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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 2017)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Friday, September 1, 2017 Founded October 16, 1875 KATHRYN B. BROWN Publisher DANIEL WATTENBURGER Managing Editor TIM TRAINOR Opinion Page Editor MARISSA WILLIAMS Regional Advertising Director MARCY ROSENBERG Circulation Manager JANNA HEIMGARTNER Business Office Manager MIKE JENSEN Production Manager OUR VIEW Tip of the hat; kick in the pants A tip of the hat to the transportation bill, which Governor Kate Brown has been showing from Malheur County to the heart of Portland all week. It’s hard in this era of urban/rural divide and political polarization for a statewide bill-signing tour to be cheered both in Oregon’s farthest eastern expanse and its northwesterly metropolis. But the bill itself— while not perfect — is a good reminder that Oregon’s legislative chambers can work together, in a bipartisan fashion, to achieve something that benefits a majority of Oregonians. Every Oregonian has a gripe about the bill, which isn’t always a bad sign. That means everyone gave a little and got a little, too. Kudos to Gov. Brown for doing what her predecessors could not, and members of both parties in the Oregon Legislature for doing their part, too. Residents from the coast to Wallowa Lake will benefit from it. A tip of the hat to Heppner, the family of Robert Kilkenny and shoe giant Nike, who have worked to outfit Heppner High School athletes with the coolest, most-cutting edge jerseys on the planet. The customized jerseys are based on Nike’s Vapor Untouchable template, which you’ll see on most NFL and college football fields this year and, oh yeah, on a small one in Morrow County. As we reported in the sports section earlier this week, it’s not just the powerful, successful football team who gets to show off their new duds. Volleyball, girls basketball and cross country are among the sports that received new jerseys, shoes and equipment. Much of the credit for the initiative goes to the Robert Kilkenny, who passed away last year. Robert was a massive Heppner fan and a community staple. The Nike jerseys include a three-leafed clover with the letters “BB” inside of it — honoring “Bad Bob,” as he was known. A tip of the hat to the city of Pendleton for taking a proactive approach to its housing problems by hosting a summit on the issue. Earlier this week, the city brought together buyers and sellers, insiders and outsiders, bankers and Realtors, and the all-important developers. It’s a smart idea to try to light a fire under people with a stake in the game, as Pendleton suffers with population stagnation and decades lacking economic growth. A lack of housing is hampering that growth, and action is needed to help stimulate the economy and the local population. Time will tell if developers plunk down money and/or landowners decide now is the time to sell. But the city did what it could do to get that process going and get people in the private sector thinking about Pendleton housing. Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board of publisher Kathryn Brown, managing editor Daniel Wattenburger, and opinion page editor Tim Trainor. Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of the East Oregonian. YOUR VIEWS Move the railroad south if you’re blowing that horn What is going on with this stupid railroad? I was always told that the city of Pendleton had an agreement with Union Pacific not to blow their horns in town unless somebody or something was on the tracks. But at one or two o’clock in the morning that’s bull, because there is nobody on the track. When the train is going east out to Mission, he tones the horn down so you barely hear it, but when he goes through town he raises the dead. Maybe we should call our senators and congressmen and have the tracks moved 40 or 50 miles to the south of town and allow no railroad tracks go though any town. Wake up, folks, somebody’s blowing smoke up somebody. But not me. There is no reason for those horns to be blowing constantly. The engineers are just being jerks about this and when it wakes up little children at 11 p.m. or midnight it’s time that things change. Joe Dunagan Pendleton LETTERS POLICY The East Oregonian welcomes original letters of 400 words or less on public issues and public policies for publication in the newspaper and on our website. The newspaper reserves the right to withhold letters that address concerns about individual services and products or letters that infringe on the rights of private citizens. Submitted letters must be signed by the author and include the city of residence and a daytime phone number. The phone number will not be published. Unsigned letters will not be published. Send letters to managing editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com. OTHER VIEWS Many shades of the U.S. at war I ’m just back from visiting all of our The skill involved to get the landing key air bases in Iraq, Afghanistan right — all in about five seconds — is and along the Persian Gulf, and I stunning. “It’s like a wrestling match” find myself wrestling with two stark in the cockpit to get the plane down, contrasts: the contrast between what explained the pilot driving our chase is happening there in the air and what car. Such skill comes only from is happening on the ground, and hours of practice, study and trust the contrast between the decency of building, which comes only from the U.S. military personnel fighting Thomas being committed to a cause larger than this war and how unworthy Donald Friedman yourself. Trump — who has become our divider One of the things you learn when Comment in chief — is to be their commander you travel with the Air Force is how in chief. reliant we have become on RPAs — The first contrast was summed up in two remotely piloted aircraft, like MQ-9 Reapers wall-size digital maps at our Kuwait-based — for killing enemies and for surveillance. I command center for the war on ISIS. One stayed up late one night to watch two pilots map displays every military aircraft the at their controls in a small computer-packed U.S. has in the skies over Syria and Iraq (as shed at Kandahar air base, remotely bringing well as Russian, Syrian and Iranian aircraft) Reapers in for a landing. pounding ISIS targets. There are little symbols The cliché is that this has turned the for B-52s, U-2s, F-16s, F-22s, F-15s, MQ-9 war into an impersonal video game, often Reapers and jet refuelers. It is a giant aerial conducted by people 8,000 miles from the armada, a flying killer symphony orchestrated battle. Indeed, many of the Reapers operating by the U.S. Air Force. here are flown by airmen at Creech Air Force The