There has been much in the news lately on Cindy Sheehan, the mother of Spc. Casey Sheehan who was killed in action. According to a website affiliated with her, her organization is related to Code Pink who has raised money for terrorists and apparently is involved in attacks on military recruitment centers in the US.
No one knows better than we do the cost on families that military services brings. We all have families who, for many of us, wait at home in fear while we are deployed. We know first-hand the trauma it causes to families and loved ones when one of us is killed in action. Spc. Sheehan was our brother and he will be missed. He voluntarily went to Iraq to help keep his fellow soldiers safe. He served with distinction and honor in the highest traditions of military service.
That being said, what Cindy Sheehan is now doing has descended beyond disgraceful. We can understand a grieving mother lashing out at the President. We all have had our doubts. What we cannot understand is a mother standing on the flagged-drapped coffin of her son and using his grave as a pulpit to, among other things, support organizations that fund the other side in this fight. We cannot understand violence and vandalism against the offices of the very soldiers that Spc. Sheehan went to Iraq to help protect. We cannot understand why you use this to denounce Israel. We are flabbergasted that you dishonor his service by suggesting his death allows you to speak for us. You do not speak for us. Much to the contrary, apparently.
Some of us are in Iraq and wondering what country the media is covering. Yes, there are casualties. Yes, there are setbacks. However, there are a great deal many more successes uncovered by the media. There are plenty of soldiers who have a variety of complaints about the way the war is prosecuted, whether we should be here, and the quality of food. Yet, for a majority, we understand that we are fighting what have become mostly foreign forces seeking to prevent a people from ruling themselves. It’s hard enough on those of us who are deployed without the likes of the fringe anti-war movement making the job that much harder.
Mrs. Sheehan, we’re sorry for your son, we really are. But please be quiet and stop undermining our efforts here. Your support for organizations that give money to the very people who killed your son is outrageous. And please stop using the grave of an honorable soldier as a soapbox.
