Photos From the Vigil for Cindy Sheehan

As Cindy Sheehan camped outside of George W. Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, waiting for answers from the president as to why her son Casey died in Iraq, citizens in dozens of cities across the country held their own peaceful protests against the war, calling for the safe return of American troops. Hundreds of Austinites gathered at the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge above Town Lake Wednesday night to stand in solidarity with Sheehan and demand an answer to the two-part question she keeps asking: What is the U.S. doing in Iraq, and when will its troops return home? Sheehan left her site Thursday to tend to her ailing mother, but with dozens already at Crawford, and more arriving daily, expect vigils like the one pictured below to continue until America leaves Iraq.

For more on the vigil at Crawford, visit www.truthout.org/cindy.shtml. To read Sheehan's Daily Kos diary, go to www.dailykos.com/user/CindySheehan. To read the text of Sheehan's powerful speech to the 2005 Veterans For Peace convention, please visit www.veteransforpeace.org/convention05/sheehan_transcript.htm