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March 16, 2007

Gen. Pace - homosexual acts are immoral

Anyway, as far as international politics goes, the latest thing to catch my attention has been Gen. Pace's claim that "homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts". On the one hand, this position is clearly offensive - I'd agree with the Human Rights Campaign that Pace's statement is a "slap in the face" for the gay men and women serving the US (and for the gay British and international troops fighting alongside US forces).

However, there's also something a little quaint about Pace's argument - the idea that, after the US (and UK) have instigated the unnecessary and horribly bloody violence in Iraq, Pace's 'traditional' values remain so strong and so narrow that he feels obliged to talk about the immorality of 'homosexual acts' The fact that he insists on making this statement - despite the fact that the US is struggling to recruit enough troops, so now does not seem like the ideal time to discourage gay men and women from joining and serving - only adds to this effect.

Maybe this is a (conscious or unconscious) displacement strategy on behalf of the General - don't think about the bloody failures of US-led policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, think about gay sex instead! Or maybe Pace really believes that - for all the unnecessary deaths associated with US foreign and military policy - gay sex is a much more pressing moral issue to discuss. Either way, there's something almost touching, almost nostalgic, about this ridiculously narrow focus...

Posted by jon_mendel at March 16, 2007 01:50 PM

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