Dublin, Ireland

Dear Democratic Congress,

Hello, my name is Cindy Sheehan and my son Casey Sheehan was killed on April 04, 2004 in Sadr City , Baghdad , Iraq . He was killed when the Republicans still were in control of Congress.

The implication, of course, is that he was killed by vicious Republicans.

Naively, I set off on my tireless campaign calling on Congress to rescind George's authority to wage his war of terror while asking him "for what noble cause" did Casey and thousands of other have to die.

Hatred of oppression is a noble cause in the minds of some of us.

Now, with Democrats in control of Congress, I have lost my optimistic naiveté and have become cynically pessimistic as I see you all caving into "Mr. 28%".

La Pelosi can see Congress' numbers in the tank as well, Cindy.

There is absolutely no sane or defensible reason for you to hand Bloody King George more money to condemn more of our brave, tired, and damaged soldiers and the people of Iraq to more death and carnage.

Sure there is: The determination to win the war against a vicious and tenacious enemy.

You think giving him more money is politically expedient, but it is a moral abomination and every second the occupation of Iraq endures, you all have more blood on your hands.

Has Cindy ever considered that there are buckets of blood splattered over the hands of the enemy? To included the blood of her son?

Ms. Pelosi, Speaker of the House, said after George signed the new weak as a newborn baby funding authorization bill: "Now, I think the president's policy will begin to unravel."

Certainly they're trying, and not even hiding the fact.

Begin to unravel? How many more of our children will have to be killed and how much more of Iraq will have to be demolished before you all think enough unraveling has occurred?

When we started this war there was the possibility of Tarawa-like casualties. That possibility still remains. I am willing to see Iraq pounded to a uniform layer of rubble to defeat the enemy -- and to avoid having our own cities destroyed.

How many more crimes will BushCo be allowed to commit while their poll numbers are crumbling before you all gain the political "courage" to hold them accountable. If Iraq hasn't unraveled in Ms. Pelosi's mind, what will it take? With almost 700,000 Iraqis dead and four million refugees (which the US refuses to admit) how could it get worse?

She's using the inflated numbers so beloved of the left. I haven't seen any data on the average number of Iraqi civilian deaths per day -- the vast majority of which are caused by the insurgency led by al-Qaeda, mind. My feeling is that the figure is something under 100 per day, occasionally spiking higher, sometimes lulling lower. That would produce 36500 civilian dead per year for four years, or 146,000. If someone has the time, maybe he/she/it can come up with a better figure.

Well, it is getting worse and it can get much worse thanks to your complicity.

It can in fact get much worse, and much of the credit for that can go to people like Cindy.

Being cynically pessimistic, it seems to me that this new vote to extend the war until the end of September, (and let's face it, on October 1st, you will give him more money after some more theatrics, which you think are fooling the anti-war faction of your party) will feed right into the presidential primary season and you believe that if you just hang on until then, the Democrats will be able to re-take the White House.

Which is the entire point for the Dems. Winning the war never was.

Didn't you see how "well" that worked for John Kerry in 2004 when he played the politics of careful fence sitting and pandering?

Perhaps it was that obvious fence-sitting and pandering that cost him the election. 'Course, it's part and parcel of his being a phoney.

The American electorate are getting disgusted with weaklings who blow where the wind takes them while frittering away our precious lifeblood and borrowing money from our new owners, the Chinese.

No! Not the Yellow Peril! Anything but that!

I knew having a Democratic Congress would make no difference in grassroots action.

It makes it a little more dangerous than when the Publicans are in power, since the Dems have less objection to the naked use of force to silence those who displease them. All for a good cause, of course.

That's why we went to DC when you all were sworn in to tell you that we wanted the troops back from Iraq and BushCo held accountable while you pushed for ethics reform which is quite a hoot... don't' you think?

Gosh. I agree with Cindy Sheehan. Who'da ever thunkit?

We all know that it is affordable for you all to play this game of political mayhem because you have no children in harm's way... let me tell you what it is like: You watch your reluctant soldier march off to a war that neither you nor he agrees with.

"Even if he says he doesn't, you know he does."

Once your soldier leaves the country all you can do is worry. You lie awake at night barking staring at the moon wondering if today will be the day that you get that dreaded knock on your door. You can't concentrate, you can't eat, and your entire life becomes consumed with apprehension while you are waiting for the other shoe to drop. Then, when your worst fears are realized, you begin a life of constant pain, regret, and longing.

"Oh, why? Why wasn't I a better mother?"

Everyday is hard, but then you come up on "special" days...like upcoming Memorial Day. Memorial Day holds double pain for me because, not only are we supposed to honor our fallen troops, but Casey was born on Memorial Day in 1979. It used to be a day of celebration for us and now it is a day of despair. Our needlessly killed soldiers of this war and the past conflict in Vietnam have all left an unnecessary trail of sorrow and deep holes of absence that will never be filled.

So, Democratic Congress, with the current daily death toll of 3.72 troops per day, you have condemned 473 more to these early graves. 473 more lives wasted for your political greed: Thousands of broken hearts because of your cowardice and avarice. How can you even go to sleep at night or look at yourselves in a mirror? How do you put behind you the screaming mothers on both sides of the conflict? How does the agony you have created escape you? It will never escape me...I can't run far enough or hide well enough to get away from it.

By the end of September, we will be about 80 troops short of another bloody milestone: 4000, and MoveOn.org will hold nationwide candlelight vigils and you all will be busy passing legislation that will snuff the lights out of thousands more human beings.

Congratulations Congress, you have bought yourself a few more months of an illegal and immoral bloodbath. And you know you mean to continue it indefinitely so "other presidents" can solve the horrid problem BushCo forced our world into.

It used to be George Bush's war. You could have ended it honorably. Now it is yours and you all will descend into calumnious history with BushCo.

The Camp Casey Peace Institute is calling all citizens who are as disgusted as we are with you all to join us in Philadelphia on July 4th to try and figure a way out of this "two" party system that is bought and paid for by the war machine which has a stranglehold on every aspect of our lives. As for myself, I am leaving the Democratic Party. You have completely failed those who put you in power to change the direction our country is heading. We did not elect you to help sink our ship of state but to guide it to safe harbor.

We do not condone our government's violent meddling in sovereign countries and we condemn the continued murderous occupation of Iraq .

We gave you a chance, you betrayed us.

Sincerely,
Cindy Sheehan
Founder and President of
Gold Star Families for Peace.

Founder and Director of
The Camp Casey Peace Institute

Eternally grieving mother of Casey Sheehan