General Barry McCaffrey Speaks at Ogden Lecture at Brown University
By Pola Rosen, Ed.D.
Hosted by Peg Ogden, Pembroke Class of ’53, the Ogden Lecture at Brown University, named in memory of her brother Stephen Ogden, featured General Barry McCaffrey (Ret.) who quipped that the best introduction he’d ever had was when his son named him as a teacher of “lawn maintenance.”
The general quickly turned to serious matters, underscoring that terrorists funded by criminal organizations are menacing the US and have morphed our nation into one whose primary goal is to protect the Bill of Rights. “Never before has there been such global animosity to US foreign policy” averred the General. “Baghdad is the most dangerous city in the world,” he continued. Sunnis comprise 20 percent of the population and are holding and torturing 80 percent of the population. It is important to remember that the Iraq war is primarily a civil war and the terror in European cities is overstated.
Firmly and emphatically, the General stated his support of the Iraq war, “then and now.” When asked about the ROTC recruiting on college campuses, he said, “I want ROTC on every campus; I want military and education leaders to talk to each other. I feel it’s an honor to serve your country in uniform.”
President Ruth Simmons and Provost David I. Kertzer paid homage to the General as well as to Peg Ogden and the Lecture Series, which now exceeds seventy-five. A grand dinner party followed in the provost’s home with members of the board of trustees, academics and administrators.#
