There have been four failures of this administration: Sept. 11, Afghanistan, Ir

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Tue, 13 Sep 2005 20:10:28 -0400

" There have been four failures of this administration: Sept.

11, Afghanistan, Iraq and now Hurricane Katrina.

 

 

 

 

 

" Our boys were killed by the failed policies of this administration, "

she said. " There have been four failures of this administration: Sept.

11, Afghanistan, Iraq and now Hurricane Katrina. We have to force our

leaders to listen to us. "

 

 

 

 

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05255/569972.stm

 

 

Hundreds join Sheehan in rally against Iraq war

 

Monday, September 12, 2005

By Nate Guidry, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

 

Shielded from the sun by a large tarpaulin, Cindy Sheehan walked to

the microphone dressed in blue denim shorts and no shoes, then blasted

the policies of President Bush.

 

 

" Every time Bush talks he should be removed from office, " Sheehan

screamed into the microphone. " None of the chicken hawks have served

our country the way our children have, " she continued, referring to

Bush and members of his administration who support the Iraq war but

did not fight in previous conflicts.

 

Sheehan, co-founder of Gold Star Families for Peace, and more than 300

others gathered yesterday for a memorial service at Flagstaff Hill in

Schenley Park. That was followed by a candlelight march to Soldiers &

Sailors National Military Museum & Memorial in Oakland.

 

The event was part of the national " Bring the Troops Home Now "

campaign to take the message of Sheehan's 26-day vigil in Crawford,

Texas, to people across the country.

 

Sheehan, of Vacaville, Calif., camped out near Bush's ranch in August,

attempting to get the president to talk to her about her son's death

and the war. Others joined her at " Camp Casey, " named after her son.

She is now on the national tour, which is making its way to

Washington, D.C., for a Sept. 24 rally.

 

The Thomas Merton Center helped organize the event and re-created

Sheehan's encampment on Flagstaff, including crosses representing

troops killed. It was called " Camp Neil " in honor of Lt. Neil Anthony

Santoriello, a Penn Hills native who died in August 2004 while serving

in Iraq.

 

Santoriello's mother, Diane Davis Santoriello, told the crowd that her

son died for a lie.

 

" The Pentagon has failed our troops, " she said. " My son died for

people who are worse off now than before we got there. "

 

Santoriello said she was outraged at the callousness of the Bush

administration.

 

" They betray our troops by not having an exit strategy, not having

proper equipment, and not planning for an insurgency that had been

predicted, " she said. " It seems this administration never plans for a

worst-case scenario. "

 

For her, that worst-case scenario was the detonation of IEDs --

improvised explosive devices -- that killed Neil Santoriello. After

his death, Santoriello said she saw photographs of Neil surrounded by

Iraqi children.

 

" Those pictures haunt me, " she said. " I wonder how many of those

children or their families are still alive?

 

" The Army has a slogan, 'Mission First, People Always!' I am certain

Mr. Bush and Mr. Rumsfeld have not comprehended this slogan. Neil did.

He told me, 'Mom I can't think about politics while I am here. I just

have to take care of my guys.' And he did. All of his men came home,

except him. "

 

Beatriz Saldivar of Fort Worth, Texas, provided an emotional account

of the death in February of her nephew, Sgt. Daniel Torres, in Iraq.

 

" He was on his second tour in Iraq due to stop-loss orders when an

improvised explosive device exploded and hit his unarmored Humvee, "

said Saldivar.

 

Bill Mitchell, whose son Sgt. Michael Mitchell was killed in Sadr City

with Sheehan's son, Spc. Casey Sheehan, encouraged people to continue

to support the cause.

 

" This [war] is illegal and immoral, " he said. " We support the troops.

We are the true American patriots. "

 

Sheehan has clearly become the face of the movement.

 

" Our boys were killed by the failed policies of this administration, "

she said. " There have been four failures of this administration: Sept.

11, Afghanistan, Iraq and now Hurricane Katrina. We have to force our

leaders to listen to us. "

 

(Nate Guidry can be reached at nguidry or 412-263-3865.)