Grieving mom mars Bush holiday

2005-08-15 12:38

Jean-Louis Doublet

Crawford - The determined protest by the mother of an American soldier killed in Iraq has given United States President George W. Bush little escape from politics during an August vacation at his beloved Texas ranch.

Barely two weeks into Bush's holiday, the ongoing vigil by Cindy Sheehan outside the gates of the president's Prairie Chapel ranch against the Iraq war has captured the attention of a nation increasingly uneasy with the course of the war.

Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in April 2004 five days after he arrived in Iraq, launched her protest a week ago with a demand to meet Bush and a call for the US to withdraw its 138 000 troops from Iraq.

"I want Bush to stop using my son's sacrifice to justify the killing," said Sheehan, 48.

Growing support for silent vigil

By Sunday about 200 others had joined Sheehan's growing silent vigil at the site they were calling "Camp Casey", after Sheehan's late son.

Protestor Jean Prewitt, whose son Kelley was also killed in Iraq in April 2003, admitted she supported the war at first.

"I still did, until about December 2003 - even if my son was killed - until we found out the reason we started (the Iraq war) was a big lie," Prewitt said.

The demonstrators have also planted some 500 white wooden crosses on the road to Bush's ranch, each with the name of a US soldier killed in Iraq. They have called the installation "Arlington in Crawford", a reference to the Arlington National Cemetery for soldiers in Washington.

While the Bush administration anxiously awaited the finalisation of a draft constitution in Baghdad by Monday's deadline, the protest appears to underscore a decline in Americans' support for Bush's Iraq policy.

With the death toll of US soldiers in Iraq now having surpassed 1 845, recent polls show more than 60% of Americans feel Bush is mismanaging the war.

Rude awakening for sleepy town

The growing protest has disrupted life in this sleepy, sun-parched town of 750, with police putting up signs warning of heavy traffic and, on Sunday, one of Bush's neighbours taking his frustrations out by shooting a gun into the air.

Larry Mattlage, who lives next door to Bush, fired his shotgun twice before complaining about the crowds of protestors, media and government security officials occupying the road outside his own residence.

Mattlage insisted the gunshots were just him "getting ready for dove season".

Bush could hardly have missed seeing the protestors as he ventured out from his ranch. On his way to and from a political fundraiser, his motorcade sped past the roughly 50 demonstrators gathered behind Sheehan.

But through Sunday, the president continued to refuse to meet with Sheehan.

"Listen, I sympathise with Mrs Sheehan. I've heard her position from others, which is: 'Get out of Iraq now.' And it would be a mistake for the security of this country and the ability to lay the foundations for peace in the long run if we were to do so," he said.

- AFP