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Monday, Nov. 30, 2009

'Peace Mom' Cindy Sheehan makes stop in Valley

Sheehan and others speak out against military's use of drones in Afghanistan.

FRESNO -- "Peace Mom" Cindy Sheehan and members of CodePINK Women for Peace rolled their protest against the use of drone aircraft in the war in Afghanistan into the San Joaquin Valley on Saturday.

Sheehan, a Bay-area mother who gained national attention when she began protesting the wars after the death of her son in Iraq in 2004, was joined by about 10 Fresno peace activists at the corner of McKinley and Peach avenues near the Air National Guard base.

"People need to know about drones, what they do and how they work and how essentially immoral they are," Sheehan said.

The unmanned aircraft are guided by soldiers sitting at computers at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, she said. "We think it's particularly reprehensible when it's someone controlling a bomber from thousands of miles away," she said.

The "No Drones" bus tour, which started at Travis Air Force Base outside Fairfield and included a stop earlier Saturday at Lemoore Naval Air Station, was timed to draw awareness to an expected increase in troop levels in Afghanistan, Sheehan said.

President Barack Obama is expected to announce this week that he is sending more troops to Afghanistan.

"We don't want him to send more troops. We want him to send home the troops that are there," Sheehan said.

Jean Hays of Fresno, a member of CodePINK and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, joined the demonstration Saturday at McKinley and Peach avenues to protest the use of drone aircraft. It looks innocent, like a video game, but "it's chilling," she said.

Monique Benavente, 19, and friend Daniel Casanova, 23, of Fresno, were walking by the intersection when they saw the anti-war protesters, and joined the demonstration.

Casanova said he has friends who are Marines. He worries they will be sent to Afghanistan. They're in training now, he said. "I think they're going to be part of Obama's 30,000 that's going out there."

Sheehan said fewer Americans now support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "More protests like this, bigger protests like this and I think we'll start to affect policy," she said.

But outside the tour's first stop Saturday at Travis Air Force Base in Northern California, Sheehan said, the bullhorn she was holding was shoved into her face by a counter-protester and war veteran. In Fresno, however, vehicle horns honked in support, which made it hard to hear her remarks.

Joyce Umamoto grew up in Fresno. She was back in the Valley on Saturday as a member of CodePINK from San Francisco. "I've never been honked at with so much support -- ever," she said.

The "No Drones" bus tour peace activists plan to protest at Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nev., this week.