Cindy Speaks: An Interview with Cindy Sheehan
Doug Benthien, 05.11.2006 21:15
Local anti-war ballot initiatives received considerable support from peace activist, Cindy Sheehan. In August, 2005 she used her own initiative to create Camp Casey and successfully energized the anti-war movement. On Saturday, November 4th she delivered a passionate speech before a large gathering in downtown Milwaukee. Between a barrage of requests for photographs and personal interaction, she granted an interview prior to her address.
Q: Your activism started before the inception of Camp Casey, could you talk about the genesis of your involvement in the anti-war movement?
A: It happened after my son was killed, and I just couldn’t sit around and let that happen to another mother, innocent Iraqi or innocent American mother. I joined Military Families Speak Out. I founded my own organization, Gold Star Families for Peace. I also spoke for Representative John Conyers at the Downing Street Memo hearings. In August I started Camp Casey.
Q: You briefly met with George W. Bush after the death of your son, could you describe that interaction?
A: Without going into a lot of detail, I feel he is totally disconnected from humanity. I tried to show him pictures of Casey…he wouldn’t look at them. He didn’t want to hear about Casey. He called me “mom” the whole time. I thought that was disrespectful. He was just seeing us for campaign reasons. He said it wasn’t about politics, but it was about politics. It wasn’t a good meeting. It disturbed all of us.
Q: What do the American people need to know about Iraq that hasn’t become a part of the mainstream media coverage?
A: There is so much the American public doesn’t know about Iraq. 700,000 innocent Iraqis have been killed. Our government used chemical weapons on the Iraqi people especially in Fallujah. The country is not being rebuilt, the companies are taking the money and not doing the work. Our kids are dying for the corporations. The government says they are spreading freedom and democracy but they’re taking it away at home.
Q: You recently wrote an article comparing our current involvement in Iraq to Vietnam. Could you comment on this correlation?
A: It’s similar to Vietnam, but there are some differences also. The most striking thing is that they are both illegal and immoral invasions of foreign countries where too many of the citizens were killed. In Vietnam they exploited the concept of communism, and in this war they are exploiting the concept of terrorism. I can see similarities in the escalation of violence, and now we have found out that Henry Kissinger is advising George Bush. The only difference, however, is that when this war is over, I will make sure that this administration will be held accountable for crimes against humanity.
Q: What does the future hold in terms of your continued activism?
A: I am organizing the Camp Casey Peace Institute. The permanent headquarters will be in Crawford, Texas where I bought my land. In 2007 I am dedicating the year to impeachment and accountability.
|
e-mail:: 
Homepage::