Analyzing Cindy Sheehan's Supporters
(Cindy Sheehan Speaks To The Media Near Crawford, Tex./by L.m. Otero -- Associated Press)
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In the Aug. 13 front-page article about Cindy Sheehan ["Cindy Sheehan's Pitched Battle; In a Tent Near Bush's Ranch, Antiwar Mother of Dead Soldier Gains Visibility"], we learn that Ms. Sheehan is supported by antiwar groups that sometimes hire professional public relations firms. So?
A member of my immediate family served in Iraq, and I can tell you that Ms. Sheehan's response is authentic. Her rage is my own, and she speaks for me.
Keep in mind also that antiwar groups such as Military Families Speak Out, Veterans for Peace, CodePink and TrueMajority are volunteer organizations; their support comes from average citizens who find Ms. Sheehan's questions about the Iraqi war valid and President Bush's answers long overdue.
This citizen, who is challenging the most powerful leader in the world, has so much support that she needs people to take her calls.
Isn't democracy grand?
LAURA COSTAS
Silver Spring
Cindy Sheehan illustrates why the "antiwar movement" has failed to stop the Iraq war. Her personal "battle" with the president -- which is personality-driven and politically obsessed -- is irrelevant to ending this unnecessary and costly conflict. However, because Ms. Sheehan has attracted the attention of the media, she has become a cause célèbre for the radical political vagabonds who have joined her.
The so-called antiwar movement has failed because it has been dominated by radical leftists who use the war to promote other political ends. I vividly recall observing an antiwar march that was liberally (no pun intended) sprinkled with NOW "Keep abortion legal" signs. How better to ensure that sincere Catholics would stay away from that demonstration notwithstanding their pope's vigorous opposition to the war?
This futile and costly war will grind on until regular Americans stop it.
WILLIAM R. WILDER
Vienna
