After 12 days camping out with supporters on the roadside near President Bush's ranch in Crawford, TX, Cindy Sheehan announced Aug. 18 she was leaving because her mother in Southern California just suffered a stroke. "I'll be back as soon as possible if it's possible," she said. After hugging some of her supporters, Sheehan and her sister, Deedee Miller, departed for the Waco airport.

Sheehan, whose 24-year-old son Casey was killed in Iraq, said the encampment would continue. The camp has grown to over 100, including many relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq. Sheehan had pledged to remain there until Bush met with her or until his month-long vacation ended. Her protest inspired candlelight vigils across the country the night of Aug. 17.

Two Bush administration officials talked to Sheehan the day she started her camp, and she and other families met with Bush shortly after her son's death and before she became a vocal opponent of the war. Bush has refused her demands to meet with her again.

Michelle Mulkey, a spokewoman for Sheehan, who lives in Vacaville, CA, said Sheehan hoped to be back in Texas within a days. (AP, Aug. 18 via TruthOut)

See our last post on Cindy Sheehan.