KELVIN DANG

The war in Iraq has been a topic of debate among many Americans, and especially with one woman in particular, Cindy Sheehan. She believes that her son was sent to fight and die in a war for reasons that have been proven lies. She is not the only one with similar feeling regarding the invasion in Iraq. Many other mothers and families have joined together to let their feeling be heard about the true price of the war. Yes, many Iraqi might not have the chance to experience freedom, but in the end it’s costing many families there love ones. Casey Sheehan reenlisted in August 2003, at the age of twenty-four. He was killed in action on April 4, 2004, just five days after his arrival in Iraq. Casey was killed in a rescue mission in which he and several others were killed. This has lead his mother- Cindy Sheehan- to gather up many supporters outside of George W. Bush vacation home in a peaceful demonstration in order to bring troops home and hold politicians accountable.
Cindy’s protests have been very effective since began her movement in Crawford TX. Approval ratings for Bush have been on the decline and she has been of his biggest problems. Her success has led thousands in many gatherings around the nation. The rapidly dwindling minority of Americans who continue to search for some rationale for keeping U.S. troops in Iraq has been driven to the brink of breakdown by the success of Sheehan’s protest. Cindy’s protests are justified because Bush’s claim of Iraq having weapons of mass destruction has been false. Iraq has been proven not to be an imminent threat to America and there is nor reason for us to be over there. The real war on terror was with Al-Qaeda and Afghanistan and all of the focus was instead put into Iraq. Very little has been gained from this conflict and it will continue at a slow progress for many years to come which leads to many more lives lost. Many lives have been lost in a war that might end up being beneficial to only a select few and it has brought a great amount of grief to many families. On August 17, 2005, Jane and Jim Bright attended a vigil in support of Sheehan, saying “their son’s memory would not be lost in the anti-war movement.� Jim Bright went on to ask, “People are looking inside themselves and saying is this war worth it?� The pro-war pundits who continue to defend the occupation of Iraq are freaked out by the fact that a grieving mother is calling into question their claim that the only way to support the troops is by keeping them in the frontlines of George W. Bush’s failed experiment. Bush backers are horrified that Sheehan’s sincere and patriotic anti-war voice has captured the nation’s attention.
Too many lives have been lost already. Only by continuing to support bringing our troops home and rallying around those who have lost loved ones will put and end to this war. The effort will be well worth in the end.