Anti-war camp sold as peace site

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US peace campaigner Cindy Sheehan is selling her protest site near George W Bush's Texas ranch to a radio talk show host, who has promised to preserve it.

Ms Sheehan is selling the five-acre (two hectare) site in Crawford to Bree Walker, who says she wants to keep the land accessible to protesters.

A group supporting the US intervention in Iraq, Move America Forward, had announced plans to try to buy the land.

Ms Sheehan, whose son died in Iraq, was a key member of the anti-war campaign.

She had camped outside President Bush's ranch since 2005, demanding a meeting over the death of her 24-year-old son, Casey, in Iraq.

But two weeks ago, Ms Sheehan announced that she was abandoning her anti-war fight.

She cited her growing disenchantment, hitting out at Democrats and anti-war campaigners who put "personal egos above peace and human life".

Bree Walker, who hosts a talk show on a Los Angeles-based radio station, said she wanted to keep the site accessible to families of soldiers and others who want to protest against the war.

"I'm going to have native prairie grasses planted on the plot and create some kind of peace memorial that can include the name of fallen soldiers and injured soldiers," Ms Walker was quoted as saying by the AP news agency.

Move America Forward had expressed interest in buying the land to erect its own monument.

Large bills

Ms Sheehan had planned to sell the land on eBay but dropped the idea after getting the offer of $87,000 (£43,000) from Ms Walker.

The land is about 11km (7 miles) from President Bush's ranch.

Ms Sheehan became a "postergirl" for the US anti-war movement after she set up her protest camp outside the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas in August 2005.

She said she had spent all the money from the survivor's benefits paid for her son's death and everything she earned from speaking and book fees and that she owed large hospital bills.

She said her son Casey, who died in Baghdad in April 2004, was "killed by his own country which is beholden to and run by a war machine that even controls what we think.