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October 30, 2005, Sunday
Protesters indict war-related lies
1,000 rally on Common
with Cindy Sheehan
By Marie Szaniszlo
A day after the indictment of Vice President Dick Cheney's
chief of staff, a soldier's mother who gained national
attention by keeping vigil outside President Bush's Texas
ranch joined more than 1,000 people yesterday on Boston
Common, demanding an end to the war that killed her son.
"I didn't feel very joyful yesterday because these people
who are running our country into the ground lied, and my
oldest child is dead because of their lies,'' said Cindy
Sheehan, whose son, Casey, was the 615th U.S. casualty in
Iraq. "People are dying every day because of their lies.''
Sheehan was referring to Friday's indictment of I. Lewis
"Scooter'' Libby, one of the Bush administration's most
influential advisers on the invasion of Iraq. Libby was
indicted in connection with the leaking of a CIA operative's
name after her husband, a retired U.S. diplomat, publicly
disputed Bush's claim that Saddam Hussein had tried to buy
uranium from Africa to build nuclear weapons.''
At a speech yesterday in Iowa, Gov. Mitt Romney called
Libby's indictment "very serious,'' but said it would not
force the Republican party to change course or alter its
message.
With the American death toll now above 2,000, President Bush
said yesterday the war in Iraq has required "great
sacrifice,'' but that progress is being made and the United
States must remain steadfast.
"The best way to honor the sacrifice of our fallen troops is
to complete the mission and win the war on terror,'' the
president said in his weekly radio address.
Public support for Bush's handling of Iraq is at its lowest
point, 37 percent, according to AP-Ipsos polling.
Cheney, a chief architect of the war, is likely to be called
as a witness in the trial of Libby who, the indictment
concludes, received information from the vice president, the
State Department and the CIA about covert CIA officer
Valerie Plame.
As snowflakes drifted down from a steel-gray sky over the
Common, Carlos Arredondo spoke of his disillusionment as he
stood next to a flag-draped, makeshift coffin he had propped
against the bandstand, along with his dead son's combat
boots and dog tags.
There was no trace of the burns Arredondo suffered last year
when he set himself ablaze inside a military vehicle after
the Marines came to tell him Alex, 20, had been killed on
his second tour of duty in Iraq. But the father's anger was
still palpable.
"He was being seduced by recruiters since he was 16 with
promises of school, travel, even a $5,000 bonus if he signed
up,'' Arredondo said. "My son was very proud to serve his
country. And I supported him because that's what families
do.''
Herald wire services contributed to this report.
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