Supporters join mother’s vigil near Bush ranch

SUPPORTERS from all over America have joined the mother of a US soldier killed in Iraq in a roadside peace vigil protest near President George Bush’s Texas ranch.

Dozens of people have joined Cindy Sheehan, 48, of Vacaville, California, and others have sent flowers and food.

“Before my son was killed, I used to think that one person could not make a difference,” she said under a tent in Crawford where she has slept since Saturday. “But one person that is surrounded and supported by millions of people can be heard.”

But Kristinn Taylor, co-leader of the Washington DC chapter of FreeRepublic.com, which has held pro-troops rallies, said Ms Sheehan’s actions were misguided and hurt soldiers’ morale. “She has a political agenda that goes way beyond her son’s death in combat,” Ms Taylor said.

Although a few residents complained about the protesters, no one had been arrested because the group has been on the public right of way, said Capt Kenneth Vanek of the McLennan County Sheriff’s Office.

On Saturday, two high-level Bush administration officials, the national security adviser and deputy White House chief of staff, talked to Ms Sheehan for about 20 minutes. Ms Sheehan called the brief meeting “pointless” and still wants to talk to the president.

Her 24-year-old son, Casey, was killed in Sadr City, Iraq, in April 2004 just five days after he arrived. Two months later, Ms Sheehan was among grieving military family members who met Bush at Fort Lewis, near Seattle, Washington.

Since then, she said, government and independent commission reports had disputed the Bush administration’s claims that Saddam Hussein had mass-killing weapons - a main justification for the invasion.