Black Voices in Commentary
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Commentary
on the War Bookmark this page for the latest commentary on the war from members of the Trotter Group.
The Huntsville Times: "Wednesday's scene of the U.S. Marines and a crowd of Iraqis toppling of Saddam Hussein's tribute to himself was riveting. But it was also telling. If Iraq's citizens didn't have the right tools to tear down a statue by themselves, how can they be expected to build a lasting, thriving democratic government by themselves? Read the column New!
More from James Ragland:
More from Elmer Smith:
More from Gregory Stanford:
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Betty Baye, Louisville Courier-Journal:
"I WAS at home watching Cedric the Entertainer when the show was
interrupted by the announcement that the invasion of Iraq had
commenced. The switch from Cedric's clowning to images of the ''shock
and awe'' bombing of Baghdad constituted the ultimate reality show."
Donna Britt, Washington Post:
"This is a family newspaper, but it's time to deal frankly --
steel yourself -- with that awful, four-letter F-word. Fear."
Mary
C. Curtis of the Charlotte Observer: "I'm a proud citizen of the United States. I support
our leaders and our soldiers. But I don't support the ugly feelings
that sprout up as often as the Stars and Stripes under the guise of
wartime patriotism."
Joe Davidson, 
Lewis Diuguid,
Kansas City Star: "For
12 hours today near the Country Club Plaza, some peace advocates will
take turns reading the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Beyond Vietnam"
speech. Their timing couldn't be better. Today marks a double tragedy
in American history. Thirty-five years ago, an assassin fatally shot
King in Memphis, Tenn. The Martin Luther King Jr. Study and Action
Group of the Kansas City Iraq Task Force wants people to remember the
nation's champion of nonviolence and civil rights.
Loretta
Green, San Jose Mercury News: "If you ever want to see
how insane war is, look into the eyes of our young soldiers. You will
surely conclude that we have gone mad. Eighteen, 20, 25 -- they are
children lugging in their backpacks the ponderous baggage of their
elders' failed diplomacy.
C.B
Hanif, Palm Beach Post: "Hugh Barclay e-mailed to say that
this newspaper's "headlines, the pictures, and their location are all
carefully calculated to make Iraq look good and the United States look
bad."
Dwight Lewis,
Nashville Tennessean:
"It was
just before noon Thursday when they started gathering. One by one,
they took their spot on the viaduct on Broadway, only blocks from
downtown Nashville."
Derrick Z. Jackson, The Boston Globe: "I
flipped from the 131st replay of the toppling of Saddam Hussein's
statue to catching five minutes of something other than war. What
should there be roaring all across the ESPN screen but an auto race.
How American."
Eugene
Kane, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "So this is what
liberation looks like. Great statues toppled with chains and ropes.
Looting in the streets as war-torn residents squared off over bare
essentials. Jailhouses emptied of all prisoners. To the uninformed
eye, it's hard to tell whether this is jubilation or anarchy.
Norm Lockman, Wilmington News Journal:
"America has proven it can conquer. Even those of us who opposed
the idea of using military force rather than diplomacy to end the
threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction must concede that the
invasion has been exceedingly successful up to this point and --
taking a moment to honor our dead, captured, missing and wounded -
should rejoice that the initial combat phase is probably nearing an
end.
Sheryl
McCarthy, Newsday: "While traveling with an Army
maintenance unit in Iraq last month, she and her fellow soldiers were
ambushed by Iraqi soldiers after making a wrong turn."
Sherman
N. Miller, freelance: "The debate over whether President
George Bush has made a case for war to remove Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein and his cronies from power makes you shudder to think how
short folks’ memories are on the potential impact of weapons of mass
destruction."
Courtland
Milloy, Washington Post: "The war against Iraq, as
Graylan Scott Hagler sees it, has dropped a cluster of destructive
messages on America: Do unto others before they do unto you. Might
makes right. War is peace. Support the troops by keeping them in
harm's way."
Terry
M. Neal,
Les Payne, Newsday: "They
were the most chilling words ever spoken to me. My interrogator had
just finished with me and he looked pleased. He had not broken me, but
I was not altogether in tact either. I was a reporter on assignment,
but he had blurred the mission."
Brenda Payton,
Oakland Tribune::
"Without the support of the United Nations, without a clear
reason for immediate military action, without a plan for post-war
Iraq, President George W. Bush lurches forward with his obsession to
oust Saddam Hussein."
David
Person, Special to BlackAmericaWeb.com:
"If what they say about Asan Akbar is true, somebody should have
schooled him on the centuries-old problem of being black in the white
man’s world."
James Ragland, Dallas Morning News:
"Once, after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on America, Yuksel Yasar
had a man question his nationality and, in a backhanded way, his
loyalty. It was not a smart thing to do."
Rochelle Riley, Detroit Free Press: "Marine
Pfc. Chad E. Bales, Coahoma, Texas, 20. Marine Cpl. Mark A. Evnin,
South Burlington, Vt., 21. Marine Pfc. Christian D. Gurtner, Ohio
City, Ohio, 19. The story haunts me. It touches me the way it must
have millions of others who read it in their Tuesday morning
newspapers."
Elmer Smith, Philadelphia Daily News:
"MY SUNDAY school teacher had worked himself into a mild lather by the
time I slipped into my seat. He's usually got some sin or other lined
up in his gunsights. This week his target was what he calls "these
ridiculous" protesters. "Do they really think this is going to end the
war?" he asked."
Tonyaa Weathersbee,
Florida Times-Union:
"If the opening hours of this lopsided match between
our forces and those of Saddam Hussein's last week were any
indication, by now Baghdad may be well on its way to becoming the
Mideast's newest parking lot."
DeWayne Wickham, USA Today/Gannett News Service:
"On Friday, the day U.S. forces seized control of Baghdad's major
airport, a small group of anti-war demonstrators gathered outside New
York City's Riverside Church to protest the fighting in Iraq. Their
demonstration was part of an observance of the 35th anniversary of the
assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights movement's
most revered leader."
Armstrong
Williams, talk show host: "In the aftermath of September
11, President Bush turned to his advisors and asked, what can we do to
make sure this doesn't happen again. Their response, among other
things, has been to augment foreign policy to confront the new threats
of the twenty first century-rogue states intent on acquiring weapons
of mass destruction."