More then a month ago I interviewed Cindy Sheehan, but because I too was mourning my son's death and in process of long trip for his funeral, to my dismay and in confusion I lost the transcript of that interview. I have been waiting for appropriate time to contact her again that came upon a column by Greg Szymanski. Astonishingly , both (interview and column) were the same in essence.
Shahram Vahdany

Talks About 'Disgusting' White House Private Meeting With Bush

by Greg Szymanski

Cindy Sheehan has already had her heart ripped into a million pieces by the illegal Iraqi war, losing the son she loved more than life itself only five days after he arrived in Baghdad in April 2004.

There is nothing more painful or more heart breaking than a parent losing a child.

And for Sheehan to lose her 24-year-old son, Casey, must have been like someone taking her very own heart and soul and, without warning, ripping them out and throwing them into the depths of hell.

No one should have to experience such pain, but the cold reality of war is that someone's child actually dies and there are actual parents left living with the hopeless task of trying to cope with the pain.

And anyone with any semblance of a heart and soul knows a mother coping with such a loss needs all the help and understanding she can get.

Anyone with the slightest bit of compassion knows a kind word or a shoulder to cry on helps a mother, who experienced the ultimate loss, get through another day when every day feels like it could be the end of the world.

So when Sheehan received an invitation to meet privately with President Bush at the White House two months after her son died, the least she could have expected was a bit of compassion or a kind word coming from the heart.

But what she encountered was an arrogant man with eyes lacking the slightest bit of compassion, a President totally "detached from humanity" and a man who didn't even bother to remember her son's name when they were first introduced.

Instead of a kind gesture or a warm handshake, Sheehan said she immediately got a taste of Bush arrogance when he entered the room and "in a condescending tone and with a disgusting loud Texas accent," said: "Who we'all honorin' here today?"

"His mouth kept moving, but there was nothing in his eyes or anything else about him that showed me he really cared or had any real compassion at all. This is a human being totally disconnected from humanity and reality. His eyes were empty, hollow shells and he was acting like I should be proud to just be in his presence when it was my son who died for his illegal war! It was one of the most disgusting experiences I ever had and it took me almost a year to even talk about it," said Sheehan in a telephone conversation from Washington D.C. where she was attending a July 4th anti-war rally.

Sheehan said the June 2004 private meeting with the President went from bad to worse to a nightmare when Bush acted like he didn't even want to know her name. She said Bush kept referring to her as 'Ma' or 'Mom' while he "put on a phony act," saying things like 'Mom, I can't even imagine losing a loved one, a mother or a father or a sister or a brother.'

"The whole meeting was simply bizarre and disgusting, designed to intimidate instead of providing compassion. He didn't even know our names," said Sheehan. "Finally I got so upset I just looked him in the eye, saying 'I think you can imagine losing someone. You have two daughters. Imagine losing them?' After I said that he just looked at me, looked at me with no feeling or caring in his eyes at all."

Sheehan said what really upset her about the meeting is that Bush appeared to become annoyed and even angry at her daughter Carley, 25, who also attended the White House get-together.

"My daughter said to him directly 'I wish I could bring my loved one back' and he said something like 'so do we.' Later she told me that after he made his remark he gave her one of the filthiest looks she had ever had gotten in her life.

"I just couldn't believe this was happening. It was so surreal and bizarre. Later I met with some of the other 15or 16 families who were at the White House the same day and, sure enough, they all felt the same way I did.

"It's interesting that they put us each in separate rooms. I heard this was done to prevent any type of group outburst and since it's easier to control a situation when people are separated. Looking back, all I can say is that the meeting with Bush was one of the most disgusting experiences in my life.

"And I even asked him: 'Why did you even bother to bring us here when I didn't vote for you and don't support the illegal nature of your war?' He said it wasn't political but I know it was just another one of his lies, as he probably wanted to be able to say out on the political stump that he wasn't afraid to meet with families who lost loved one's in the war."

Although Sheehan was opposed to the illegal nature of the war from the outset, it wasn't until January that she began to become politically active.

Besides speaking at rallies and becoming known in Washington for her outspoken criticism of Bush, Sheehan formed a group called Gold Star Families For Peace, joining together families who lost loved ones in an effort to expose the illegal nature of the war and to hasten the return of troops still fighting in Iraq.