Cindy Lee Miller Sheehan (born July 10, 1957) is an American anti-war activist, whose son, Casey, was killed during his service in the Iraq War on April 4, 2004. She attracted international attention in August 2005 for her extended demonstration at a camp outside President George W. Bush's Texas ranch, garnering her both support and criticism. On July 23, 2007, after President Bush's reduction of the sentence of Scooter Libby, Sheehan announced that she would run against Speaker Nancy Pelosi, because Pelosi did not introduce articles of impeachment against President Bush. On August 8th, 2008 she qualified for the ballot, as an independent candidate for Pelosi's congressional seat.

Anti-war campaign

Sheehan states she initially questioned the urgency of the invasion of Iraq, but did not become active in the anti-war effort until after her son's death.

Sheehan and other military families met with Bush in June 2004 at Fort Lewis, near Tacoma, Washington, nearly three months after her son's death. In a June 24, 2004 interview with the Vacaville Reporter published soon after the meeting, she stated, "We haven't been happy with the way the war has been handled. The President has changed his reasons for being over there every time a reason is proven false or an objective reached." She also stated that Bush was "... sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis... I know he's sorry and feels some pain for our loss. And I know he's a man of faith."

Sheehan gave another interview on October 4, 2004, stating that she did not understand the reasons for the Iraq invasion and never thought that Iraq posed an imminent threat to the United States. She further stated that her son's death had compelled her to speak out against the war.

During the Presidential Inauguration in January 2005, Sheehan traveled to Washington, D.C. to speak at the opening of "Eyes Wide Open: the Human Cost of War", a traveling exhibition created by the American Friends Service Committee that displays pairs of combat boots to represent every U.S. military casualty. There she met others who lost family members in Iraq, and together they planned to create an organization for similar families. Sheehan wrote about the experience in a commentary article. She was also a featured speaker when the exhibition opened in San Diego in March 2005 and traveled with the exhibition to other locations. "Behind these boots is one broken-hearted family," she stated as she donated her son Casey's boots to travel with "Eyes Wide Open" when it stopped in San Francisco later that month.

Sheehan is one of the nine founding members of Gold Star Families for Peace, an organization created in January 2005 that seeks to end the U.S. presence in Iraq and provide support for families of fallen soldiers. As of August 2005, at least 63 other relatives of fallen soldiers are listed as members.