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5A OPINIONS/tE|e Charlotte $o«t Thursday, January 4, 2007 Political economy of victory in Iraq The concept of “victory^’ that Geoi^e Bush is pursuing in Iraq is fallacious for a number of reasons that I could speU out, but I want to concentrate here on just one, the eco nomic cost- The rate spending for the Iraq War has now exceeded that of Vietnam, which is $8 billion per month and it is growing exponentially: For example, the successive addi tion to the budget brought the total cost to $436 billion, and last October anoth^ supplemental in the 4^^ budget added $70 biUion, bringing the cur rent total to $506 billion. But it doesmt stop there, another increase of $130-$160 biUion is being considered to ramp up sending American personnel over to do training. That will bring the total up to $700 biUion if it passes in 2007, but out in the distance, there is the possibility of a deci sion by Bush to beef up American forces by another 30,000 troops that wUl cost even more. Where do the Democrats stand on this scenario? Ts begin with, Nancy Pelosi made a monumental mistake by declaring that Democrats would not withhold funding for “the troops” - in other words, they would support the increases that are on the table and perhaps more. This commitment merely foUows the Bush administration con cept of equating support for funding the troops to funding for the war itself Let us be clear, the troops are merely the instrument for a policy and should not take precedence over the poHcy itself The Bush people have artfully used the troops as a shield to protect them, while they pursued a corrupt, immoral and badly flawed pohcy in Iraq. One major reason why Democrats should have commu nicated to the American people their lack of support for fur ther funding for the war is that they have been placed in a box by the departing R^ublicans. The Repubhcans have completed only 2 of 11 spending bills and because of that, passed a law funding the government at the current level imtil February of 2007. But because it is reported that Democrats wdl extend funding at the same levels to cover the rest of the year, it is an act that will amount to cutting many domestic pro grams. This budget scenaiio would appear to non contrary to the so-called ilOO hour agenda,! some of which will have financial implications, like cutting college costs by restor ing the funding for Pell Grants, passing the Minimum Wage, fixing the prescription drug benefit program and the like. If the Democratic leadership very little can be ejq?ected in the way of new or significant initiatives that cost money as long as they are wedded to funding the increasing cost of the war in Iraq. live said that despite the fact that Democrats won control of the both houses of Congress, there will probably be very little done, because of the cau tious political and issue environment they also inherit. Tb make a mistake over the mandate given Democrats by the American people could cost them control of not only the Congress, but the White House as wdl, so they want to appear to be cautious with the biggest issue in the coimtry Here, it is notable that Richard Nixon did not stop the War in Vietnam, he was busy following his own concept of ivictorja for six years when he was impeached in 1974 over Watergate, even though Lyndon Johnson had annoimced a pohcy rif“Vietnarruzation” in 1968. It took the Congress to stop the was by passir^ Foreign Assistance Act of1974 cut ting off funding to the South '\hetnam government which started the wheds rolling toward closure. Absent control of the White House, Congress becomes the only tool that Democrats have in 2007 for being accomtable to the over- wbplming vote of Americans to close down this fiasco in Iraq. But they must have the courage to act. But by agreeing to continue to fund the troops, Democrats buy into the proxy for funding the war and now become part of the problem. By pursuing this course, they could not only weaken the position of their party in fiiture elections, they could also place the constituaides of the party who need policy changes for health, education, income and other things in an unnec^sary limbo as well. I see no recourse to bold action that wfil break Bush’s fi-antic search for a illusive “victory” and “success” while Democrats only criticize but essentially foUow. The only question with this failed war is by what agency will it be brought to a close and how long Americans continue to buy the hollow promises of ivictoryi and isuccessi that stretch out our commitment until substantial fives and material resources are lost. RON WALTERS is the Distinguished Leadership Scholar. Director of the African Ainerican Leadership Institute, and Professor of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland College Park. Connect with I^OSt Send letters and editorials to The Charlotte Post, P.O. Box 30144 Charlotte, NC 28230 or e-mail editorial@thecharlottepost.com. We edit for grammar, clarity and space. Include your name and daytime phone number. Editorials should be limited to 500 words and sub mitted by e-mail only. Correspondence and photos will not be returned by mail unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. A black economic symphony redux After 13 years of writing hundreds of articles, which started yet another journey on what sometimes appears to be a quixotic traipse across a barren landscape in search of economic empower ment for black people, if I had to select five of my favorite articles, “Economic Symphony” would definitely be one of them. Slightly modified for this occasion, the ‘Economic Symphony” still sounds great. Imagine black people writing and playing our own brand of eco nomic music. We would call it our economic symphony orchestra. Imagine the beautiful harmonious sounds of black people working together in support of one anoth er? Wouldn’t it be great to compose our own col lective economic music for a change? Wouldn’t it be wonderful for a million black people, all playing fium the same sheet music, moving in unison toward a common goal, and giving a command performance on the worldis stage? I can see it now. The Maestro (or Maestros) rais es his or her baton to begin the performance. All of the players are prepared