Yep, Neocon Chris Shays (R, CT) at a town hall meeting this morning in Greenwich, Connecticut actually said that General Petraeus is "our Peace Corps general." Now Shays is so whacky to begin with, and his reasoning so goofy that I couldn't possibly explain to you why he made that statement. But as a former Peace Corps volunteer myself, I'm offended. And although Shays was also a Peace Corps volunteer in Fiji in the late '60's, he should be ashamed of himself.
It is unfathomable to me what sort of mentality could possibly conflate the killing, bombing and destruction of the Iraq War with the efforts of Peace Corps volunteers in developing countries around the world to improve the lives of ordinary people. Does Republican Chris Shays even understand the irony of calling a general of the United States Army the "Peace Corps" general? I suppose that if Ronald Reagan can name an intercontinental nuclear missile "The Peacemaker", then I suppose another Republican conservative like Shays can make an equally idiotic statement like calling the top military commander in the Iraqi theater of war the "Peace Corps general". But to decent, dedicated, hard-working Peace Corps volunteers around the world, past and present, his expression is inexplicable and reprehensible.
I think that was the dumbest thing Chris Shays said today. He said lots of other stupid things, though. For example, he said, "the Iraqis are beginning to like us." That reminded me of the joke about General Custer: Do you know what Custer's last words were? "I think they're friendly."
But one can be humorous about Shays for only a brief moment. Let's remember that April is on pace to be the deadliest month for American troops in seven months. The number of attacks on American forces in Baghdad has reached a six-month high. In the week after Chris Shays returned from his twentieth trip to Iraq, 125 American troops were wounded. But, hey, "the Iraqis are beginning to like us."
Right, Chris. Got it.
Let's hope that Returned Peace Corps volunteers in Connecticut and around the country give Shays an earful for his idiotic and offensive characterization.
(Let's also hope that Connecticut's Returned Peace Corps volunteer organization comes to its senses and doesn't hold its annual picnic at Shays' house this summer).
No comments:
Post a Comment
Useful criticism, helpful links and corrections and general comments are always welcome at Greenwich Roundup. Generally only spam ads and posts with very foul language get censored.
Contact me directly at GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com if you have a suggestion or comment you don't want publicized (but tell me so in your email).
I look forward to publishing your opinions.
COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in the Greenwich community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines. Basically, be civil, smart, on-topic and free from profanity. Don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read!