2005 anti–Iraq War protest in Texas
Camp Casey was the name given to the encampment of anti-war protesters outside the Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford, Texas, during US President George W. Bush's five-week summer vacation there in 2005, named after Iraq War casualty US Army Specialist Casey Sheehan.
Arriving on a bus that departed the Veterans for Peace National Convention, Cindy Sheehan walked with the support of Camilo Mejía and other veterans who helped Cindy gain passage when multiple officers of the law attempted to persuade her from advancing beyond the Crawford Texas Peace House Sheehan failed to get a second meeting with President Bush for an explanation of the cause for which her son, Casey, died. Having been turned away, she pitched a tent by the side of the road and announced her intention to stay, day and night, for the full five weeks or until such a meeting is granted. She also promised that, if she were not granted a second meeting, she would return to Crawford each time Bush visited.
Other members of Gold Star Families for Peace and other anti–Iraq War activists joined them, camped in public land, such as ditches by the road.
A local property owner provided them with a place to camp, which became known as "Camp Casey II."
Two weeks after the establishment of "Camp Casey," counter-protestors established their own camp nearby.
Administration Response.
There had been reports that the police had threatened to arrest all protesters on site on Thursday, August 11, 2005, when Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would be at the president's nearby ranch. However, no arrests in connection with the protest were made. President George W. Bush did speak to reporters at his ranch, saying:
I sympathize with Mrs. Sheehan. She feels strongly about her position, and she has every right in the world to say what she believes. This is America. She has a right to her position, and I thought long and hard about her position. 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.
Prior to going on a bicycle ride on his Texas ranch on August 13, 2005, Bush gave journalists and aides a defense of his not meeting with Sheehan stating, as reported by Ken Herman of Cox Enterprises:
I think it's important for me to be thoughtful and sensitive to those who have got something to say. But I think it's also important for me to go on with my life, to keep a balanced life ... I think the people want the president to be in a position to make good, crisp decisions and to stay healthy. And part of my being is to be outside exercising. So I'm mindful of what goes on around me. On the other hand, I'm also mindful that I've got a life to live and will do so.
Sheehan later issued a statement, which among other things outlined the purpose of the protest.
Beyond Sheehan.
When Sheehan had to go to Los Angeles on August 18, after her 74-year-old mother suffered a stroke, she said she would be back when she could and that she would follow Bush to Washington at the end of his vacation. "Camp Casey" remained active in her absence, with over 150 protesters sleeping in tents or cars, and hundreds more participating sporadically. During this time, Bush flew to another state to continue his vacation with a fishing trip. Less than two days later (still during the scheduled vacation), he and his administration began a new public relations campaign to rally support for the war in Iraq. The campaign was primarily set in Idaho and Utah.
Support.
During Sheehan's vigil, a number of organizations and individuals expressed and provided support to the activists at "Camp Casey." One of these was the national organization Veterans for Peace, at whose convention Sheehan spoke just prior to beginning her vigil in Crawford. Members of the organization like Desert storm Veteran Dennis Kyne assisted in the initiation of the "Camp Casey" site. Others were installing and maintaining the Arlington West display there.
The website MoveOn.org announced on August 10, 2005, that it was gathering comments via email to place in a two-page newspaper spread in a Sunday edition of the "Waco Tribune" newspaper in support of Sheehan and her efforts. MoveOn gathered more than 250,000 comments, many of which were included in the advertisement. Tom Matzzie of MoveOn said:
In her grief and bravery, Cindy has become a symbol for millions of Americans who demand better answers about the Iraq war. Though right-wing pundits have attacked her personally, her honesty is unimpeachable. Now more and more mothers (and fathers, brothers, sisters, wives, husbands, sons and daughters) are standing up with Cindy. Please join us, and together, we'll make sure that President Bush can't escape the reality of this war—even in Crawford, Texas.
Supporters pointed out that the Crawford protest highlighted the Bush administration's belief in selective violence and the claim that the President failed to take responsibility for the deaths of those he commanded.
