[O29] Sheehan: "I will not support a pro-war Democrat'

[Keith Rosenthal]

> An Interview with Cindy Sheehan
> The "Ist" Du Jour
>
> By JOSHUA FRANK
>
> Cindy Sheehan is the mother of Spc. Casey Austin Sheehan, KIA 
> 04/04/04. She is
> co-founder of Gold Star Families for Peace.
>
> Joshua Frank: Cindy, why did you decide to hook up with the 
> "antiwar" movement?
> Do you think that it would have been more powerful to continue 
> building a
> family-in-mourning movement of mothers, fathers, wives and husbands 
> of the
> maimed and the slain in Iraq?
>
> Cindy Sheehan: I think those go together, actually. I founded an 
> organization
> called Gold Star Families for Peace; people can visit us at 
> www.gsfp.org. We
> are an antiwar group allied with Military Families Speak Out, 
> Veterans for
> Peace, and Iraq Veteran Against the War. We are antiwar and for the 
> immediate
> withdrawal of all troops from Iraq. Any group that supports our 
> position is
> welcome to join with us.
>
> JF: Many war supporters have furiously denied any link between our 
> foreign
> policy and the risk soldiers are at in Iraq and Afghanistan. Tony 
> Blair has
> denied any link between foreign policy and the summer bombings over 
> in London.
> What do you see?
>
> CS: I think that US foreign policy is totally responsible for 9/11, 
> as well as
> the recent bombings in London. Our policies of killing innocent 
> Iraqis;
> Afghanis; supporting the occupation of Palestine; our permanent 
> bases in Saudi
> Arabia; our presence in Lebanon; our support of the Shah; 
> supporting Saddam and
> giving him the WMDs used on his own people. I think this sort of 
> behavior
> drives hatred toward the US. This is just all my opinion, of 
> course. I am not a
> politician or a military strategist. I am just a citizen voicing my 
> opinions.
>
> JF: What fuels the war in Iraq today is central to our geopolitical 
> interests:
> oil. How do you think this affects our chances as a movement to end 
> the current
> war, compared to what it took to end the Vietnam War?
>
> CS: I think even more than oil, it has to do with the industrial 
> military
> complex that Eisenhower warned us about. They have to keep us 
> afraid of
> something or someone. During the 1950s and 60s it was the 
> Communists. We lost
> that focus in the 1970s ? so the evil Rumsfeld, Cheney and Perle, 
> along with
> the rest of the neocons, kept that alive. With the fall of the 
> Berlin Wall, we
> needed a new enemy; so now it is terrorists ? they are the "ist" du 
> jour. It
> really is impossible to fight "ists" and "isms." You just can?t do 
> it. All we
> get in the end is prolonged, evil, and unnecessary war and death.
>
> JF: The 2006 mid-term elections are right around the corner, and 
> there are a few
> pro-war Democrats up for reelection. The most popular among them, 
> Hillary
> Clinton in New York and Nancy Pelosi out in California. There is a 
> bit of
> speculation rumbling in activist circles that you may be planning 
> to take on
> one or the other in the Democratic primaries coming up. Is this true?
>
> CS: I think Nancy Pelosi is changing her tune, but not nearly fast 
> enough. I
> have met with her a couple of times lately. I am not thinking of 
> running
> against Hillary, or Nancy, or Dianne Feinstein, for that matter. If 
> it were
> anyone, though, it would be Feinstein because I am a Californian 
> and I believe
> she is a despicable warmonger. People have been begging me to run, 
> but I think
> I can do more good on the outside of Washington than the inside.
>
> JF: If the Democrats continue to take the stance they have on the 
> Iraq war,
> mainly supporting the invasion and subsequent occupation -- will 
> you support a
> Democrat in 2008 for President? Or will you stick to your cause and 
> support a
> candidate along the lines of Ralph Nader or an anti-war Libertarian 
> or Green
> Party candidate?
>
> CS: No, I will not support a pro-war Democrat. I will support any 
> anti-war
> candidate, even if [laughter] it is a Republican. There are some, 
> Josh, really,
> it could happen! I regret supporting John Kerry in 2004. The 
> movement gained
> nothing from his candidacy. However, I do think Kerry may be 
> changing his tune
> on the war. The next few weeks will be telling.
>
> JF: Kerry certainly was a warmonger along the campaign trail. What 
> do you think
> is going to change in Kerry's Iraq position, if anything? You've 
> met with both
> Senators Clinton and Kerry recently; do you think either would ever 
> endorse
> bringing the troops home immediately?
>
> CS: As I said, I think Kerry may be changing, but I don't think 
> Clinton ever
> will. This is just my own speculation, though.
>
> JF: What are the most important pressure points you see coming up 
> in the next
> few months for the antiwar movement?
>
> CS: The Iraq referendum and elections are at the forefront. We 
> really want the
> referendum to be successful, but we are not hopeful that it will 
> be. We still
> need to expose the failures of the Bush administration along with 
> those of
> Congress and the media. We?ll need to keep pushing for the full 
> withdrawal of
> troops "now." That is paramount.
>
> JF: How do you think anti-war activists can translate their protest 
> and passion
> against the war into more than marching in circles at a weekend rally?
>
> CS: A lot of people sacrificed a lot to be in Washington on the 
> 24th of
> September. If peace activists really want to make changes they have 
> to start
> putting intense pressure on their elected officials. Of course, 
> everything
> should be non-violent, because we are trying to create a peaceful 
> world and
> violence can't produce peace ? no matter what George W. Bush and 
> his buddies
> say.
>
> JF: What ultimate outcome to your work -- for the war in Iraq, and 
> beyond that
> in America's role in the world -- do you think would be a fitting 
> monument to
> your son Casey?
>
> CS: We need to bring our troops home ASAP. We can?t allow any war for
> imperialism or greed to be fought in our names. This is what we 
> need to keep
> fighting for. Not just for Casey, but for all, on both sides, who 
> have perished
> in this illegal, immoral war.
>
> Joshua Frank is the author of brand new book Left Out! How Liberals 
> Helped
> Reelect George W. Bush, published by Common Courage Press. To learn 
> more please
> visit www.brickburner.org.
>
>
>



		
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