ed in Iraq. Over the summer, his mother, Cindy, pitched a tent in front of George Bush's Texas ranch. Others joined what was to become known as Camp Casey. Soon, Cindy Sheehan, a housewife and mature student, was the face of the opposition to the president's Iraq policy - and a target of virulent abuse from right-wing commentators. Now she is in Britain for the first time, joining the anti-war movement here.

"This is the 21st century - killing is barbaric," she says on a taxi ride from Heathrow into central London, having just flown in from New York. "I don't buy into the fact that George Bush and Tony Blair can't be called terrorists because they are elected officials. This occupation of Iraq is killing innocent people by the thousand."

Cindy, who has three surviving children, is weary. She's had to cram her six-foot frame into economy class for the trip, and, besides, her life has become an exhausting series of meetings, rallies, interviews, speeches and anti-war campaigning. She has come a long way from her old life in Vacaville, California - not the sort of place normally associated with political activism. Camp Casey has closed down, at least for the winter, but Cindy remains a powerful symbol of the anti-war movement. Here is a mother who lost her eldest child in a war that was declared, she believes, on dubious grounds. She wants to make sure that the government is called to account.

Her son Casey signed up in the final months of the Clinton era, at a time when there seemed to be little possibility of war in foreign fields. "His recruiter told him that even if there was a war, he would never see combat because he had scored so high in the entrance exam - he'd only be in a support role," says Cindy. "He was a good soldier, he liked being in the army. He only went to Iraq because his buddies were going and they all feel a responsibility for each other."

She has since met many of his fellow soldiers and the sergeant who tried to talk Casey out of going on the mission that killed him. "Casey just said,` 'Where my chief goes, I go', and he left and he was killed. I get feedback from the troops all the time and 99.9% say, 'Keep on doing what you're doing because it's a nightmare here and we want to come home and it's only people like you in the peace movement that give us hope'."

During this trip to Britain, she will address Saturday's International Peace Conference (organised by the Stop the War Coalition), and will also meet members of the Scottish parliament and fellow activists, including Britons who have lost their sons or brothers in the war. Then it will be back to her new home in Berkeley and on with the work for her new book - about how one person can have a political impact by just getting on with it.

She is very unimpressed with Bush's rationale for the war. "He keeps coming up with the same inane speech as though that's going to rally people back to support him. As for his 'national strategy for victory' - wouldn't it have been nice if they had started to plan for that before they invaded in the first place and killed so many brave young Americans like Casey? It's gratifying that America is now opening its eyes and I'm not so wacky and out there by myself any more. We are not the 'extreme' people any more. Look at the polls, George Bush, you're the one who's at the extremes."

The Democrats have also largely been a disappointment, she says, not least Hillary Clinton. "She's very wishy-washy, she's playing the middle because she wants to be president and I look at all the politicians who want to be president and they are basically playing the middle, too," she says. "It obviously didn't work for John Kerry, and I told him: 'If you had come out strongly against the war and said you would start bringing the troops home, you would have won in a landslide'. But he has this memory that he did come out strongly against the war! Howard Dean [the unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic Party nomination] told me the war is a hard issue. No, it's not. Our kids are there being killed and they're killing innocent Iraqis for lies. It's not brain surgery."

Cindy's campaigning work leaves her no time for anything else, she says - something that her other children have had to adjust to. They have been very supportive, though, and recently went to dinner with her and Jane Fonda, another supporter, and Fonda's daughter. Joan Baez has been a frequent and supportive visitor to the camp, as have a surprising array of Republicans, she says. She is not surprised to have been the target of the conservative Fox news channel and others on the right, but is gratified that the mainstream media have given the camp some coverage. "They had been very creative in not covering the anti-war movement up until then."

Cindy is 48, too young to have been involved in the anti-Vietnam war movement. "I remember there was a lot of violence on campuses, which was kind of frightening to me." She is hopeful that the current movement will continue beyond the end of the war in Iraq, and she has been in touch with Iraqis who have lost children fighting on the other side.

