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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 28, 2017)
Page 6 June 28, 2017 O PINION Another Troop Surge and More Casualties America’s Longest War J im h ightoWer President Trump might have dodged military ser- vice in his youth, but he certainly is militaristic — he’s bel- licose, likes to issue commands, and is constantly firing off mili- tant tweets at anyone he perceives to be an enemy (which seems to include everyone who dares to by disagree with him). Meanwhile, he and his White House full of military com- manders are ponder- ing the launch of a real shooting war, a military offensive that would be known as “Trump’s War.” Actually, he’d be attempting to achieve battlefield glory by pick- ing up and extending what at first was Bush’s War, then Obama’s War. The place is Afghanistan, and the strategy is to shove anoth- er 5,000 or so American soldiers (none of whom will be named Trump) into that brutish hellhole. Yes, that mess is still boiling, despite President Obama’s 2012 pledge to end our involvement in the longest war in U.S. history. After 16 years — and after more than 2,300 Americans killed, 20,000 others maimed, and more than $800 billion spent on it — 8,400 of our troops are still there, the killing continues, and we tax- payers keep pumping $3 billion a month into the insanity. For all of that, the Taliban forc- es we’ve been trying to defeat are stronger than ever, and the Afghan government we’re supporting is as corrupt, inept, and despised as ever. Nonetheless, Trump is violat- ing a basic rule of civilian control of the military: Never ask the gen- erals if they need more resources. This president has surrounded Smith Investigation Followed Process Multnomah County Chair Deb- orah Kafoury issued the following statement in response to press inquiries asking for comment on a rebuke letter she received from an esteemed group of local Afri- can American leaders charging a flawed and racially bias human resources investigation of County Commission Loretta Smith (Un- wavering Support for Smith, June 21 Portland Observer issue.): “Beginning in January, two current and former staff mem- bers made serious allegations that Commissioner Loretta Smith had misused county resources and bul- lied her staff. Under our rules, the county has a process to thoroughly in- vestigate personnel complaints. We followed that process. As the Multnomah County Chair and Chief Executive Officer, I have an obligation to all employees to maintain a respectful, professional and harassment-free workplace. Commissioner Smith herself publically asked that the county investigate these allegations. We were extremely careful with how we proceeded. The county contracted with an inde- pendent third-party investigator specializing in employment law. The county also hired an attorney to represent Commissioner Smith in these matters. Finally, Commis- sioner Smith received an advance copy of the investigator’s final re- port and she had the opportunity to respond. In light of what is happening in our country right now, we at himself with generals and surren- dered crucial decision-making au- thority to them. We weren’t able to win in Af- ghanistan when 100,000 of our troops were there — so what do we “win” by putting 5,000 more soldiers in harm’s way, other than more casualties? If Trump can’t tell us that, we should tell him no way. OtherWords columnist Jim Hightower is a radio commenta- tor, writer, and public speaker. Multnomah County take issues of race, gender and religion ex- tremely seriously and strive to ensure that our workplace is free of discrimination. My duty is to ensure that process is followed, regardless of whether those in- volved are an elected official or line staff. This isn’t about the Commis- sioner’s race, it’s about ensuring Multnomah County has a profes- sional and respectful workplace for everyone.”