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May 13, 2015 Page A7 Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com. O PINION Being Accountable for Our Military Interventions Americans must accept responsibility J ARED K EYEL The United States must ac- cept responsibili- ty for the damage its military ac- tions have caused and recognize there are alternatives for the future. In the nearly decade and a half since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, the U. S. has invad- ed Afghanistan and Iraq, car- ried out bombing campaigns throughout the Middle East, and launched special opera- tions strikes throughout the world. These policies are non-par- BY tisan. Many military actions begun under George W. Bush have continued and intensi- ¿HGXQGHU%DUDFN2EDPD7KH CIA-led drone wars in Paki- stan, Somalia, and Yemen are a key component of Mr. Obama’s administration and the use of U.S. Special Forces has exploded in re- cent years, deploying to 134 countries in 2013. The consequences of these actions are immense. In the words of 13-year-old Ye- meni, Mohammed Tuaiman, U.S. drone strikes have “turned our area into hell and continu- ous horror, day and night, we even dream of them in our sleep Mohammed, like his father and brother, was later killed by an American drone. Four- teen-year-old Zubair Ur Reh- man, whose grandmother was killed by a U.S. drone strike in 3DNLVWDQWROG¿YHPHPEHUVRI Congress in 2103, “I no longer love blue skies. In fact, I like gray skies; the drones cannot À\ZKHQWKHVNLHVDUHJUD\´ Physicians for Social Re- VSRQVLELOLW\WKH$PHULFDQDI¿O- iate of Nobel Peace Prize-win- ning International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War, recently released a report that estimates at least 1.3 million people have died as a result of the U.S. invasions and occupa- tions of Iraq and Afghanistan and the violent spillover into Pakistan. U.S. policies have not brought stability to countries such as Afghanistan or Yemen and as the rise of the Islam- ic State in Iraq and Syria has shown, U.S. military actions KDYH IDQQHG WKH ÀDPHV RI WHU- rorism, not extinguished them. There is no doubt that many Americans believe our military interventions are undertaken to help others around the world. Unfortunately, the reality is far different. From Afghanistan to Libya, our military interven- tions have left broken lives and nations in ruins. It may be surprising to some Americans, but a 2013 Gallup poll of 65 countries saw the United States at the top of the list of greatest threats to world peace. We as Americans need to take that perception seriously and accept responsibility for the enormous human suffer- ing our wars and interventions have caused. Most Americans have a gen- uine desire to help and not hurt others around the world. We can work to alleviate the inju- ry we have already caused by providing more support for emergency humanitarian aid and refugee protection and re- settlement, more funding to al- low the societies we have torn apart to rebuild themselves, and by engaged, multilateral, diplomacy to try to end ongo- ing violence. We need to push our govern- ment, no matter which party is currently in power, to live up to our obligations under inter- national law and end the perva- sive use of military force. We have relied on military means too widely and too belligerent- ly and it is time to chart a dif- ferent course. Jared Keyel has a back- ground in International Rela- WLRQV DQG 0LGGOH (DVWHUQ $I- fairs and currently works with refugees, asylum-seekers, and immigrants in Chicago, and is syndicated through PeaceV- oice. %DOWLPRUH5LVLQJ:RPHQDWWKH)URQWOLQHIRU-XVWLFH I applaud these female leaders LQWKH¿JKW M ARC H. M ORIAL Marilyn Mosby was VZRUQ LQWR RI¿FH DV Maryland state’s attor- ney for Baltimore City in January of this year at the Baltimore War Memorial Plaza building. Before unseat- ing the incumbent, Gregg Ber- nstein, for the job, the 35-year- old had never held an elected RI¿FH Five months later, the city’s newly-minted, top prosecu- tor—the youngest chief pros- ecutor in any major American city—returned to the steps of the War Memorial Plaza to an- nounce charges, including mur- der, manslaughter and assault, DJDLQVWVL[SROLFHRI¿FHUVLQWKH unwarranted death of Freddie Gray—simultaneously emerg- ing into the national spotlight as