My Children Belong To George Bush

You have to admire Gary Qualls convictions. Mr. Qualls lost his 20 year old son, Marine Lance Cpl. Louis Wayne Qualls, in Iraq last fall. Mr. Qualls has allowed the "pro-war movement" to use his son's name for their encampment in Crawford, Texas. Camp Qualls is the "pro-war movements" counterpart of Camp Casey, where Cindy Sheehan and her "peace movement" hang out.

Gary Qualls is clearly a true-believer. He told reporters that: "If I have to sacrifice my whole family for the sake of our country and world, other countries that want freedom, I'll do that."

Gary Qualls is part of a small movement of supporters of President Bush, who hope to provide some sort of counter to the effectiveness of Sheehan's peace vigil. How effective their pro-Bush, pro-war voices are going to be is hard to determine. By week's end Qualls will be joined by professional anti-liberal, Howard Kaloogian and his anti-Sheehan traveling circus.

In Crawford, Sheehan's supporters are keeping their focus on President Bush, who remains the key to their protest. They see no advantage in trading taunts or battling songs across a field with the "pro-war" crowd. As the Washington Post notes regarding Mr. Qualls:

"He and others at "Fort Qualls" have asked for a debate with those at the Crawford Peace House, which is helping Sheehan.

It's unclear if that will happen. But a member of Gold Star Families for Peace, co-founded by Sheehan and comprised of relatives of fallen soldiers, said her group would not participate.

"We're asking for a meeting with the president, period," said Michelle DeFord, whose 37-year-old son, Sgt. David W. Johnson, was in the Army National Guard from Oregon when he was killed in Iraq last fall. "We don't want to debate with people who don't understand our point of view."

For Cindy Sheehan's vigil and movement to continue to galvanize the nation and nurture anti-war sentiment, she has to stick to her plan. She is in Texas to hold George Bush accountable. People who are willing to sacrifice their whole families to make Iraq an Islamic client state of Iran's should not be engaged in any sort of debate.