'Obama 'The Baby Bomber', 'Tripoli' Clinton and their NATO
partners are responsible for
bringing state sponsored
terror to the entire region.'
By Margaret Kimberley: “They use ludicrous terms like ‘gold star
family’ and make the case for continued American aggression around the world.”
The desire to be affirmed by American society has dangerous
consequences for black people. This pernicious dynamic creates the inclination
to worship any black face in a high place or to defend questionable activity.
The death of special forces Sergeant La David Johnson in Niger is a case in
point. Donald Trump’s racism and stupidity prevented him from performing the
simple task of conveying appropriate condolences to Johnson’s widow. The
ensuing brouhaha focuses on what Trump said in the phone call overheard by
Congressional Black Caucus member Frederica Wilson.
Almost no one is asking about the fact that
American troops are stationed in Africa at all. Few people realize that such a
thing as the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM )
exists and that the military forces of most African nations have been under the
de facto control of this country since the George W. Bush administration.
There is similar silence about the role
that the United States played in bringing groups designated as terrorists into
nations such as Niger and Mali. The decision to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi in
Libya is directly responsible for Boko Haram and Al-Qaeda affiliate groups
gaining a foothold throughout the region. Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and
their NATO partners in crime were not just responsible for the deaths of
thousands of Libyans, slavery
in that country, and an ongoing humanitarian crisis. They are responsible for
bringing state sponsored terror to the entire region.
“The military forces of most African
nations have been under the de facto control of this country since the George
W. Bush administration.”
Focusing on Donald Trump’s bad behavior is
a sure path to confusion and accommodation. Instead of denouncing imperialism,
otherwise sensible people are waving the flag and attacking Trump using right
wing terminology. They use ludicrous terms like “gold star family” and make the
case for continued American aggression around the world.
It is pointless to ask about the specific
circumstances of Johnson’s death. He died along with three other soldiers in
the murky circumstances that are to be expected in warfare. Any questions posed
should be about America’s ever expanding empire and the determination to make
war on as many places in the world as possible.
Black people should feel no need to
validate themselves through military service or any other undertaking. As the
people who have suffered through centuries of unpaid labor, Jim Crow apartheid
and constant oppression, we should feel no need to uphold this system. Yet we
have already proven a willingness to die for the interests of a corrupt and
dangerous state. There is frankly no reason to show pride in Johnson’s death or
to allow a member of the CBC to turn an important issue into nonsensical
grandstanding versus Trump.
“The decision to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi
in Libya is directly responsible for Boko Haram and Al-Qaeda affiliate groups
gaining a foothold throughout the region.”
At this juncture in history all talk of
patriotism is at best foolish and at worst a call for continued crimes and mass
murder. It is also high time to end the deification of the American war dead,
even when they look like us. They die because they are trying to kill other
people.
Condolences to Johnson’s family are appropriate
but they are also appropriate for the millions of people who lost loved ones to
American empire building in Niger, Somalia, Libya, Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria,
and Iraq. That is a short list which only includes the victims of American war
crimes committed in the past 20 years.
No one should be fooled by crocodile tears
from white Americans with grudges against Trump. If Sergeant Johnson had been
killed by a police officer in an American city many of the same white people
who now rush to call him a hero would either shrug their shoulders in
indifference or applaud his death. They should not be allowed to jump on the
bandwagon of fake concern because Trump is their target.
“Any questions posed should be about
America’s ever expanding empire and the determination to make war on as many
places in the world as possible.”
As for congresswoman Wilson, she has a
golden opportunity to discuss the impact of American interventions abroad and
question their rationale. But like the rest of her CBC colleagues, her
interests are confined to reliance on the largesse of the Democratic Party and
their corporate benefactors. Trump’s bad behavior makes him an easy target for
scorn and a convenient punching bag for the useless black political class. If
Wilson wants to take on the president it ought to be for more substantive
reasons. Likening his boorishness to “Benghazi” uses a right wing trope for
ridiculous effect.
Any discussion about Sergeant Johnson ought
to point out that he was a victim of the poverty draft. Before enlisting he
worked at Walmart, a sure path to continued poverty or to the dubious odds
offered by the army. Trump said that Johnson “knew what he signed up for” but
that is probably not true. He took a chance and hoped for the best.
Unfortunately the machinations of Bush, Obama, Clinton and Trump made his
choice a bad one. If the Congresswoman wants to have a debate she could start
with the realities of Johnson’s life and how it ran afoul of United States
foreign policy. Only then would her fight with a president be worthwhile.
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