when he was 24-years-old, after serving his first hitch successfully. Casey Sheehan was in fact a hero who received a Bronze Star. He was attached as a mechanic to the artillery division of the 1st U.S. Cavalry in Iraq. When a convoy of soldiers from Casey’s unit was attacked in Sadr City by insurgents, Casey volunteered to join a rapid rescue force to get them out. His commanding sergeant told him he did not have to go into combat, because he was a mechanic and not an infantryman. Casey was quoted telling his officer, “I go where my chief goes.” He was tragically killed during the rescue attempt. The source for this story? Cindy Sheehan herself.By the way, James Taranto points out something interesting:
And indeed, here's an AP Baghdad dispatch that moved yesterday on the AP wire:Wow.The capital's Sadr City section was once a hotbed of Shiite Muslim unrest, but it has become one of the brightest successes for the U.S. security effort.One additional bit of context: It was in Sadr City that Casey Sheehan was killed in action in April 2004. America's success there is further evidence that he did not die in vain.
So far this year, there has been only one car bombing in the neighborhood, and only one American soldier has been killed.
A year ago, militiamen garbed in black and armed with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades roamed the streets in open revolt against the American presence. But U.S. troops quelled the uprising, and today calmly patrol the district, aided by loyalists of the radical cleric who spurred the violence.
Mind you, I wouldn't wish Mrs. Sheehan's pain on anybody. Losing a son in wartime is a terrible, terrible thing. But we've also lost soldiers due to training accidents; due to horribly-mistaken friendly-fire incidents; and many other causes. A great many American parents have been able to deal with their grief, silently and privately, when they were told that such tragic causes took their children away. They could (understandably!) have said that their childrens' deaths were meaningless -- but they didn't.
Mrs. Sheehan, on the other hand, knows -- or should know -- that her son died during the effort to pacify Sadr City, and that the effort, thanks in part to her son, was successful! A former hornet's nest of murderous activity is now peaceable and safe, thanks in part to Casey Sheehan.
In short, he died in an extremely noble cause, one that has proven successful, and his sacrifice has prevented -- and continues to prevent -- many, many other deaths, American and Iraqi alike. Instead of being ashamed of your country, Mrs. Sheehan, you should be proud -- very proud -- of your son!
(We've seen enough pictures of Cindy, by the way -- I'd rather focus on her son, the hero, instead. Blackfive has more of his story.)
Rest in peace, Spc. Sheehan.
I'm tempted to address some of Cindy's other foul-mouthed misstatements and fallacies -- apparently not knowing what the definition of "terrorism" is, not knowing what "nuclear warfare" is, and so on. But why bother? She's lost touch completely. Her rhetoric has spurred on more rhetoric -- hers or that of the people clinging to her coattails, I'm not sure -- to the point that little of her rhetoric means anything in the real world anymore.
No doubt some Republicans are saying "keep talking, lady". I wonder why Democrats aren't trying to get her rhetoric toned down... she certainly isn't helping them any. Nor is she contributing anything meaningful to the anti-war effort, such as it is; she's just making the anti-war cause look ridiculous.
And, caught as we are in the Silly Season, when nothing happens and newspapers scramble for something to write about, we are now faced with All Cindy, All The Time.
Unbelievable.
UPDATE: www.solomonia.com cites more shrill rhetoric, as if we needed more. I agree with Martin's assessment -- if the press aren't tired of her yet, they will be soon. (And if the press continues to throng around her, that speaks badly for both her and them.)
UPDATE II: James Lileks has more to say, including a different citation of the quotes at the top of this entry. (As he points out, Mrs. Sheehan said it at a rally -- a rally in support of Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman's attorney. Remember him? He was the 'mastermind', if you can call it that, behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The attorney, Lynne Stewart, represented him, and is now a convicted felon because of it. Mrs. Sheehan, that's very interesting company you're keeping.)
UPDATE III: Mohammed of Iraq the Model responds to Mrs. Sheehan, eloquently and at great length. In the middle of it all, a fervent plea:
I ask you in the name of God or whatever you believe in; do not waste your son's blood.
UPDATE IV: I'm sorry to hear about this. I do hope she's all right.
UPDATE V: Scott Ott, of all people, has crafted "a leaked draft" of President Bush's private response to Cindy Sheehan. As with many great satirists, Mr. Ott starts out trying to be funny but winds up deadly serious:
Being president forces me into the spotlight, but I would rather stand in the shadows of men like Casey Sheehan.There's more. It's lucid, eloquent as hell, and clearly meant from the heart. Please do go read it.
Directing national attention on my response to your protest creates a distraction from what matters. The focus of our attention, and our admiration, should rest on people like Casey Sheehan, who stand in the breach when evil threatens to break out and consume a helpless people.
The running story on the news networks should be the valiant efforts of our troops -- the merchants of mercy who export freedom and import honor. They trade their own lives for the sake of others.
As a result, we live in a nation where a woman can camp outside of the president's house and verbally attack the president for weeks on end without fear of prison, torture or death. And the number of nations where such protest is possible has multiplied thanks to the work of our military.
You ask for what noble cause your son died?
In a sense he died so that people like you, who passionately oppose government policies, can freely express that opposition. As you camp in Crawford, you should take off your shoes, for you stand on holy ground. This land was bought with the blood of men like your son.
