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dir="ltr"> <font size="-2"><a id="reader-domain" class="domain"
href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/11/01/its-all-about-africom/">https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/11/01/its-all-about-africom/</a></font>
<h1 id="reader-title">It’s All About Africom</h1>
<p class="post_meta"> <span class="post_author_intro">by</span>
<span class="post_author" itemprop="author"><a
href="https://www.counterpunch.org/author/puqafru2raye2ru/"
rel="nofollow">Margaret Kimberley</a></span> </p>
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<p>The desire to be affirmed by American society has
dangerous consequences for black people. This pernicious
dynamic creates the inclination to worship any black
face in a high place or to defend questionable activity.
The death of special forces Sergeant La David Johnson in
Niger is a case in point. Donald Trump’s racism and
stupidity prevented him from performing the simple task
of conveying appropriate condolences to Johnson’s widow.
The ensuing brouhaha focuses on what Trump said in the
phone call overheard by Congressional Black Caucus
member Frederica Wilson.</p>
<p>Almost no one is asking about the fact that American
troops are stationed in Africa at all. Few people
realize that such a thing as the United States Africa
Command (<a href="http://www.africom.mil/">AFRICOM </a>)
exists and that the military forces of most African
nations have been under the de facto control of this
country since the George W. Bush administration.</p>
<p>There is similar silence about the role that the United
States played in bringing groups designated as
terrorists into nations such as Niger and Mali. The
decision to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi in Libya is
directly responsible for Boko Haram and Al-Qaeda
affiliate groups gaining a foothold throughout the
region. Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and their NATO
partners in crime were not just responsible for the
deaths of thousands of Libyans, <a
href="https://www.blackagendareport.com/obama_brought_slavery_to_libya">slavery</a> in
that country, and an ongoing humanitarian crisis. They
are responsible for bringing state sponsored terror to
the entire region.</p>
<p>Focusing on Donald Trump’s bad behavior is a sure path
to confusion and accommodation. Instead of denouncing
imperialism, otherwise sensible people are waving the
flag and attacking Trump using right wing terminology.
They use ludicrous terms like “gold star family” and
make the case for continued American aggression around
the world.</p>
<p>It is pointless to ask about the specific circumstances
of Johnson’s death. He died along with three other
soldiers in the murky circumstances that are to be
expected in warfare. Any questions posed should be about
America’s ever-expanding empire and the determination to
make war on as many places in the world as possible.</p>
<p>Black people should feel no need to validate themselves
through military service or any other undertaking. As
the people who have suffered through centuries of unpaid
labor, Jim Crow apartheid and constant oppression, we
should feel no need to uphold this system. Yet we have
already proven a willingness to die for the interests of
a corrupt and dangerous state. There is frankly no
reason to show pride in Johnson’s death or to allow a
member of the CBC to turn an important issue into
nonsensical grandstanding versus Trump.</p>
<p>At this juncture in history all talk of patriotism is
at best foolish and at worst a call for continued crimes
and mass murder. It is also high time to end the
deification of the American war dead, even when they
look like us. They die because they are trying to kill
other people.</p>
<p>Condolences to Johnson’s family are appropriate but
they are also appropriate for the millions of people who
lost loved ones to American empire building in Niger,
Somalia, Libya, Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq.
That is a short list which only includes the victims of
American war crimes committed in the past 20 years.</p>
<p>No one should be fooled by crocodile tears from white
Americans with grudges against Trump. If Sergeant
Johnson had been killed by a police officer in an
American city many of the same white people who now rush
to call him a hero would either shrug their shoulders in
indifference or applaud his death. They should not be
allowed to jump on the bandwagon of fake concern because
Trump is their target.</p>
<p>As for congresswoman Wilson, she has a golden
opportunity to discuss the impact of American
interventions abroad and question their rationale. But
like the rest of her CBC colleagues, her interests are
confined to reliance on the largesse of the Democratic
Party and their corporate benefactors. Trump’s bad
behavior makes him an easy target for scorn and a
convenient punching bag for the useless black political
class. If Wilson wants to take on the president it ought
to be for more substantive reasons. Likening his
boorishness to “Benghazi” uses a right wing trope for
ridiculous effect.</p>
<p>Any discussion about Sergeant Johnson ought to point
out that he was a victim of the poverty draft. Before
enlisting he worked at Walmart, a sure path to continued
poverty or to the dubious odds offered by the army.
Trump said that Johnson “knew what he signed up for” but
that is probably not true. He took a chance and hoped
for the best. Unfortunately, the machinations of Bush,
Obama, Clinton and Trump made his choice a bad one. If
the Congresswoman wants to have a debate she could start
with the realities of Johnson’s life and how it ran
afoul of United States foreign policy. Only then would
her fight with a president be worthwhile.</p>
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<p class="author_description"> <em><strong>Margaret
Kimberley</strong> writes the <a
href="http://freedomrider.blogspot.com">Freedom Rider</a>
column for Black Agenda Report, where this
essay originally appeared. </em> </p>
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