"BLITZER: Many of Cindy Sheehan's supporters credit her with giving new life to the anti-war movement. Many of her critics accuse her of politicizing her son's death in Iraq. Cindy Sheehan has a new book that's just come out. It's entitled "Not One More Mother's Child." Cindy Sheehan is joining us now live from New York.
Cindy, thanks very much for joining us.
CINDY SHEEHAN, ANTIWAR ACTIVIST: Thank you for inviting me.
BLITZER: Well, what do you say to those critics who say you're exploiting your son Casey's death in Iraq?
SHEEHAN: Well, it's not about politics to me, Wolf. Casey was a living, breathing human being. And I have criticized leaders on the left or Democratic leaders as much as leaders on the right for getting us into this mess and for not speaking out against it.
To me, it's not about right or left, it's about right or wrong and flesh and blood. And all I'm trying to do, and since my son has been killed, all I've been trying to do is end the occupation of Iraq so no other families or mothers have to go through what I'm going through.
It's not about politics or exploiting anything. It's about getting the fact out that killing people to solve problems is barbaric. And nobody wants it to happen to them what has happened to my family.
BLITZER: I know you've been very critical of the president and his advisors. We all remember the protests outside his ranch in Crawford. But you correctly point out, you've also been critical of Democrats, including the junior senator from New York state, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.
SHEEHAN: Right.
BLITZER: What are you criticizing her for?
SHEEHAN: Well, she believes that the war is a mistake. She believes that she was lied to and that the president is mishandling it, but she is not calling for a withdrawal of the troops. To me, it's not rocket science. Our troops are over there because of lies and betrayals. They're being killed, innocent Iraqis are being killed.
And to me, I side with people like John Murtha who say they're not the solution. Our military presence there is not the solution, it's a problem. And we have to get our kids out of there. And I wish she would come out and vocalize that point if she knows that it's a mistake.
BLITZER: But it's not just her, it's John Kerry, it's Joe Biden, it's Joe Lieberman.
SHEEHAN: Right, right.
BLITZER: A lot of mainstream leaders of the Democratic Party say, "Yes, there were mistakes, plenty of mistakes that were made, and maybe the U.S. should not have gotten into this war to begin with, but the U.S.," in their world, "simply can't cut and run right now."
SHEEHAN: And I totally disagree with that point. I believe that it's time for us to get our military presence out of there, send in an army of diplomats, help them solve their problems, and rebuild their country. But we don't need our military there to do that.
And I disagree with the Democratic leadership who keeps on saying those points over and over again. John Kerry came home and said, "How can we ask a soldier to be the last one to die for a mistake" when he came home from Vietnam.
I asked him about that this time. And he knows that it's wrong, and we need to come out and just start saying. We need to back up people like John Murtha, who are true American patriots and true American heroes, as is John Kerry, and say, "Let's get our kids out of there."
BLITZER: In the new book that you've just written, "Not One More Mother's Child," throughout the book, and I've gone through it, you repeatedly refer to the president as George.
SHEEHAN: Right.
BLITZER: And a lot of people will come away from that and say, "You know what? She can oppose the president's policies, but that seems so very disrespectful of the president of the United States to simply call him George, even if he calls you Cindy."
SHEEHAN: He called me Cindy, he called me mom. His lies and deceit of the American public in the world killed my son. I don't believe that we respect somebody just because of the office they sit in. I think they have to earn our respect. And once a president lies to the American public, I don't think he deserves that title. And, you know, his lies are responsible for killing my son.
BLITZER: Was your son supportive of this war when he went off to Iraq?
SHEEHAN: No, he wasn't. He didn't believe that the president, or George, was using he or his buddies wisely. And I begged him not to go, and I think I've told you this story before. I said, "Casey, I will take you to Canada. I'll run you over with a car. But please don't go because you know it's wrong."
And he said, "Mom, I have to go. My buddies are going." And he was there for five days and he was killed saving the lives of his buddies. But, Wolf, my question is, why were and of them there in the first place?
BLITZER: Cindy Sheehan's got a new book out entitled "Not One More Mother's Child." Cindy Sheehan, our heart goes out to you, our condolences once again for the loss of your son. There's no greater tragedy in the world. Thanks for coming into THE SITUATION ROOM.
SHEEHAN: Thank you."-from CNN, via AfterDowningStreet.org.
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