Code Pink & Syria
As Secretary of State John Kerry testified before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs regarding the possibility of a US attack on Syria, protesters from Code Pink stood in the background with their hands (painted red to signify blood) raised in silent protest. They also wore the words, “US Out of Syria” on their shirts.
I find it very distressing to discover that I agree with Code Pink on something. This crisis is certainly creating some strange bedfellows – I’m even on the same side as Alan Grayson on this issue!
My first and only encounter with Code Pink occurred in July of 2005, when I was chaperoning a student trip to D.C. The day we were scheduled to visit the Supreme Court just happened to be the day that John Roberts’ nomination to the Supreme Court was announced. Code Pink was marching in front of the court building protesting the nomination based on – you got it – preserving the “right to choose.” How ironic. Now the red hands make sense.
According to their website, “CODEPINK is a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end U.S. funded wars and occupations, to challenge militarism globally, and to redirect our resources into health care, education, green jobs and other life-affirming activities.” (Life-affirming? How can they say that without laughing?)
And before we get too excited about a Leftist group coming over to the Right side of things, let’s not forget who these people are. Remember the protesters in the pink vagina costumes? Those lovely ladies were from Code Pink, demanding free abortions (which you pay for) and free birth control (ditto). Life-affirming? I guess it depends on whose life you are talking about.
The anti-war group also has participated in celebrations of Roe vs. Wade, with activist Liz Hourican explaining, “With regard to the war and this issue, it’s very much the same thing.” I would agree, but I’m sure I do not mean the same thing she does.
In other life affirming actions, Code Pink has worked with Hamas, offering them help in their campaign to overthrow Mubarak government. They have also been associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, whose growing power in Egypt has worked out well (especially for Christians). In addition to those two stellar (terrorist) groups, Code Pink has supported and/or met with Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, Hugo Chavez…all known for their “life-affirming” views…
Code Pink’s ultimate in life-affirming activities, however, has to be the years they have spent stalking and harassing wounded soldiers and their families at The Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. Rather than thanking our wounded warriors and finding ways to support them, they posted themselves at the main entrance of the hospital with signs saying “Maimed for Lies” and “Enlist here and die for Halliburton.” They have gone so far in their “support” for the lives of our soldiers that they told one Gold Star Mom, “Your son deserved to die.”
Despite the fact that I agree with Code Pink that we should not go to war in Syria, we each come to that stance from a very different position. I believe we have no business wasting any more time, money and lives trying to control what happens in the Middle East. Code Pink just hates our military, and, frankly, our country. We need to be careful whom we get in bed with, politically and one thing is certain: Code Pink is not our friend.
