Open Letter to the White House - Cindy Sheehan

Dear Mr. President:

Unlike some of my previous messages to you, this letter should be rather short, since there isn't much to say on the subject.

Your war in Iraq has failed to accomplish any of its goals (and in fact failed to set specific goals at any time). It has devastated whatever security there once was in the region, provoked new acts of terrorism in the West, wreaked havoc on the economy and on the families of servicemen, and made the United States a laughingstock around the world.

Meantime, your war rhetoric seems to come from another planet, one in which things are going well in the Middle East and everywhere. If we were to rely on your words and actions - your endless bizarre claims of victory and progress, your failure to attend a single military funeral for an American victim of your war, and on and on ad nauseum - we would think no American or other national had so much as stubbed a toe in Iraq, let alone died there.


Now, while you relax in your air-conditioned Crawford ranch, Cindy Sheehan swelters at your gate and asks you for no more than a few moments of your time and an explanation of why her son had to die thousands of miles from home in a war that two-thirds of Americans agree you are losing. It seems a reasonable enough request. Your lack of respect for her, and by extension for the troops you claim to support, is breathtaking.

Mr. President, you work for me, and I am giving you an order; invite Ms. Sheehan into your living room for an hour, give her a glass of tea and explain to her and to the rest of us just what in God's name you are doing. You've rested for long enough. Before you settle back down onto your couch for another nap, I want you to earn it, sir.