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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 28, 2018)
March 28, 2018 Page 13 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 15 Years After the Iraq War, What Are the Costs? Adding up the numbers and human toll s tephanie s avell This March marked the 15th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. In 2003, President George W. Bush and his advisers based their case for war on the idea that Saddam Hussein, then dictator of Iraq, possessed weapons of mass destruction — weapons that have never been found. Nevertheless, all these years later, Bush’s “Glob- al War on Terror” continues — in Iraq and in many other countries. It’s a good time to reflect on what this war — the longest in U.S. history — has cost Ameri- cans and others around the world. First, the economic costs: Ac- by cording to estimates by the Costs of War project at Brown Univer- sity’s Watson Institute for Inter- national and Public Affairs, the war on terror has cost Americans a stagger- ing $5.6 trillion since 2001, when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan. This figure includes not just the Pentagon’s war fund, but also fu- ture obligations such as social services for an ever-growing number of post- 9/11 veterans. It’s hard for most of us to even begin to grasp such an enormous number. It means Americans spend $32 million per hour, according to a counter by the National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies. Put another way: Since 2001, every American taxpayer has spent almost $24,000 on the wars — equal to the average down pay- ment on a house, a new Honda Accord, or a year at a public uni- versity. As stupefying as those numbers are, the budgetary costs pale in comparison with the human toll. As of 2015, when the Costs of War project made its latest tallies, up to 165,000 Iraqi civilians had died as a direct consequence of U.S. war, plus around 8,000 U.S. soldiers and military contractors in Iraq. Those numbers have only con- tinued to rise. Up to 6,000 civilians were killed by U.S.-led strikes in Iraq and Syria in 2017 –– more ci- vilians than in any previous year, according to the watchdog group AirWars. In addition to those direct deaths, at least four times as many people in Iraq have died from the side effects of war, such as mal- nutrition, environmental degrada- tion, and deteriorated infrastruc- ture. Since the 2003 invasion, for instance, Iraqi health care has plummeted — with hospitals and clinics bombed, supplies of med- icine and electricity jeopardized, and thousands of physicians and healthcare workers fleeing the country. Meanwhile, the war continues to spread, no longer limited to Af- ghanistan, Iraq, or Syria, as many Americans think. Indeed, the U.S. military is escalating a shadowy network of anti-terror operations all across the world — in at least 76 nations, or 40 percent of coun- tries on the planet. Last October, news about four Green Berets killed by an Islamic State affiliate in the West African nation of Niger gave Americans a glimpse of just how broad this net- work is. And along with it comes all the devastating consequences of militarism for the people of these countries. We must ask: Are these as- tounding costs worth it? Is the U.S. accomplishing anything close to its goal of diminishing the global terrorist threat? The answer is, resoundingly, no. U.S. activity in Iraq and the Middle East has only spurred greater political upheaval and un- rest. The U.S.-led coalition is seen not as a liberating force, but as an aggressor. This has fomented in- surgent recruitment, and there are now more terrorist groups in the Middle East than ever before. Until a broad swath of the American public gets engaged to call for an end to the war on terror, these mushrooming costs — eco- nomic, human, social, and politi- cal — will just continue to grow. Stephanie Savell co-directs the Costs of War project at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. Distributed by OtherWords.org. A Community Conversation about Menthol Cigarettes the legal age to buy tobacco to 21 years old, rules which have been in effect since the New Year. Now we are talking about re- strictions on menthol flavored tobacco – the product of choice among many African Americans, by d e ’s haWn h ardy The Highland African Ameri- youth and underserved communi- can Youth Community Coalition ties. Mona MacDonald, Highland and Multnomah County have been “talkin’ tobacco” for a few years. In June 2015, youth and adults came together for a day-long to- bacco prevention training session called “Becoming a Power Play- er.” The group learned about the predatory marketing of tobacco in African American communities and what the policy-making pro- cess looks like. Youth learned to develop their own messages and tried them out on staff from the Multnomah County Commission. The Highland coalition has been active in protecting our youth from easy access to tobacco by supporting licensing at retailers of tobacco products and raising Coalition looks at negative impacts Haven REACH (Racial and Eth- nic Approaches to Community Health) program coordinator, in collaboration with Multnomah County REACH staff, are deliver- ing powerful presentations about the harms of menthol cigarettes When a room full of youth were recently asked ‘does any- one smoke or know someone who who smoke in Multnomah County die from smoking related diseases, infant mortality, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, stroke, diabetes, cor- onary heart disease and all can- cers, at a higher rate than all other smokers. Despite the myths about the safety of menthol vs. regular cig- arettes, there is no medical value For the overwhelming majority of African Americans and youth who smoke, menthol is their product of choice. Nationally, 95 percent of black smokers use menthol cigarettes! African Americans who smoke in Multnomah County die from smoking related diseases, infant mortality, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, stroke, diabetes, coronary heart disease and all cancers, at a higher rate than all other smokers. Subscribe! 503-288-0033 Fill Out & Send To: Attn: Subscriptions, PO Box 3137, Portland OR 97208 $45.00 for 3 months • $80.00 for 6 mo. • $125.00 for 1 year (please include check with this subscription form) Name: Telephone: Address: or email subscriptions@portlandobserver.com smokes menthols’ all hands went up. “We know this is an important topic to talk about, but it’s a hard discussion to have,” MacDonald says. For the overwhelming majority of African Americans and youth who smoke, menthol is their prod- uct of choice. Nationally, 95 per- cent of black smokers use menthol cigarettes! African Americans or health benefit of using menthol cigarettes. Rather, the product is actually more harmful, because the menthol flavoring (which is the one flavor that is still legal for cigarette products) results in people taking a deeper draw with each inhalation of the cigarette. This means more of the cigarette’s toxic chemicals find their way into the lungs and bloodstream of the smoker, meaning more sickness and death from smoking-related illnesses. Menthol is more, not less ad- dictive, than regular cigarettes as well. Menthol increases the amount of nicotine in the blood, making cigarettes more addic- tive and harder to quit. Research has found that people who smoke menthols have a harder time quit- ting smoking, especially African American women. But people are not generally aware of this when they take up the habit, often think- ing they can quit whenever they decide. For all these reasons, cities throughout the country are ban- ning the sale of menthol ciga- rettes (San Francisco, Oakland, Sonoma, Chicago, New York and Berkeley). Several other coun- tries already have prohibited the sale of menthol cigarettes as well. Highland Haven REACH pro- gram, in partnership with Mult- nomah County Health Depart- ment, is available to come and share with your organization or youth group information about menthol and to hear your ideas about what we can do about it. If you are interested, please email Sandra Meucci at andra. meucci@multco.us. Let’s keep “talkin’ tobacco” and figure out how we can help our community! De’Shawn Hardy is a coordi- nator with the Highland African American Youth Community Coa- lition.
