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Afghan War Worse Than We Thought? How Is That Possible?

Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s expose in Rolling Stone already demonstrated that the war effort in Afghanistan is going much worse than we had imagined. Now the release of 90,000 classified US government documents provide greater context to our fears.

These documents, allegedly leaked by US army intelligence analyst, Spc. Bradley Manning to Wikileaks.org, emphasize that elements within the government of our “ally” Pakistan may be providing training to the Taliban, helping them to attack US troops, that civilian deaths have been underreported, that the US military’s unmanned drone program is largely a failure, and friendly fire deaths among NATO forces and among Afghan security forces are epidemic.

Aside from key efforts within the Democratic Party by politically connected activists like the progressives at Democrats.com, the antiwar left has been nearly silent, choosing to give a pass to the Obama administration and the Democratically led Congress. How long can this last? We have to pressure Congress and the administration to change course.

The war in Afghanistan is unwinnable, and that won’t change during the Obama administration nor the administration afterward. However, the US position in Afghanistan is extremely complex, and our complete and immediate withdrawal might cause the broader region to descend into chaos.

It is obvious that the war effort cannot continue the way it has. Military minds say that Obama’s escalation and counter insurgency strategy isn’t working.  So what is the answer? And how many billions must be spent and how many lives must be lost while our corrupt, unethical, inept politicians engage in partisan bickering instead of working to come up with real solutions?

Rest In The Funk, Chris Walker

Now Playing: Leave It Alone (featuring Chris Walker on Stunt Bass)

After a valiant three year battle, Cincinnati bass guitarist and funk warrior Chris Walker succumbed on Saturday to the injuries he sustained in a car crash back in 2007. He leaves with us a legacy of wonderful memories, all joy, laughter and dancing.

I wrote about my friend and brother back in August of last year when I traveled to Cincy to play at a Friends for Chris Walker benefit concert. His sister, Carole, and the many musical friends Chris cultivated over the years held periodic performances to help pay the former working musician’s medical bills.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, July 10 in Cincinnati. Rest in The Funk, my brother.

The Runaway War: Why Firing McChrystal Won’t Help

So I finally got a chance to read the Rolling Stone article that brought down a general.

It is said that General Stanley McChrystal was fired for his contemptuous attitude toward his civilian bosses. However, McChrystal’s conduct isn’t the most damning aspect of the piece.

Michael Hastings paints a bleak portrait of the adventure that is the longest war in US history. The Counter Insurgency strategy (abbreviated COIN) advocated by McChrystal and sold to Obama isn’t working, and isn’t likely to work.

The article leaves me repeating the same question I’ve been asking for years: “What’s the point? Why are we at war in Afghanistan?”

Take this assessment from the article:

After nine years of war, the Taliban simply remains too strongly entrenched for the U.S. military to openly attack. The very people that COIN seeks to win over – the Afghan people – do not want us there.

Our supposed ally, President Karzai, used his influence to delay the offensive, and the massive influx of aid championed by McChrystal is likely only to make things worse. “Throwing money at the problem exacerbates the problem,” says Andrew Wilder, an expert at Tufts University who has studied the effect of aid in southern Afghanistan. “A tsunami of cash fuels corruption, delegitimizes the government and creates an environment where we’re picking winners and losers” – a process that fuels resentment and hostility among the civilian population.

So far, counterinsurgency has succeeded only in creating a never-ending demand for the primary product supplied by the military: perpetual war. There is a reason that President Obama studiously avoids using the word “victory” when he talks about Afghanistan. Winning, it would seem, is not really possible.

And if winning isn’t possible, then why continue to waste American treasure and lives?

When are the American people going to get fed up and demand that our president bring the troops home?

Click HERE to read the full article – “Rolling Stone: The Runaway General”

Open Letter: US Social Forum – WDIV Got It WRONG

Note from Nadir: This is a personal statement in response to WDIV’s misguided report on the US Social Forum. It is not an official USSF statement.

My name is J. Nadir Omowale, and I am a member of Detroit’s Entertainment Commission. I am a musician, Detroit advocate, and a volunteer for the US Social Forum.

I LIVE HERE!!! I’M A CITY OFFICIAL!!! I AM NOT PROTESTING DETROIT!! I LOVE DETROIT!!!

I am appalled at WDIV’s incorrect, misguided and dangerous portrayal of the United States Social Forum and its attendees as “protesters”.

The US Social Forum is a gathering of community organizers, and social justice activists. We are meeting in Detroit to teach and learn from each other.

Yes, Detroit was chosen partially because of the many challenges that the city faces, but it was also chosen for the great progress we have made as we work to improve the economic and social climate here. Continue reading

Who’s Afraid of an Angry Black Man?

http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed_edition&videoId=us/2010/06/09/cb.obama.anger.management.cnn

For better or worse, one thing is certain: Barack Obama’s presidency forces Americans to face our own thinly camouflaged racial tensions.

Once a taboo subject, race has become a common topic in our public and private discourse. Whether it’s conservative pols using YouTube video to stoke the embers of racial division, my longtime friend and foil, libertarian commentator Paul Hue, challenging racial assumptions and stereotypes on his Facebook page, or the always insightful and provocative, anti-racism activist Tim Wise, debating with Roland Martin, Julia Reed and Don Lemon on CNN, race is now front and center on our computer screens, on talk radio shows and on our minds.

