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As an old soldier I weep with Mrs. Sheehan in the loss of her dear son. I have wept with numerous Mrs. Sheehans and sought to console them in some way. I have listened to the sorrow, the anger, the hurt and the rage expressed by many of these Mrs. Sheehans and I would tell her to weep, until the sorrow and hurt has passed. I would also tell her to go home because not one day in the hot Texas sun will bring her beloved son back to her nor will it cause this war to end one day sooner. I would tell her to seek out other mom's , wives and families who have lost their loved ones and grieve together and speak of the wonderful things their son's and daughters did in their lives. I would also tell her that no matter her feelings now, in time she will realize that her son did not die in vain. If she fails to come to that realization then she will be most miserable the remainder of her life and she will allow anger and bitterness to take her life as surely as the hate and and anger of the terriorist took her son's life.
God Bless you Mrs. Sheehan and all the other Mrs. Sheehans in this country from this time to times past who have lost their beloved sons and daughters. I salute and honor your son's and daughters.

I've been following Sheehan for awhile now. She isn't wanting to bring her son back, but to prevent other mothers' sons and daughters from dying for a horribly immoral war that was carried out with the most extreme of incompetence. Another shocking and disturbing part of her tale is the extremely cold and almost inhuman treatment she and other families of fallen soldiers received when meeting with Bush during the campaign. I recommend the Gold Star Families for Peace Website (gsfp.org), an organization Sheehan co-founded.

Andrew I am sure if you have read some of my recent post on the handling of this war you would understand that I am a long way from agreeing on how this situation(war) has been operated. I have strong reservations about Rumsfeld and his not listening to the commanders on the ground and I also fault the President for not listening to the commmanders on the ground and not relying on "advisors" to direct his management of this war. He is doing the same thing as President Johnson did during the Vietnam War and we all saw or realize the results of that .Some of us realize it more than others.
I do not know how Mrs Sheehan was supposedly treated or what her perception of such is except by what has been "used" by groups that are not so much against the war as they are against any thing this President is a part of. I am sure if it were an ice cream social these same folks would be against it.
It is indeed a shame that some have chosen to (IMO) "use" Mrs. Sheehan's grief and circumstances for their own advantage. I hope that one day she will not regret being used.
In my previous post I believe I offered only heartfelt sorrow for Mrs. Sheehans loss and the loss of all the other mothers, fathers, wives and families of those who have been lost in this engagement and in all those preceeding this.
I will not attempt and did not attempt to make this a political statement and I do not feel that others should either.
I read the website Andrew and find it to be nothing more than another political website. They have taken the good name of "Gold Star Mothers" as I know it and besmirshed it, altered it and are using GSF as name to mislead others who are not familiar with the "real" GS organization. The purpose, which they seem to have hijacked parts of for misdirection of others. was to bring comfort to families, not to impeach a president.

I include a statement made by Gold Star Mothers: Cindy Shaheen is currently in the news. She and her organization have no connection whatever with American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. We are a 501 C(3) organization and, as such, do not engage in political activities. We do support our troups. After all, they are our children.
I might add that some of these parent do not agree with the handling of this war but they have not attempted to hijack the GSM organization for political purposes.

I respect your feelings regarding this war Andrew but cannot agree with the organization that Mrs. Sheehan and a few others are using for nothing more than political purposes. There are so many other ways to accomplish their goals than to use the death of American troops for political gain. It is indeed a shame that politicians have sunk so low. I direct that to both sides so as not to raise the ire of anyone.

I think it is completely unfair to say Sheehan is being used when she is the one who founded her anti-war organization. I've heard her speak a few times and she is clear and passionate about her beliefs against this war. She and her son were always against it. Her son's death did not influence her opinion, it just drove her to action.

I also think it is unfair that they are using the death of soldiers for political gain. In the (yes, political) discussion of the war, it is dishonest if you do not remember the troops who have fallen. You cannot analyze the costs and benefits of the war without acknowledgeing the horrible cost of nearly 1900 American troops and the horrible scars these losses leave on the families.

Andrew, the lady co-founded the organization only after being approached and backed by the radical's who would and will drop her like a hot cake and move on as soon as the new wears off. Without the backing of that group she would not have had the funds necessary to do what she is doing. There is where the radical's with the impeachment agenda, not peace agenda took advantage of her.

I and most others have absolutely no problem with Mrs Sheehan expressing her sorrow and anger. It is the company that she keeps that stalls her message before it falls on kind hearts who would encourage her to express that anger and that sorrow until she was healed of the anger.

I am sure that your father has pointed out to you that you are known by the company that you keep. The same can be said to Mrs. Sheehan and her company "ain't good".

I am well aware of the number of losses but while one is too many I find it hardly a toll that reflects the true fiercness of the action in only a few sectors of a large country.

I wonder what would happen today if in just 72 days we lost 10,700 troops on one small island. Or if in 35 days we lost another 6600 plus on another small island. Please don't accuse me of comparing WW2 with Iraq. I am just make a statement of numbers to say that we no longer have the stomach for that number of losses for any reason, right or wrong and we want our wars to be surgically clean and over in less than 10 days, a weekend would be even better that way it would not affect our work week. Perhaps I stated that a bit backwards for some folks who I am sure would perfer that it did not interupt their weekend. We have become an instant society and are faced with a slow cook enemy. There will be no short cuts to the end of this situation but I , like every other parent and former soldier hope to see a victory not a defeat because of our countries lack of patience and intestinal fortitude.

mrproduce, it was the administration that promised a quick and relatively painless war. It's not like people are upset that the war lasted for more than a week, but here we are almost two and a half years in and things are not getting better. This long after American entry into World War II it was clear the Allies were going to win the war. Also, FDR never proposed to attack a country with no links to the people who actually did attack us.

I'd also be careful about who you call radicals, because being against the war is actually a very mainstream position. I know the company Sheehan keeps, and I'm quite impressed with most of them. Before you say that these people don't care about the war and are just anti-Bush, you should know that some of them, such as Michael Moore, were America's harshest critics of Clinton's use of force in Kosovo and other places.

I do believe Bush should be impeached because by misleading the American people and the world in order to wage an aggressive war he is a war criminal. I would think the same of a Democrat who waged such a war. Waging aggressive war is the most immoral act a nation can undertake.

By all means, disagree with my position, or Mrs. Sheehan's, on this war and war in general, but please don't be so condescending to Mrs. Sheehan. She knows exactly what she is doing and even if some people benefit politically, she is doing what I think is the right thing.

Yes Andrew Mrs Sheehan certainly knows what she is doing according to her family.

Andrew it is not being agains the war that is mainstream. It is the way the war is being managed that is mainstream. I have stated more than one time on these blogs to that affect and I am former career military man. I still do not call for the impeachment, I do not call the President a liar when I have no actual proof since I was not there and am not privy to the actualy things that transpired. Those who say they do are speculating, whether you wish to believe it or not.
As to WW2 Andrew, you totally failed to read what I said. I said that I was NOT comparing Iraq to WW2. I simply used the numbers to point out that this country has no stomach for such anymore. You can claim Bush called this to be a short war all you wish but no where did I even come close to makeing any such comparison. I simply stated that this is an instant society and people have no patience for anything long term, I don't care if it is war, solving energy situations, or sitting at redlights. That is exactly why nothing lasting is accomplished anymore.
You are welcome, as I have said in the last two postings, to your opinions and I am sure that as you mature your opinions on many things will change just as mine did.

Here's to your upcoming adventure, my young friend. Cheers (with ice tea of course)