other map uses different colors to Base outside of Las Vegas. But in some ways depict the disposition of they’re actually emotionally forces on the ground. closer to the fight. It looks like a broken Gen. James B. Hecker, kaleidoscope. Our U.S. who used to command the military briefer explained: RPA pilots at Creech and Purple is for Syrian regime is now the senior air war forces and their Russian, commander in Afghanistan, Hezbollah and Iranian explained to me that when allies; light green shows you are flying an F-15 over a Syrian Kurds and dark target, you drop your bombs green Iraqi Kurds; light blue from miles above using represents “disciplined” laser-guided coordinates and Iraqi Shiite militias, while then fly off. Often you never the “undisciplined” ones are see the actual blast, let alone another shade. Pro-Turkish any human casualties. Sunni militias have their own If you are an RPA pilot color, as do the pro-American Syrian Sunni sitting outside Las Vegas and operating a militias. ISIS fighters are another color, and Reaper over Afghanistan or ISIS-controlled the official Iraqi security forces are a different Syria, said Hecker, “you will sometimes do one still. circles around someone’s family compound As our briefer noted dryly: “Not everyone for three weeks at a time. During that time here has exactly the same endgame in mind.” you’ll try to establish the patterns of life of the This is our war in the Middle East today target individual or group: When do they wake in two maps: “Star Wars” meets “Game of up? When do they go to bed? When do they Thrones.” go to the bathroom outside? During that time You can’t look at these two screens without you get emotionally involved with their whole thinking about the power that comes from life — whether it is the dad playing soccer our ability to make one out of many — or the with the kids or flying kites with his daughter power that is lost to a society like Syria or Iraq or kissing his wife.” that needs an iron fist to make its many into But then one day you’ll see Dad get on one, and when that fist is removed, how the a motor scooter and place a roadside bomb society fractures into small shards. aimed at killing U.S. soldiers. “So you take So you can’t help but get upset seeing out Dad” using a precision-guided missile our own president deliberately dividing our fired from a Reaper, said Hecker. And then, if country between his tribe and the rest of us — you’re back at Creech, “you get in your car, go undermining what truly makes America great. home, kiss your wife and maybe play soccer Fortunately, though, you also can’t help with your son, knowing that the guy you were but be buoyed by the young men and women watching for three weeks, and just took out, you meet visiting our key air bases in the war will never do that again with his wife and kids. effort. They remind you what America is on its But if you didn’t do it, some American mom best days — still resistant to Trump’s divisive would not be welcoming her husband home.” dog whistles. So, “it’s not a video game,” concluded You’re standing on the tarmac at Al Udeid Hecker, shaking his head. Indeed, he said, Air Base in Qatar and the heat index is 140 there has been enough post-traumatic stress degrees and the only thing the maintenance among Reaper pilots that the Air Force crew members of a B-52 want to tell you is instituted a rule that anytime one shoots how they’ve kept this plane running for 573 someone remotely “they have to see either straight missions, without missing one for a therapist, an operational psychologist or a service repairs. chaplain to be sure they’re OK.” You’re standing outside the mess hall at This is real war, and its effect on people — Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan, and the hunter and hunted — is profound. Lutheran Air Force chaplain is telling you Finally, you’re sitting at breakfast in about his preparations to make sure the dozen the mess hall at Al Udeid and watching a or so Jewish service members at the base will raven-haired Air Force servicewoman at the have everything they need for the High Holy next table quietly saying grace over her tray Days. of cereal and fruit. Her colleagues around her You’re sitting in the cockpit of a C-130 are as diverse as the colors on that Syrian map. as the woman pilot from the Minnesota Air But they’re all on the same team, bound not National Guard does a complex corkscrew by race, religion, tribe or sect, but by a simple — aptly known as a “puker landing” — into Air Force credo: “Integrity first; service before Baghdad, while her all-male crew carefully self; excellence in all we do.” executes her orders. For a moment you wonder, How crazy is it You’re talking to the young man piloting that you have to come to Qatar, Kuwait, Kabul an F-22 stealth fighter who is describing how and Kandahar to see the best of America and careful he has to be when he engages Russian America at its best? or Syrian fighter jets. The stealth technology But then you remember: America produced of his plane is so good he is basically invisible these people. Their ethos is both latent and to the Syrians and Russians until he pops up present throughout our society. We just need right on their tail. to inspire more of it. And now more than His rules of engagement, he says, dictate ever, because other forces are latent, too, and that if they are not threatening him, he warn ominously surfacing — by permission of our them by radio that he’s behind them. “They president — like white supremacy. just can’t see us,” he told me, “and you don’t Precisely because we have a president want to spook the herd.” with no moral authority, we need parents and You’re on the tarmac at Al Dhafra air base principals, mayors and teachers, to be our in the United Arab Emirates going 90 mph in a “commanders in chief” — for the next 3 1/2 Dodge Charger, following right behind a U-2 years — to inspire and scale the best of what spy plane as it lands, helping to “catch” it. The is in our society, what’s so clearly on display U-2 pilot is in a spacesuit — he flies above in these far-flung military outposts. Indeed, we 70,000 feet — and has little peripheral vision need it now as much as the Middle Easterners or ability to look downward. So a chase car do. carries another pilot, who tells the U-2 pilot by ■ radio how many feet he is off the ground so he Thomas Friedman, a New York Times knows exactly when to stall the engines and columnist, was awarded two Pulitzer Prizes hit the runway gently, balancing delicately on for international reporting in Beirut and Israel his plane’s two tiny wheels. and one for commentary. This is our war in the Middle East today in two maps: “Star Wars” meets “Game of Thrones.”