Odd Juxtaposition
The New York Times reported yesterday, “[Defense Secretary Robert] Gates arrived in Iraq. . .to urge accelerated efforts to reach a series of political benchmarks to lower tensions among Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds (G.I.’s in Iraq Open Big Offensive Against Al Qaeda.)
[General Petraeus] said troops would continue operating in neighborhoods of Baghdad to calm Sunni-Shiite tensions and “ensure that fault lines do not once again produce a spiral of violence.”
In the sidebar to this story, the most emailed article for the day regarded meditation in public schools (In the Classroom, a New Focus on Quieting the Mind.) The article says a Miss Megan teaches loving kindness and mindfulness to kids in Oakland schools.
Student Tyran Williams defined mindfulness as “not hitting someone in the mouth.”
Alex Menton, 11, said “I was losing at baseball and I was about to throw a bat. The mindfulness really helped.”
Mind you, I am not hopeful. It is just a wry article positioning.
--Lisa
Labels: army as calming device
posted by rangeragainstwar at 7:05 PM
8 Comments:
"...I wonder if I am the only one thinking that people outfitted as combat troopers might not be the best bet to calm tensions..."
You may be wrong, Ranger Jim. If my name was Abdul bin Rashid and I was going to cop up my 47 and go out and cap ole Ibrahim bin Shia, and opened my door to see SGT MoFo and CPL ComeGitIt with his 249, I'd probably close the door and go back to bed.
The problem, as I see it, is we just don't have enough troops to station two outside every door.
But, yes, leaving aside wry commentary, the juxtaposition was interesting.
Maybe Miss Megan would like a job as Ambassador to Baghdad. Or, hell, maybe just to run a counseling service in DC.
lurch,
I see your point on the deterrent value of mega-patrols. Blame my missing this on my naivete.
But of course, policing the neighborhood brat pack isn't the best use of the U.S. military, as I see it. Unless of course, you stand to gain from having this gratis protection, like say, you're in the contracting business. . .
lurch,
From jim:
The us can't put combat soldiers outside of all the doors in the world. What's the point in forcing them to accept our p.o.v. enforced by m249s.
What are we doing? What are we accomplishing?
i think it was george carlin (or maybe even mort sahl) back in the 60's who commented on the governmental penchant for calling combat troops "peacekeepers." seriously, if you want peace you would send the hippies, or the quakers, or the amish. you certainly wouldn't send a bunch of teenagers with automatic weapons.
minstrel boy,
Yes, Mort Sahl, Dick Gregory--one or many of them.
We love our euphemisms. Truth can be so ugly, at times. More correctly put, it can be harsh.
However, more ugly is to live under pretty lies and deceit.
Lisa
Speaking of Dick Gregory, wasn't it him who said,if you want to stop the war in Viet Nam, all you have to do is boycot Christmas?
trip wire,
Thanks for that one.
Our comics seem to be the only ones with enough irreverence to cut through it all.
Today, it is Jon Stewart and S. Colbert who do the job.
--Lisa
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