Cindy Sheehan: Antiwar Icon

Aug. 18, 2005 — -- In the 11 days since she set up camp just down the road from President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, Cindy Sheehan has gone from grieving mother and average American to the face of the country's increasingly boisterous antiwar movement

When she arrived in Crawford, Sheehan had a seemingly simple, albeit unlikely, request: an hour of the president's time to discuss her son Casey's death in the Iraq war. Now, as her vigil has received more and more notice, hundreds of people have joined Sheehan at "Camp Casey," as the encampment has become known and she has become a controversial icon of antiwar activists.

Being at the center of a political and media frenzy might be overwhelming for a former Catholic youth minister who never considered herself much of a political activist. But Sheehan has grown increasingly comfortable in the spotlight, and despite some biting criticism, she hasn't retreated from her stated goal.

"I've said I'll leave if he met with me, and I'll leave if he meets with me," she told reporters on a conference call on Tuesday.

In addition to requesting a meeting with Bush, Sheehan is now calling for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. She promised to send a similar message if the president agrees to meet with her.

"If George Bush comes out here today or if we leave here at the end of August, this is only the beginning, and we're not going to stop until our troops are brought home," Sheehan said. "I'm a mother out here who has a broken heart that doesn't want any other mothers to have a broken heart."

Like it or not, Sheehan has become much more than just a broken-hearted mom.

Sheehan, 48, grew up outside Los Angeles, one of three children in a tightly knit family. The family kept abreast of the news of the day, but never stressed public activism, according to Sheehan's sister, Dede Miller.