The Foreign Service Journal, October 2008

20 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / O C T O B E R 2 0 0 8 resident George W. Bush’s first State of the Union address after the 9/11 attacks is mainly remembered for its denunciation of Iraq, Iran and North Korea as the “axis of evil.” But the president also called on America to show its compassionate side to the rest of the world, to “overcome evil with greater good.” He went on to cite the United States Peace Corps as a key element of this strategy. “America needs citizens to extend the compassion of our country to every part of the world,” Pres. Bush said. “So we will renew the promise of F O C U S O N T H E P E A C E C O R P S T HE P EACE C ORPS AT M IDDLE A GE T HE NUMBER OF P EACE C ORPS V OLUNTEERS HAS GROWN SIGNIFICANTLY IN RECENT YEARS , BUT IS THE AGENCY LIVING UP TO ITS PROMISE ? B Y S HAWN Z ELLER P Philippe Béha