On the week of August 8, 2005, several other groups were reported traveling to Texas to join the protest. Sherry Bohlen, field director of the Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), was one person traveling to Crawford, and said of the protest:
We'll be sleeping in a tent in the ditch along the roadside (the only place that the authorities will allow us to be). I spoke with Cindy by phone again yesterday. She said that local authorities have told her that if we're still there by Thursday we'll be arrested as "national security risks"... She could well be the Rosa Parks of the movement against the Iraq War. Just as Rosa refused to leave the bus, Cindy is refusing to leave the roadside. She's the spark that is igniting the anti-war movement.
On August 9, 2005, Sheehan began writing a blog concerning (among other things) her experience at Camp Casey, her thoughts on the Iraq War, and her response to right-wing criticism of her. It was featured on several websites, including The Huffington Post, Daily Kos, and Michael Moore.com.
She spoke at the laissez-faire Ludwig von Mises Institute, whose founder and president, the free-market capitalist Lew Rockwell, regularly features Sheehan's columns on his website.
Parents of other troops killed in Iraq.
On August 17, 2005, Jane and Jim Bright, parents of slain Army Sgt. Evan Ashcroft, attended a vigil in support of Sheehan, saying "their son's memory would not be lost in the anti-war movement." They also said their son, like Sheehan's son, "was a hero who died for what he believed in." Jim Bright went on to say "People are looking inside themselves and saying, is this war worth it?".
Celeste Zappala, mother of slain Sgt. Sherwood Baker, the first Pennsylvania National Guardsman to die in Iraq, arrived at Camp Casey on August 9 and met with Sheehan. Zappala would become a co-founder of Gold Star Families for Peace, acting as a voice for many of their campaigns and pledging to continue the protest at Camp Casey after Sheehan chose to leave.
Minnesota State Senator Becky Lourey, a vocal critic of the Iraq War and mother of fallen Army helicopter pilot Matthew Lourey, traveled to Crawford to protest Bush's refusal to meet with Sheehan. "There is an isolation here of President Bush from the people," said Lourey. "(and)it seems to me as I am looking around that it is wrong, that a person who makes life and death decisions is insulated from the people who suffer the consequences of those decisions". She also traveled to Crawford to grieve and support her fellow military parent, stating that she wanted to "put her arms around" Sheehan and offer her support.
Lynn Bradach, mother of Marine Cpl. Travis Bradach-Nall, who died from a land mine explosion in Iraq during the summer of 2004, travelled from Portland, Oregon to Crawford to join Sheehan in her vigil. "'I don't want to be a center of anything,' said Bradach. 'But when you strongly believe something, at some point you have to stand up for it."
Karen Meredith, whose son, Army Lt. Ken Ballard, was killed in Iraq in May 2004, defended Sheehan, saying, "Some people are trying to paint her as one crazy woman against the war, and she's not. A lot of people feel like her and want to know what the noble cause is."
Linda Ryan, mother of Corporal Marc T. Ryan, a Marine who was killed in Ramadi, says of Sheehan: "She's going about this not realizing how many people she's hurting. When she refers to anyone killed in Iraq, she's referring to my son. She doesn't have anything to say about what happened to my son," 
On August 15, 2005, Matt and Toni Matula, parents of Matthew Matula, a Texas Marine killed in Iraq, requested that the white cross representing their dead son as a victim of the war in Iraq be removed, stating that they did not wish their son's name to be part of an anti-war demonstration. Mr. Matula said, "It's fine for people to grieve their own way. It aggravates me to see them using other people's names to further their cause."
Natalie Healy, mother of Dan Healy, a Navy SEAL who was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan, organized a rally on August 20, 2005, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to counteract Sheehan's message, stating: "We just want to let the fellas know that we're supporting them and that we're not going to wimp out on them."
Gary Qualls whose son, Marine Corporal Louis Wayne Qualls died in Iraq, started what was dubbed "Fort Qualls" in Crawford, Texas, to counter the "Camp Casey" protests. Qualls stated that he had to keep taking down the white cross bearing his son's name from the Arlington West display set up by "Camp Casey."
Other camps.
That summer the "Camp Casey phenomenon" spread across America and camps were set up in hundreds of places to show sympathy for the Sheehan family. According to Cindy Sheehan, the first one erected was in Chico, California. These camps were sometimes called "peace camps" or named after a local who had died fighting overseas.
References.
 ;templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" / ;