`Peace Mom' start of anti-war move? ANALYSIS / THE WAR IN IRAQ

[steve2470]

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/20Aug2005_news29.php

By RON FOURNIER

Washington _ What began two weeks ago as a mother's vigil on a country road in Texas has grown into a nationwide protest, putting a grieving human face to the miseries of war and to misgivings about President George W Bush's strategies in Iraq.

It's still not clear whether Cindy Sheehan's effort is the start of a lasting anti-war movement or a fleeting summertime story fuelled by media-savvy liberal interest groups.

Mrs Sheehan said Thursday she was leaving, rushing to the side of her mother in California, who had had a stroke. She said she would be back if possible before MR Bush leaves his ranch for Washington on Sept 3.

While her anti-war backers maintain the vigil in Texas, Republican Party leaders are worried that the so-called ``Peace Mom'' has brought long-simmering unease over Iraq to a boil by galvanising anti-war activists. They fear that protests will strike a chord with the large number of Americans who have long felt uneasy about the war yet have given Mr Bush the benefit of the doubt.

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