The question of Obama’s anger is especially timely to me because of a discussion I had a couple of days ago with my manager and friend, Cornelius Harris, of Alter Ego Management. He stressed the importance of guarding my own words to avoid projecting what some people may perceive as an “angry black man” persona. Cornelius emphasized that a seemingly harmless and even humorous conversation could be misinterpreted because of our society’s racial conditioning. It’s not just an issue for Obama. This is something black men face in the boardroom, at the bus stop and in the world of music.

John Blake’s article on CNN.com asks point blank: “Who would have ever expected some white Americans to demand that an African-American man show more rage?”

Obama’s presidency forces America to confront its fear of the black man, and along with the immigration debate, the so-called war on terror, and the many aspects of the economic crisis, we are openly talking about our fear of the brown man, the red man, the yellow man and even the white man. Race has become a common topic because in this multicultural society, our fear of “the other” has never been far from the surface.

On one hand, this is a good thing. These are conversations that we’ve largely avoided in the post-civil rights era. The climate of fear is high right now, so perhaps this is some sort of group therapy, where we talk about some of the fears and phobias that persist in our lives.

However, as Julia Reed points out in the CNN segment above, all this talk of race may be distracting us from the real issues at hand. (Notably, the only woman in the debate asks about the logic of even having the argument.)

How much do our racial attitudes play into our perception of public figures and the people we interact with every day in the office, on the street or over the Internet? Do these attitudes (or even the analysis of the tensions) distract us from the real problems of environmental disaster, corporate and political corruption, and economic meltdown?

And perhaps most importantly, can’t we all just get along?

The Pre-Criminalization of Black Boys

In this article from Black Voices, Jeff Mays states that it’s tough to be a black boy in Nashville, Tennessee. I would argue that it’s tough for black boys all over. These problems aren’t exclusive to Nashville, and it doesn’t get better as those boys grow into men. If anything it gets worse.

According to Mays, “nationally, black kids are suspended three times more often than whites.”

The treatment some black males receive in school only conditions them to future stigmatization and negative behaviors. The practice of treating black male students more harshly for behavioral problems is the first step for the school-to-prison pipeline, the trend of dealing with our children as criminals as opposed to the still-developing, potential-filled young people that they are.

Behavioral problems among young boys are real. As hormones begin to explode, and whatever environmental concerns erupt, kids exhibit all kinds of strange behavior.

But how much of this suspension issue is based on teachers’ and administrators’ perception of black boys as problem children? Continue reading

Nashville Underwater and Forgotten

The national media was late covering the recent flooding in Nashville.

It wasn’t until the photos started popping up on Facebook, and until I started receiving messages from friends there that I realized the damage.

Because the national news was MIA, Nashvillians were forced to use the Internet to show the world what was happening.

Continue reading

Tim Wise: Imagine If The Tea Party Was Black

Here’s an interesting and provocative post by our friend, Tim Wise.

What if the Tea Party was Black? Would they get away with half the stunts they’ve pulled at rallies?

“Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black” – Tim Wise

Let’s play a game, shall we?

The name of the game is called “Imagine.” The way it’s played is simple: we’ll envision recent happenings in the news, but then change them up a bit. Instead of envisioning white people as the main actors in the scenes we’ll conjure – the ones who are driving the action – we’ll envision black folks or other people of color instead. The object of the game is to imagine the public reaction to the events or incidents, if the main actors were of color, rather than white. Whoever gains the most insight into the workings of race in America, at the end of the game, wins.

So let’s begin.

Imagine that hundreds of black protesters were to descend upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia, just a few miles from the Capitol and White House, armed with AK-47s, assorted handguns, and ammunition. And imagine that some of these protesters —the black protesters — spoke of the need for political revolution, and possibly even armed conflict in the event that laws they didn’t like were enforced by the government? Would these protester — these black protesters with guns — be seen as brave defenders of the Second Amendment, or would they be viewed by most whites as a danger to the republic? What if they were Arab-Americans? Because, after all, that’s what happened recently when white gun enthusiasts descended upon the nation’s capital, arms in hand, and verbally announced their readiness to make war on the country’s political leaders if the need arose. Continue reading

Love TKO: RIP – Teddy Pendergrass

Now Playing: Love TKO – Nadir’s Distorted Soul Live at Memphis Smoke

Teddy Pendergrass was a giant among men. An amazing singer, and charismatic performer, he provided even greater inspiration when he returned to music making and performing after a tragic car accident left him paralyzed. His strength and courage is an example to all of us as we deal with whatever trials and tribulations come into our lives.

Rest in Peace, Teddy. We love you and will miss you.

“Love TKO” is my favorite Teddy song, and one of my favorite songs period. I’ve been performing it for years, always doing my best to live up to Teddy’s powerful vocals. I’ve never quite made it, but I sure have fun making the attempt.

In tribute to Mr. Pendergrass: Love TKO – Nadir’s Distorted Soul Live at Memphis Smoke
Click to Listen/Right-Click to Download and Share

“Sing along if you know the words!”

Why Music is Like an Addiction…and Why I Will Never Quit

Check out Nadir’s guest blog on GetSigned.com

My name is Nadir, and I’m an addict. I’ve been addicted to playing music for a very long time. And being addicted to music is like being addicted to crack.

Okay. I’ll confess. I’ve never smoked crack.

But the rush of being onstage… When I’ve got the mic in my hand, and the band is killing it, I am high. At that very moment I am completely myself. Not acting or posing for the crowd, but telling my story, singing from the depths of my soul. There’s nothing like it except…

Read the Rest of the Article HERE

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© Nadir Omowale