and well rehearsed. We all know our individual parts. The audience waits with pitched anticipation for the show to begin. The first sound we hear is a booming resonation similar to the beginning of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony The conceil has begun. The director motions for the violins, the lead group, to do the opening - to explain our economic strategy These are our “authentic” black leaders and our dedicated ‘black” economic empowerment organizations. The Maestro then brir^ in the French horns, the community organizers, to sound the alarm among the masses. They continuously encourage us to create wealth by developing new businesses and supporting those we already have. They promote responsibility and integrity among ^ our business owners toward their consumers. The cellos, our elders, play a back-up role to the violins, reiterat ing the message at a slow gaitle pace. The reed section, our teach ers and professors, make a smooth transition up to the next octave and pass the economic message on to the trumpets: our youth. Loudly and boisterously, our young people play thdr parts with verve, and it becomes just as important to them as rap music. As a matter of fact, they begin to compose their own brand of eco nomic empowennent rap music! By this time everybody is playing. The strii^ bass and the drums, om “true” ministers, are strumming and pounding out tire timing pattern, maintaining our focus on the mission at hand. Oboes and bassoons, our unsung heroes and ishe-ro^ that work hard but get little attention, ai-e steadily doing theu- thing. The aucfience has to really concenti'ate to hear them or even see them but they are there, just as Harriet Tbbman was there in the dark ness doing her thing. The trombones and tubas, our strong black fathers, are belting out directions, taking their proper places in leading their families. The harps, our mothers, provide the beautiful melodies, soothii^ to our ears yet strong, supporting, encouraging, and urging us to go on n to play our music louder fi to move to bigber octaves. The flutes and piccolos, our beautiful children, merrily play their parts, dashing in and out but gainii^ more knowledge of their roles with each note they play Our economic symphony has indeed begun, and ^ a rousing suc cess. We get a standing ovation and set out on a world tour that will run for the next 100 years. We play our music without malice toward one another; we play without being jealous of who is get ting a lead solo; we play without envy and without emphasis on our own individual accomplishments. We play with the imder- standing that if each of us plays our part well, we will all be suc cessful. The Bring Back Black Economic Symphony is coming to your dty Make plans to take up your instrument and play your p^. You may not think you can play well enough to be in the orchestra, but imderstand that the larger the orchestra the more accommo dating it can be toward the less talented. Those who have more tal ent will cover for those of us who are less talented. (Remember: ‘Whoever gathers much will not have too much, and whoever gathers little will not have too little.” Exodus 16:18) Take your seat in our economic orchestra and plan to play for as long as you are physically able to do so. When the going gets tough you mi^t move fiom one of the heavier more difficult instruments to an easier one, but keep on playing, please. I started out with a tuba, but I have moved on to the piano. Whatever instrument youire playing, donit stop luitil you hear the sound of the mighty cymbals. We must cooperate or we are lost. Heed to the words of two old Maestros: Jews support Jews; Germans support Germans; Italians support Italians. Negroes should now support Negroes. Instead of constantly appealing to Whites, Negroes should create their own opportunities. What a mighty power we will be who! we begin this, and we shall never be a mighty power until we begin.! Fred Moore, National N^ro Business Le^ue Organizer, 1900 “We must demonstrate our capacity to cooperate among ourselvesOSomehow we must learn this very fundamental lesson. It will be costly there wfil be some loss in the process, but we must keep it up until we have developed people of definite capacity and unquestioned integrity, who can lead the way to larger achieve ments for the... whole race.” R.R Moton, President, National Negro Business League, 1928 If we play our parts in this Economic Symphony I know we will be a big hit. It will be the talk of the town. It will lead us to true economic empowerment- And that’s music to my ears. JAMES E. CUNGMAN. an adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati’s African American Studies department, is former editor of the Cincinnati Herald newspaper and founder of the Greater Cincinnati African American Chamber of Commerce. He hosts the radio program. ' 'Blackonomics, ” and has Mritten several books. Ethiopia and Eritrea: Stay out of \ Somalia’s business The Horn, of Afiica is once again on the edge. After years of chaos and warlord-ism, an ultra-conservative Islamist movement known as the Union of Islamic Courts has begim to unify Somalia. This unification via the whip, reminiscent of the approach of the Taliban in Afghanistan in the early 1990s, is linked to a mythical view of fundamentalist Islam coimterposed to the terror that the Somali people have experienced since the 1991 overthrow of long-time dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. The ironies in Somalia are many Most of the rest of the world was pre- ; pared to rest contmt while Somalia degenerated into clan and warlord chaos for most of the last fifteen years. As long as any business could be con ducted, the West paiticularly turned a blind eye to the misery of the Somali people. Only with the rise of the right-vring Islamist movement known as the Union of Islamic Comls, and allega- tionsonever provenoof ties vrith A1 Qaeda, did a buzz of concern begin to spread about what could unfold. Since the overthrow of Barre thero have been count less attempts to resolve the turmoil and create a new national government. Each effort failed. A transi tional government, established through lengthy negotiations, held out the hope of peace, but its base within Somalia was always weak, so