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There is a chitload of trauma we must still face, thanks to these dumb ass Republicans. But you will always be honored.

Another issue with Tunisia as well as the other North African nations that needs to be addressed is the anti-Black RACISM that is so pervasive there! The light skinned Arabs and Berbers who run that nation have a hell of a nerve crying about the imperialism and injustice that Europeans are putting on them when THEY have been enslaving and mistreating the Black population and darker skinned Arabs and Berbers for centuries. Infact, it can be argued that neither the Arabs nor the Berbers actually belong there. Both came in and conquered that land and began to occupy it.

My response in that regard was not directed at your initial thread. Topic worthy of discussion. For clarity, I should have quoted the post to which I was responding. Otherwise, Israel as a Middle East presence backed by the US has been grown folks business for 3/4 of a century now. Israel can do no wrong especially as long as the US can rely on them to maintain and further its interests over there. As a result, the US will expend American taxpayer dollars and human capital to insure the stability, prosperity and protection of Israel. As an AfroAmerican, maybe I'm jealous. As Ice Cube said in Boyz n da Hood about the relationship between his mother and brother, "she loved that fool more than she loved me."😁😎

I never said that Blacks should be interested in the Middle East. What I said is that more Blacks are going to die in the Middle East. And this is due to another war pushed by Israel. I am not the first to say this. Plenty of others have as well. And it has little to do with anyone's personal interest. This is why I abhor those who post pseudo-history without any proof, fail to offer links and concentrate on crap like celebrities which does help the Black Community. Kenneth, I applaud you for knowing about PNAC. Most don't and when it comes to the Middle East, they often generalize and posit little understanding of how we got where we are. In 1979, Andrew Young was forced to resign as U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. in 1979 for meeting with a representative of the PLO. African Americans were put on the defensive by angry supporters of Israel who said Blacks have no business discussing MidEast affairs. But Rev. Jesse Jackson pushed back and warned that African Americans have no choice but to be aware of what goes on the Middle East because their people will be among the first to die in that region's conflicts. I knew exactly what he was referring to. Blacks join the U.S. military in high numbers, often as they decide their ultimate future or many sign up for a career. It was not a silly choice after the Vietnam War ended. That's when the U.S. military began airing commercials touting "Be ... All That You Can Be" along with promises of money for college which often eludes young Blacks and Latinos because of their financial constraints. So many Blacks, Latinos and poor Whites did sign up. But little did anyone know that Israel would begin championing total control of the Middle East. Likud Party officials began maneuvering behind the scenes in Washington, D.C., to get the U.S. to launch wars on behalf of Israel. Even before George W. Bush took office in 2001, their allies in the U.S., (the NeoCons), openly admitted they wanted to replace Middle East dictatorial regimes with democracies. One had to be a fool not to realize the countries NeoCons targeted - Iraq, Syria, Iran and even Saudi Arabia, were enemies of Israel. The Neocons planned to begin with Saddam’s Iraq, seen as the weakest opponent, the elimination of which would pave the way for regime change elsewhere. They first took their plan, the PNAC to Bill Clinton who promptly told them to shove it. Pissed off, the NeoCons got Israeli Mossad agent Linda Tripp to coerce a love sick Monica Lewinsky to tell all about her semen stained dress. That move crippled Clinton for the rest of his presidency. In comes Dubya, one of the dumbest men to become POTUS. Donald Trump is the most ignorant. Dubya had no idea there were differences in beliefs between the Shi’ite and Sunni Muslims. By removing Saddam, who was a Sunni, Bush allowed the majority Shi’ites to gain control of Iraq. And the Shia immediately formed a tight link with their Shi’ite brethren who rule Iran. About U.S. 4,550 military members and 3,793 contractors were killed in Iraq between March 2003 and October 2018, according to various databases I've perused. There is no racial breakdown of these numbers. According to Iraq Body Count, (https://www.iraqbodycount.org/) about 288,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed due to the U.S. invasion since 2001. Estimates by PLOS Medicine Journal suggested 405,000 civilian deaths since the U.S. invasion. That’s a little more than the population of Bakersfield, Calif. The link is: https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/search?filterJournals=PLoSMedicine&q=iraq civilian deaths&utm_content=a&utm_campaign=ENG-467 But this is only part of the human real carnage. By taking out Saddam, al Qaeda had no real opposition and simply moved into Iraq. They’ve been there ever since and had an outsized influence in the creation of ISIS. Which has killed thousands of Black Africans in a never ending holy war against the West. For those who may not know, ISIS in Iraq was initially comprised of Sunni Muslims who were forced out of power in Iraq by the U.S. military. They're not finished causing damage. And Because Israel cannot possibly invade and occupy Iran, which is huge in land mass, it needs the U.S. That is what Jesse was warning about in 1979. Our people will likely be in the thick of this nonsense.

Thanks for posting this link regarding the Project for New American Century. It was as disturbing as it was insightful. We need to be concerned about foreign policy and politics. Black people cannot afford to disengage just focusing on self improvement and entrepreneurship alone. We need to be sophisticated in our advocacy and voting to challenge politicians and elites committed to endless war and regime change. Furthermore we need to challenge our young people to rethink the notion that the military is a means of self improvement and economic opportunity. The United States has ruined things in places like Iraq and Libiya through military intervention. We need to make sure that support for Ukraine against Russia doesn't escalate into a wider war that involves the US and NATO as well. Foreign policy is a black issue because the military is full of young black people who will be disproportionate casualties in any war. As for your initial concern about war with Iran we need black and progressive voices to call for change. I'm no expert but here's what I think : 1. Ease sanctions against Iran and revive the Obama era nuclear deal. 2. Encourage peace and reconciliation between Shiite Iran and its largely Sunni Arab neighbors like Saudi Arabia which will ease tensions and lessen conflict. 3. Make it clear to Israel that the US opposes preemptive force against Iran and that American financial and military aid will be adversely affected by attacking Iran. We need to speak out against heated rhetoric by politicians of both parties that exacerbates conflict.

@Rodney campbell Never really thought about this! Oh WOW! This is very interesting. This sounds like what I've heard from @Delano

that sounds cynical even for you 😉 but is fodder for another thread… I’ll check this out too. I have a small telescope not much better that a good pair of binoculars but if i can grab a shot I’ll post it here.