Anti-war and pro-Bush rallies round out Thanksgiving in Crawford

Anti-war and pro-Bush rallies round out Thanksgiving in Crawford Is it just me, or is it funny that so many in the press see people as "anti-war" versus "pro-Bush"? At least in headlines?

I hate to give Mrs. Sheehan any more air time, but some of this is interesting:

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By Tim Woods Tribune-Herald staff writer

Sunday, November 27, 2005

CRAWFORD – The Thanksgiving weekend came to a close Saturday with opposing rallies in Crawford and a march through the town by a group seeking the United States' support in Africa.

Cindy Sheehan, the anti-war activist and mother of a fallen soldier, led a rally Saturday at Camp Casey II while a pro-Bush group held a rally supporting the president. Sheehan gained notoriety in August when she camped out in a ditch near President Bush's Crawford ranch, demanding a meeting with the president. Her 24-year-old son, Casey, was killed in Iraq last year.

Sheehan's afternoon “Bring Troops Home Now” rally drew about 200 people to the site – a one-acre plot donated by a sympathetic Crawford resident – and featured music, much of it anti-Bush, testimonials from people who have lost family members in the Iraq war, and an oration by Sheehan herself.

The gathering met resistance, however, as about 200 to 300 Bush supporters gathered in the middle of Crawford, about one block away from the Crawford Peace House, and held up signs of support for the president, his decision to stay the course in Iraq, and the troops.

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Gary Qualls, whose request to have a cross bearing his fallen son's name removed from a Camp Casey I memorial in August sparked a pro-Bush movement in Crawford, was on hand Saturday for the Bush supporters' rally.

“We're here for truth and justice,” said Qualls, whose son, Louis Qualls, was killed in Fallujah last fall. “To stand up for the difference between what is right and what is wrong. We just had a congressional vote, and the ones that (Sheehan supporters) thought were supporting them voted to stay the course in Iraq. The for (votes) was 403, the ones that voted against was only three. So, you have three for protesters, 403 for those that believe in truth and justice.”

Qualls also expressed disdain for the Gold Star Families for Peace, an organization founded by Sheehan and her sister, Dede Miller, composed of family members of soldiers killed in action that oppose the war in Iraq. He said that the organization disgraces members of the Gold Star Families organization and taints the memory of family members killed in battle.

“She's a pawn for all the people that don't really respect what America's all about. And yet, they say that they're representing our troops and our people,” Qualls said.

In addition to Sheehan's group and the Bush backers, a group of about 150 Ethiopians, many of whom came from Dallas, marched from Crawford High School through town to draw attention to their request for Bush to send troops to Ethiopia to stop the warring and bloodshed in their country. The group arrived on a charter bus and left peacefully shortly after their march through the town.

Despite the tension in Crawford between Sheehan supporters and the pro-Bush group, Sheehan said she had no choice but to remain upbeat.

After dancing to some protest music, Sheehan predicted that opponents would criticize her cheerfulness....

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