weak in fact that for quite some time they did not locate them selves within Somalia. Thus, it should have been no surprise that a move ment would rise, promising stability and orda-. The fact that this movement is highly repressive and seeks to criminalize much of the behavior that has be^ part of Somali sodetyosuch as films and certain musicoshould also not surprise anyone since desper ate conditions often lead to desperate and irrational decisions. What is clear is that the Somali people have been looking for a cessation of the clan warfar'e and many of them were and are willing to accept any thing that will stop this. Whether we in the outside world agree or disagree is secondary This is a mat ter that must be settled, ultimately, by the Somali people. Into this mix have stepped both Ethiopia and Eritrea. Since the degeneration of their relationship and the insane war that the two countries fou^t between 1998-2000 over their border, tensions have remained high. Somalia has now become a site for a proxy fight between the two sides, with the Ethiopians supporting the Somali transitional gov ernment and the Eritreans allegedly supportii^ the Union of Islamic Courts. There is profound danger in this game of regional politics. The Ethiopians risk continental ostrarism for get ting involved in the internal affairs of Somalia. They are not there on behalf of the Afiican Union or as a result of an agreed upon peacekeeping settlement. The Eritreans, by the same token, are playing with dynamiteomuch like tlie U.S. did when it supported the mujahideen in Afgharustan in their wai* against the Soviet Union in the 1980s6in that they may strengthen a very reactionary force that could influ ence the politics of the Horn of Afiica, including with in Eritrea itself Standing behind this entire mess appears to be the U.S.A.. No surprise there. The Bush administration is conce!ned about the rise of the Union of Islamic Courts and, having branded them as Al Qaeda-lite, wishes to see this movement blocked, if not destroyed. It appears that the Ethiopian government, led by a regime that at one point claimed to be anti-inrperial- ist, has chosen to serve the interests of the USA in this case. Thus, not only does Ethiopia face the prospect of a deadly, long-term conflict to its South, but the USA faces the prospect of potential involve ment should the conflict evolve either into another EthiopianEritrean War, or should the Union of Islamic Courts gain public sympathy becaiise they are seen as victims of the one global superpower. One can disagree with and, indeed, fear the Union of Islamic Courts, while at the same time recognizing that the Scouali people will need to resolve this situa tion. The involvement of other nations does nothing to advance a desperately needed peace process, but instead pushes the situation toward a dramatic esca lation. Not only must the USA stay out of Somalia, but all fiiends of Afiica must insist that Ethiopia and Eritrea step back fiom the precipice. The flames of hell are already scorching their feet. BILL FLETCHER is a long-time labor and international writer and activist. Currently a Visiting Professor at Brooklyn College-CUNY, he is the immediate past president of TransAfrica Forum. He can be reached at papaq54@hot- mailrom. Not only must the USA stay out of Somalia, but all friends of Africa must insist that Ethiopia and Eritrea step back from the precipice. A scaffold’s dark portrait of Iraq after Saddam’s execution By-Eugene Robinson THE WASHINGTON POST Since history is wiitten by those who rule, the annals of the U.S.-supported Iraqi gov ernment record that the deposed dictator Saddam Hussein was given a fair trial, sentenced to death for the mass murder of innocent Shiite civilians and duly exe cuted by hanging on Dec. 30, 2006, in accordance with Iraqi law. A tragic era was broioght to an end, according to the offi cial history opening the way for a brighter tomorrow. But the dark, remorseless, unflinching cellphone video of the execution that quickly smfaced on the Internet teUs an alternate history, one that is neither tidy nor hopeful — and^that demonstrates, not just by its content but by its very .existence, that forces other than the current belea guered government intend to be the final authors of Iraqi history That’s because they intend to be the ones in charge. The grainy footage was apparently captured surrep titiously by someone whose vantage point was near the foot of the gallows. Anyone thinking of watching it should be warned that the camera does not shirk fiom the inevitable “money shot” — the grotesque moment when tile trap door opens and Saddam Hussein’s fife is ter minated. It’s history as snuff film The most revelatory moment comes whai the con demned tyrant — unhooded, unbowed, stUl acting as if he expects the deforce owed to a legitimate head of state, especially one who rules by terror — gives a religious exhortation. A voice responds by speaking a name that is also a taunt: “Moqtada, Moqtada, Moqtada.” The reference is to the Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadi; who leads what is generally described as tiie biggest, best- equipped and most powerful of Iraq’s many sectarian mili tias — and whose father, a vridely revered cleric, was ordered killed by Hussein. The message is clear: Hear this, Sunni dog. Iraq is a Shiite countiy novv, and pay back is sweet. Hussein can’t believe the impertinence. “Moqtada?” he asks, as if he’s tryir^ to catch the thread of a narrative that no longer makes sense. In the dictator’s curses against “the Americans” and “the Persians,” it is impossi ble not to hear echoes of the time when Hussein was the one who wrote Iraq’s history For years, the Reagan admin istration gave him military and intelligence support to keep the hated Persians fiom defeating his outnumbered forces in the Iran-Iraq war. In 1983, Donald Rumsfeld was dispatched to visit Bagdad as a special envoy, he smiled broadly as he shook the tyrant’s hand. Naturally, that’s not an episode finm Iraq’s recent histoiy that the current gov ernment will care to high light. EUGENE ROBINSON is a Washington Post columnist.
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Jan. 4, 2007, edition 1
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