MichaelMoore.com

Report on Camp Casey III

By Linda Pershing, Camp Casey III participant

Camp Casey III—the peace encampment near President Bush's Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford, Texas, is active again this summer. The camp was named after Casey Sheehan, a specialist in the U.S. Army who was killed in Iraq. As they did last year, people from across the country (and from other nations) are traveling to Crawford to join Casey's mother, Cindy Sheehan, and other activists in their call to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq and end the war. The new campsite is located on land that Sheehan recently purchased. Less than a mile from the center of town, the lot has trees to shade campers from the blazing summer sun and can accommodate many more people than previous camp locations.

This summer, the timing for Camp Casey III and Bush's Crawford vacation has been a game of cat-and-mouse. Since last August, when Cindy and thousands of supporters kept a vigil near his ranch, President Bush has tried to avoid any interaction with Sheehan. When camp organizers announced that they were returning to Crawford last Easter, the President didn't go to his ranch, as he has done in the past. Last summer, President Bush planned to spend five weeks on his vacation in Crawford. After the dates for this month's peace encampment (originally scheduled for Aug. 16-Sept. 2) were posted on the web, White House officials announced that Bush would be vacationing at his ranch only from August 3 to 12. Sheehan then moved up the opening of Camp Casey III to August 6, the one-year anniversary of her original arrival and vigil near Bush's ranch. The new date allowed some time for peace workers to stage their activities while the President, and the press, were still in town.

After flying for 20 hours from Jordan, where she and other peace activists met with Iraqi members of Parliament and NGO leaders, Cindy Sheehan arrived at the new Camp Casey on the morning of August 6th. Reporters, who requested a press conference on the spot, immediately surrounded her. Later that morning, there was an interdenominational service to launch the opening of the new site. Camp participants from many places, including neighboring towns and as far away as Italy, were there to lend their support. Sheehan led a march with about eighty people, many holding banners and signs opposing the war, from the ditch where she originally started her vigil last August, to the entry checkpoint at Bush's ranch. In temperatures topping 100 degrees, they marched to the barricades blocking the entrance, where a bevy of police and what appeared to be Secret Service agents awaited them. Enforcing the new ordinances designed to prevent the protests in Crawford, police ticketed any vehicle that stopped by the side of the road to load or unload passengers. Security agents turned Sheehan away at the entrance roadblock, again denying her request to talk with the President. Marchers then moved across the road, facing the ranch entryway, to begin a vigil. Each afternoon while President Bush was there, Sheehan and other activists stood holding signs and banners that call on the President to end the war and to account for the loss of life. After Bush left Crawford, protestors have continued the vigil at that strategic location. Their banners proclaim their message: "Bush, meet with Cindy" and "Cut and run, but you can't hide."

Since August 6th, campers have continued to come to Crawford to join the vigil and show their support. A mother of three young children spent a day at the camp and brought her kids with her, transporting them around the grounds in a wagon. Barbara Cummings, who is retired and has become a fulltime peace activist, returned to Crawford this August to assist with the organizational aspects of Camp Casey. She plans to stay until the camp closes on September 2nd to help in any way she can. Two young travelers from Louisiana stopped to spend a few days in Crawford during their cross-country drive to California. They explained, "We feel like we have to do something. The war is so crazy. We want Bush to bring the troops home. We support Cindy's efforts to end the fighting, and coming to Camp Casey was our way to do it."

Because the war continues and there was some confusion about the camp start-up dates, organizers are hoping that many more people will come to Crawford during the month to participate. On August 11 Cindy Sheehan was hospitalized for exhaustion, dehydration and some internal bleeding. As of this writing, she planned to spend a few days at the nearby home of a friend, recovering and regaining her strength. She hopes to be back to the Crawford encampment within the week. Organizers are encouraging people to come to Camp Casey by the thousands, as they did last summer, to send a clear message to the President and the media about the public's desire to end the war. Information about Camp Casey is available through the Crawford Peace House: http://crawfordpeace.nfshost.com/.