Protest Reassembles in Crawford
Opponents of War in Iraq Plan to Remain Near Bush Ranch
By Rosalind S. Helderman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, November 26, 2005; Page A05
CRAWFORD, Tex., Nov. 25 — Cindy Sheehan has returned to the dusty town of Crawford, where she was transformed from a grieving mother into a symbol of the movement against the Iraq war.
She arrived Thursday night to the cheers of supporters and on Friday presided over the unveiling of a permanent sandstone monument in memory of her son, Casey, a soldier who was killed in Iraq in 2004.
As in August, Sheehan’s visit here once again brought out counterdemonstrators. One group stood in the parking lot of the local coffee shop behind a sign reading “Score — Cindy 3, USA 403.” The sign was a reference to a recent House of Representatives vote in which only three lawmakers supported a resolution calling for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
“I think they’re wasting their time,” said John Calahan, a Vietnam War veteran from nearby Clifton. “There are only three who voted with them to run.”
Bush plans to continue to try to bolster support for the war, including in a speech Wednesday at Annapolis that will focus on efforts to improve Iraqi security forces.
How are these wonks going to lie and spin about the eventual troop withdrawal that the pentagon is planning, the one that Condaleeza Rice referred to last week? The one that George Bush will surely float in his speech on Wednesday. If it’s such a bad idea, worth trashing Cindy Sheehan, and John Murtha, what are they going to say about AWOL Bush the coward when he starts the troop reductions? (nothing bad, of course) 
U.S. Starts Laying Groundwork for Significant Troop Pullout From Iraq
By Paul Richter and Tyler Marshall, Times Staff Writers
WASHINGTON — Even as debate over the Iraq war continues to rage, signs are emerging of a convergence of opinion on how the Bush administration might begin to exit the conflict.
In a departure from previous statements, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said this week that the training of Iraqi soldiers had advanced so far that the current number of U.S. troops in the country probably would not be needed much longer.
And why would anyone claim the 403-3 vote as a victory when everyone knows the resolution was a Republican sham that was proposed in an attempt to smear anyone who voted for it anyway. 
