Former Texas Rep. Ron Paul has brought down upon himself a storm of criticism due to an intemperate tweet concerning the fallen Navy SEAL sniper, Chris Kyle, allegedly murdered by a former Marine suffering from PTSD.
Paul: 'Live by the sword, die by the sword'
According to the Huffington Post, Paul tweeted the following on the death of Kyle, "Chris Kyle's death seems to confirm that 'he who lives by the sword dies by the sword.' Treating PTSD at a firing range doesn't make sense." Kyle was allegedly murdered by a former Marine he was counseling for PTSD by taking him to a firing range in Texas for shooting practice.
Storm of criticism
The Atlantic Wire reports that an explosion of criticism of Paul's tweet occurred on Twitter, with some people calling into question Paul's sanity and competence as a physician. Paul was an OB/GYN before he became a politician. The story suggests that Paul was flat wrong about Kyle's attempt to help the former Marine by taking him to a firing range, as it constitutes a proven technique for treating PTSD called Prolonged Exposure Therapy, helping the sufferer face his fears and thus making him better able to combat them.
Rand Paul weighs in
Paul's son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, offered a somewhat different assessment of the death of Chris Kyle. According to Breitbart Big Government, Sen. Paul stated, "Chris Kyle was a hero like all Americans who don the uniform to defend our country. Our prayers are with his family during this tragic time." The younger Paul is considered a rising star in the Republican Party and has been seriously mentioned as a possible candidate for president in 2016. His father ran a number of unsuccessful runs for the presidency, the latest being in 2012.
Ron Paul walks back his remarks
Former Rep. Paul has subsequently tried to walk back his original remarks. According to the National Review, Paul wrote the following message on his Facebook page: "As a veteran, I certainly recognize that this weekend's violence and killing of Chris Kyle were a tragic and sad event. My condolences and prayers go out to Mr. Kyle's family. Unconstitutional and unnecessary wars have endless unintended consequences. A policy of non-violence, as Christ preached, would have prevented this and similar tragedies." Paul has been an opponent of foreign wars, including the one in Iraq where Kyle served and became renowned as the deadliest sniper in American military history.
Texas resident Mark Whittington writes about state issues for the Yahoo! Contributor Network.