"I don't blame the people who killed Casey but the people who brought us into this, who lied and deceived the world," she says. "But the anti-war movement is growing at all levels. Congress is starting to talk about bringing the troops home and you never saw any of that before."

The non-stop campaigning has taken its toll, she says, and Cindy feels in need of a good massage: "I really feel I'm carrying the whole world on my shoulders," she says.

There has been talk of her entering politics herself, but at the moment it does not appeal. "An illegal and immoral war isn't a political issue, it's a matter of life and death, and everybody has to do the right thing no matter what party they are in."

Then she is off for a couple of hours sleep in Muswell Hill, north London, before addressing yet another meeting, and shaking the hands of yet more politicians.

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In the Land of Her Grandmothers

By Raymond Duncan and Cameron Simpson

The Herald UK

Friday 09 December 2005

It was a whistle-stop appearance, but there was time enough for the tall figure, all in black save for the white peace poppy on her lapel, to create a stir.

The minute Cindy Sheehan stepped from the car outside the Scottish Parliament, the 60-strong group of anti-war campaigners, including two other mothers who lost children in Iraq, surged towards her.

The American, who made world news when she set up camp outside President George Bush's Texas ranch demanding that he talked about Casey, her dead 24-year-old son, was on her first visit to the land of her two grandmothers.

"I haven't a clue where they came from," admitted the resident of Vacaville, California, as the protest trail she has blazed across the US brought her to Scotland ahead of a visit next week to Spain.

Mrs. Sheehan, 48, a shiny badge with Casey's face on it pinned to her coat, arrived in Edinburgh fresh from an encounter the night before with Newsnight's Jeremy Paxman, and a reception in her honour hosted by Ken Livingstone, London's mayor.

She told the crowd gathered outside Holyrood, under an overcast sky: "Thanks for being here on this beautiful Scottish day. I'm almost warm."

Announcing that her surname was the Gaelic word for peace, she added: "Thank you so much. You have a lovely country and lovely people."

Among those demonstrators waiting to greet her was Rose Gentle whose son, Gordon, also lost his life in the conflict.

The two met earlier this year when Mrs. Gentle, 42, from Glasgow, flew out to the US to take part in an anti-war march and rally in Washington.

Also there yesterday was Susan Smith, 44, from Staffordshire, whose son, Phillip, was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq. All three took the microphone to launch a fierce criticism of Jack McConnell, the first minister, Mrs. Gentle accusing him of being "a coward and a disgrace to Scotland".

She added: "He will send our sons to die, but he won't come and speak to the mothers. He can't look us in the eyes."

Mrs. Sheehan took up the attack, comparing Mr. McConnell to her president: "They don't have as much courage as our sons did and they don't have the answers to our questions."

The rally over, there was little respite for the American, who was due to address an afternoon public meeting inside Holyrood attended by several MSPs.

There was only a small amount of time for her to cram in a private call on her mobile, a vegetarian lunch of cannelloni, potatoes and broccoli, and a tetchy exchange with one of her escorts who showed her to a toilet with an "out of order" sign.

After grabbing a coffee and a biscuit she entered the meeting room and, flanked by Mrs. Gentle and Mrs. Smith, launched another tirade against President Bush and Tony Blair, claiming they were "mass murderers".

With her schedule running late, Mrs. Sheehan left Holyrood for a meeting in Glasgow with the rallying call: "I'm so connected to you. We are all in this together."

Last night, she was accorded a standing ovation by members of the 150-strong audience who turned out to hear her speak at the Central Hotel. She was introduced by Elaine C Smith, who bemoaned the fact that she had not been accorded any time by Mr. McConnell. "He was too busy having his toenails painted," she said.

Mrs. Sheehan repeated her "all in this together mantra" and thanked Glasgow "for being a noted city of peace throughout the world".

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