Support and troops keep rolling in to help Cindy Sheehan in her mission to
get President Bush to answer about the war in Iraq.

Scottsdale moms join Crawford anti-war
protest

By Carol Sowers /

Arizona Republic

Determined to keep “the pressure up,” two Scottsdale mothers have joined a
vigil outside the President Bush’s remote ranch near Crawford, Texas where
protestors are demanding that he pull troops out of Iraq.

Sherry Bohlen and Rebecca Bahr, of Scottsdale arrived in Crawford Wednesday
afternoon, joining about 200 people, many of whom are camping in tents on
muddy grounds about a mile from the ranch.

“This is a real pivotal moment in the anti-war movement,” said Bohlen, who
has a son in Iraq. “We want to raise public awareness.”

Bahr, whose daughter is a stateside U.S. Marine, was not available for
comment,

Bush repeatedly has said it is too early to pull out of the war, but said
he sympathizes with families whose loved ones have been wounded or killed in
Iraq.

The protest is spreading to Phoenix, where Bohlen said anti-war groups are
expected to gather at noon Friday at 24th Street and Camelback Road. Much of
the media attention has been on Cindy Sheehan of Vacaville, Calif., who has
been outside of Bush’s ranch since Saturday. Sheehan has vowed not to leave
until the President talks to her about her son. Casey Sheehan, 24, of the
Army’s 1st Batallion, was killed in Iraq on April 4, 2004, five days after he
arrived.

Bohlen’s son, Thor, 36, joined the U.S. Army after the September 11
attacks. She said her son wanted to serve his country but did not expect to go
to war.

“There is nothing honorable about a war based on lies,” Bohlen said, adding
that Bush went to war “knowing there were no weapons of mass destruction.”

And Also:

Iowa mom joins Iraq War protest in
Crawford

By Barb Ickes /

Quad-City Times

After driving 16 hours straight, Caryn Unsicker was understandably
strung-out Thursday afternoon.

Using a borrowed cell phone to call from the Crawford (Texas) Peace House,
the Silvis, Ill., woman’s voice cracked with emotion.

She had arrived in Crawford after midnight Thursday, but made her way to
Cindy Sheehan’s side first thing in the morning.

“There are people from all over the country here,” she reported. “We can’t
all stay here as long as Cindy’s planning to stay, but, hopefully, people will
just keep coming.”

Unsicker is the mother of a Marine who currently is serving stateside. She
made the pilgrimage to Texas to show her support for Sheehan and her
opposition to the war in Iraq, where Sheehan lost a son last year.

Though exhausted, Unsicker was thrilled to see so many other supporters had
pitched their tents right alongside Sheehan’s on the country road leading to
President Bush’s ranch.

“There were probably 150 or 200 people when I left,” she said. “I came to
the Peace House, which is where people come when the heat gets to them.
They’re feeding us, too.”

Unsicker said she stayed around through a Bush news conference and then
took a retreat from the heat before returning to Sheehan’s side later in the
day.

“We’ve got 1,000 crosses we’re trying to get set up, but there’s some
conflict about where we can put them,” she said. “The local police are here
and keeping an eye on things.

“There are people from Veterans for Peace, Gold Star Mothers, Code Pink and
all sorts of groups,” she said. “I’ll probably stay until Saturday and then
start to head back for the Quad-Cities.”

There is talk that President Bush will have to leave the ranch today and
drive past the protestors. Speculation is now that he will take a 
helicopter out of the ranch so he doesn’t have to. Talk about a Coward in Chief.