an advocate for those demand- ing police accountability and an adversary for those who would protect the status quo. On the night of her swearing in, Mosby was joined by a host BY of dignitaries, including her husband, Baltimore City coun- cilman Nick Mosby—who rep- resents the West Baltimore area that has been the back- drop to the protests over Gray’s death—along with her two daughters. Baltimore Mayor Steph- anie Rawlings-Blake also sat among the evening’s guests and, in a speech, advised Mosby that, “Public service is not just a job, it’s a calling and it is a privilege.” Mosby’s calling to public service was born of tragedy and tradition. When Mosby was 14, her 17-year-old cousin was mistaken for a drug dealer and shot and killed near her home. She often credits her cousin’s murder as the reason why she decided to become a prosecutor. She also comes from a ¿YHJHQHUDWLRQORQJOLQHRIODZ HQIRUFHPHQW RI¿FLDOV %RWK RI her parents, an aunt, four un- cles and her grandfather—who was a founding member of the ¿UVWDVVRFLDWLRQRIEODFNSROLFH RI¿FHUV LQ KHU KRPHWRZQ RI Massachusetts—were police RI¿FHUV Growing up in a family of cops, Mosby knows the good, JRRG SROLFH RI¿FHUV FDQ GR LQ our communities. She indicted VL[ SROLFH RI¿FHUV QRW DQ HQ- tire force. Her actions are not anti-cop; they are pro-police and law enforcement account- ability. She assured the pub- lic—and the nation—that her administration is, “committed to creating a fair and equitable justice system for all. No mat- ter what your occupation, your age, your race, your color or your creed.” Like any major American city, Baltimore has its assets and its challenges. Its mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, has been at the frontline, grappling with the deeply entrenched challenges of the city left in her charge since replacing a former mayor, who resigned under charges of corruption, then be- LQJHOHFWHGWRKHU¿UVWIXOOWHUP as mayor in 2011. She has been touched by the almost inescap- able violence that stems from these challenges when in 2002, she found her brother covered in blood and nearly decapitat- ed by a sword that was used during a carjacking in front of her house. In her 2014 State of Black America essay, Mayor Raw- lings-Blake painted a bleak picture, noting that in Balti- more city, more than 1 in 5 Af- rican-American adult residents live in poverty, while 1 in ev- ery 3 African-American chil- dren and teens are also living in poverty. She warned that, “Poverty is a deep-rooted ill, permeated with inequity, and it will take a focused, concerted assault on all fronts to excise it. We must think outside the box, and be bold as we confront the challenges that lie in our path. I DPFRPPLWWHGWRWKH¿JKW´ Mayor Rawlings-Blake— the daughter of the legendary Howard “Pete” Rawlings, the ¿UVW $IULFDQ $PHULFDQ WR EH- come chair of the Appropria- tions Committee in the Mary- land House of Delegates—has made her name on the national stage. She is only one of two black female mayors of the 100 largest cities in the country. She currently serves as secre- tary of the Democratic Nation- al Committee and is vice presi- dent of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. But she is grabbing our at- tention today, not for her im- pressive resume, but for her XQÀDJJLQJFRPPLWPHQWWR³WKH ¿JKW´LQ%DOWLPRUHIRUHTXDOLW\ and justice. As she promised in a recent press conference, “As mayor, I will be relentless in changing the culture of the po- lice department to ensure that everyone in our city is treated equally under the law.” 1RZWKDWWKHVL[RI¿FHUVLQ- volved in the death of Freddie Gray have been charged, the SURVHFXWRU¶V RI¿FH ZLOO SUHV- ent its case to a city grand jury that will consider the charges and decide whether to indict. At the same time, the Depart- ment of Justice—now being led by another African-Ameri- can woman, Loretta Lynch—is also conducting an investiga- tion into the case and into the Baltimore Police Department. I applaud these women, and all women—and men— ZKR DUH ¿JKWLQJ IRU MXVWLFH for Freddie and, by extension, for us. I applaud these leaders as they claim their place in the pantheon of black female ¿JKWHUVZKRKDYHWUDGLWLRQDOO\ played a key role in our na- tion’s struggle for equality and justice—for all. Marc H. Morial is president DQG FKLHI H[HFXWLYH RI¿FHU RI the National Urban League.
