That, of course, makes the White House quite nervous. After all, the stories about her say things like this:
| As the mother of an Army specialist who was killed at age 24 in the Sadr City section of Baghdad on April 4, 2004, Ms. Sheehan's story is certainly compelling. She is also articulate, aggressive in delivering her message and has information that most White House reporters have not heard before: how Mr. Bush handles himself when he meets behind closed doors with the families of soldiers killed in Iraq.
The White House has released few details of such sessions, which Mr. Bush holds regularly as he travels the country, but generally portrays them as emotional and an opportunity for the president to share the grief of the families. In Ms. Sheehan's telling, though, Mr. Bush did not know her son's name when she and her family met with him in June 2004 at Fort Lewis. Mr. Bush, she said, acted as if he were at a party and behaved disrespectfully toward her by referring to her as "Mom" throughout the meeting. By Ms. Sheehan's account, Mr. Bush said to her that he could not imagine losing a loved one like an aunt or uncle or cousin. Ms. Sheehan said she broke in and told Mr. Bush that Casey was her son, and that she thought he could imagine what it would be like since he has two daughters and that he should think about what it would be like sending them off to war. "I said, 'Trust me, you don't want to go there'," Ms. Sheehan said, recounting her exchange with the president. "He said, 'You're right, I don't.' I said, 'Well, thanks for putting me there.' " |
and this:
| "I want to ask the president, why did he kill my son?" Sheehan told reporters. "He said my son died in a noble cause, and I want to ask him what that noble cause is."
Sheehan said hers was one of a group of about 15 families who each met separately with the president one day last June. "He wouldn't look at the pictures of Casey. He didn't even know Casey's name," she told CNN Sunday. "Every time we tried to talk about Casey and how much we missed him, he would change the subject." Sheehan said she was so distraught at the time that she failed to ask the questions she now wants answered. "I want him to honor my son by bringing the troops home immediately," Sheehan told reporters Saturday. "I don't want him to use my son's name or my name to justify any more killing." |
and this:
| Sheehan didn't get to see Bush, but did talk for about 45 minutes with national security adviser Stephen Hadley and deputy White House chief of staff Joe Hagin, who went out to hear her concerns.
She said Hagin told her, "I want to assure you that he [Bush] really does care." Appreciative of the aides' attention, yet undaunted, Sheehan said she planned to continue a roadside vigil, except for a few breaks, until she gets to talk to Bush. "They were very respectful. They were nice men," she said. "I told them Iraq was not a threat to the United States and that now people are dead for nothing." |
Which leaves the White House in a bit of a well deserved predicament. So what's their response?
Scorched earth, as always. Because yes, attacking the mothers of the fallen is the noble and honorable thing to do when supporting the troops. Or something.
UPDATE: Looks like she may now face arrest on national security grounds. Which makes this post all the more bizarre.
I want my country back.
--------
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: MOTHERS OF THE FALLEN.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.alexwhalen.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/2156
Subscribe to this blog's feed
Leave a comment