On January 9-13, a first-ever international delegation of former prisoners,
families of current prisoners, US lawyers and human rights activists will travel
to hold a conference on prison abuses and march to the Cuban-side security gate
of the US Naval Base to call for the closure of the illegal prison. The protest
in Cuba is part of the January 11 International Day to Shut Down Guantanamo, the
day that marks the 5-year anniversary of the first prisoners being sent to
Guantanamo.
Cindy Sheehan is included in the list of participants.
The position of this blog is that Ms. Sheehan needs to go to Iraq, not Cuba, if she is to achieve her objective of ending the war in Iraq. Let's say the group going to Cuba is successful in closing the terrorist prison at Guantanamo. How is that going to shorten the war in Iraq? The prison issue is peripheral to the main issue, which is the fighting in Iraq.
Cuba is the wrong choice for Ms. Sheehan. If she goes to Cuba, she will be falling off message and wasting her time. She needs to go to Iraq and speak to Iraqi leaders about peace and reconciliation with a passion and conviction that can only come from a mother who has lost her son.
The Bush administration should help her go there and arrange the meetings for her.
