Sherwood Ross: King Would Object to Obama's Wars
[Sherwood Ross is a Miami-based public relations consultant who formerly worked for major dailies and wire services. He also worked in a professional capacity in the civil rights movement during the Sixties.]
In his rousing speech to the NAACP, President Obama praised the civil rights leaders of the past whose sacrifices “began the journey that has led me" (to the White House). He neglected to mention, however, that the majority of those civil rights leaders, most notably Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., opposed the war in Viet Nam and, if they were alive today, likely would oppose his escalation of the war in Afghanistan.
“Painting himself as the beneficiary of the NAACP’s work, Obama cited historical figures from W.E.B. DuBois to Thurgood Marshall, Martin Luther King Jr. to Emmet Till, to explain how the path to the presidency was cleared by visionaries,” Associated Press reported. All that is true, of course.
And Obama brought the NAACP audience to its feet when he spoke about his vision for their children: “I want them aspiring to be scientists and engineers, doctors and teachers, not just ballers and rappers,” Obama said. “I want them aspiring to be a Supreme Court justice. I want them aspiring to be president of the United States.”
But there are disturbing reports of escalating civilian casualties emerging from Afghanistan, a war that is now very much Obama’s War, and distressing photos being displayed of Afghan children lying in hospitals with burned faces and bandaged limbs. We might well ask, “What about their futures?”
Civilian deaths in Afghanistan jumped 24 percent over 2008 according to the United Nations, CNN reported July 31st. There were 1,013 civilian deaths in the first six months of this year and 30 percent of the slain were killed by Western military air strikes. The UN said the air strikes “remain responsible for the largest percentage of civilian deaths” attributed to foreign troops in Afghanistan.
Not surprisingly, Afghan President Hamid Karzai pleaded months ago “for the U.S. to halt air strikes in his country, following attacks that Afghan officials said killed 147 people,” Reuters reported.
But President Obama isn’t listening to the president of Afghanistan...
... SCLC’s Rev. King, the Nobel Peace Prize recipient, called the Viet Nam war “blasphemy against all that America stands for.” And was criticized for his stand by Roy Wilkins of the NAACP and Whitney Young of the Urban League.
If he had not been assassinated, Rev. King likely would be highly critical of U.S. aggression against Afghanistan and Iraq today. They are countries whose subjugation is sought, respectively, for their potential pipeline routes and rich oil resources. The U.S., of course, has no legal right to wage these wars.
If President Obama wants to honor Dr. King’s memory for all that he did for him, he might begin by bringing U.S. troops home from the Middle East. As for visions, how about an America that does not live by the sword?
Read entire article at OpEdNews
In his rousing speech to the NAACP, President Obama praised the civil rights leaders of the past whose sacrifices “began the journey that has led me" (to the White House). He neglected to mention, however, that the majority of those civil rights leaders, most notably Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., opposed the war in Viet Nam and, if they were alive today, likely would oppose his escalation of the war in Afghanistan.
“Painting himself as the beneficiary of the NAACP’s work, Obama cited historical figures from W.E.B. DuBois to Thurgood Marshall, Martin Luther King Jr. to Emmet Till, to explain how the path to the presidency was cleared by visionaries,” Associated Press reported. All that is true, of course.
And Obama brought the NAACP audience to its feet when he spoke about his vision for their children: “I want them aspiring to be scientists and engineers, doctors and teachers, not just ballers and rappers,” Obama said. “I want them aspiring to be a Supreme Court justice. I want them aspiring to be president of the United States.”
But there are disturbing reports of escalating civilian casualties emerging from Afghanistan, a war that is now very much Obama’s War, and distressing photos being displayed of Afghan children lying in hospitals with burned faces and bandaged limbs. We might well ask, “What about their futures?”
Civilian deaths in Afghanistan jumped 24 percent over 2008 according to the United Nations, CNN reported July 31st. There were 1,013 civilian deaths in the first six months of this year and 30 percent of the slain were killed by Western military air strikes. The UN said the air strikes “remain responsible for the largest percentage of civilian deaths” attributed to foreign troops in Afghanistan.
Not surprisingly, Afghan President Hamid Karzai pleaded months ago “for the U.S. to halt air strikes in his country, following attacks that Afghan officials said killed 147 people,” Reuters reported.
But President Obama isn’t listening to the president of Afghanistan...
... SCLC’s Rev. King, the Nobel Peace Prize recipient, called the Viet Nam war “blasphemy against all that America stands for.” And was criticized for his stand by Roy Wilkins of the NAACP and Whitney Young of the Urban League.
If he had not been assassinated, Rev. King likely would be highly critical of U.S. aggression against Afghanistan and Iraq today. They are countries whose subjugation is sought, respectively, for their potential pipeline routes and rich oil resources. The U.S., of course, has no legal right to wage these wars.
If President Obama wants to honor Dr. King’s memory for all that he did for him, he might begin by bringing U.S. troops home from the Middle East. As for visions, how about an America that does not live by the sword?