In Defense of Cindy Sheehan

(See here) an article written by Samuel Bostaph that appears on the Lew Rockwell website.

Since I have been at least slightly critical of Cindy Sheehan here in my blog (see here), I thought I would point to Samuel's spirited defense of her.

I will not claim that Cindy Sheehan does not have the right to speak out. However I too question her use of her son's death to gain publicity while she speaks. Samuel thinks he has this objection covered, as he states:

And, there were those public-spirited correspondents who informed me that Cindy
Sheehan's anti-war protests and speeches betrayed that for which her son lived
and died and thus dishonored his memory - that he died willingly fighting for
his country and his mother was just using his death for her own political
agenda. This mirrored the August 11, 2005, letter from her aunt, Cherie
Quartarolo, and other in-laws, to Matt Drudge that said that Cindy Sheehan was
promoting her own notoriety and personal agenda at the expense of her son's good
name and reputation. Quite aside from the point that one inherits one's in-laws
- for better or worse - one can only respond with a question: "For what did
Cindy Sheehan's son Casey fight and die?"

OK Samuel, just who is to answer the question you ask? Evidently Casey did serve in the military for one reason or another, and from my own experience living on the pitiful wages paid to our warriors, I would say he was not serving so that he could become rich. I would say there must have been something else motivating him. I doubt that he shared his mother's political views or he would not have been found anywhere near a recruiter's office. Since he has been taken from us, we can not ask him that question. Do you really think, considering Casey volunteered to serve, that his mother really knows the answer to the question?

I know that as I served in the military, my own mother wanted me to get out as soon as possible and "come home". As an adult, I made up my own mind, and despite my mother's wishes, I continued to serve. If I had happened to die in some military action, and my mother set out to "right the wrong" as Casey's mother has, well...

One other complaint I have about Samuel's piece is how often he inserts "unconstitutional war" and similar phrases into it. We have had many conflicts fought under circumstances similar to the war in Iraq. Samuel seems to agree with those who think any military action conducted without a formal declaration of war is unconstitutional, however it is my understanding the Supreme Court has never ruled on this, and perhaps has even avoided doing so. If Samuel thinks that he has a strong case, he should take it up with the courts. My guess (not being even a lawyer or judge, only a citizen - so all I can express is a guess) is that he will find his argument rests on shaky ground. That a military action specifically authorized by Congress, even absent a direct declaration of war, is constitutional.