Marin County

Opinion: No, President Trump, the Never-Ending War in Afghanistan is Not Ending

Published

4 years ago

March 5, 2020

Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.

Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.

That is the one lesson that we all should have learned about President Donald Trump. He’s a salesman, not a statesman. He offers up fantasies, not facts.
The most recent agreement with the Taliban in Afghanistan is a clear example of this.

In the 2016 campaign, Trump had the good sense to promise to end America’s forever wars and bring the troops home. Afghanistan, our longest war now in its 19th year, is a classic example.

We invaded Afghanistan to get Osama bin Laden and punish his forces for their attack on America on 9/11. We threw the Taliban out of power. Under Obama’s watch, bin Laden was found and killed.

Yet we didn’t get out.

We have squandered trillions of dollars and lost thousands of American lives in an unending war in an impoverished nation on the other side of the world. We don’t care enough to send the troops and invest the trillions needed to occupy the country. Yet no president has had the courage to get the troops out and end the folly.

Trump promised that he would do it. Now, he’s cut a deal with the Taliban that he will use to claim that he’s fulfilled his promise. Don’t fall for the hype.
The deal Trump made with the Taliban will bring U.S. forces down — but only to the approximate level that existed at the end of the Obama administration.

He’s essentially agreed only to reverse the buildup that he had ordered over the last three years.

Further reductions are said to be dependent on the Taliban making a deal with the existing government. But the Afghani government already objects to the agreement that Trump made. It doesn’t want to face the Taliban without U.S. soldiers.

After nearly two decades, it has been unable to create a legitimate government and a coherent military that can consolidate its position.
If we wait for the Afghan government to agree for U.S. soldiers to leave, the forever war will continue, well, forever.

Trump wants credit for ending the war — and fulfilling his campaign promise — without ending it. He wants to get out, but he doesn’t want to be blamed for losing.
What’s needed is a clear commitment to get out — not dependent on what the Afghani government or the Taliban do. Trump has failed to produce that, violating the campaign pledge he made to the American people.

The sad reality is that we have no reason to be in Afghanistan.
The country is impoverished, not strategic. The Taliban are oppressive and violent. The Afghanis should be uniting to defeat the Taliban and keep them from coming to power. But this is the responsibility of the Afghanis, not of the United States.

The architects of the forever war warn that we will lose credibility if we get out and the government collapses. But what could be a greater loss of credibility than fighting futilely for nearly two decades without victory and without end?

They warn that without U.S. forces, Afghanistan could become a launching ground for terrorists. But, as we’ve seen, terrorists have many places to train in failed states — including those we’ve helped create like Libya.

We would be far better off — and far more secure from terrorists — if we stopped destabilizing the Middle East, ended the forever wars, stopped sponsoring regime changes, and addressed the threat of terrorism as a matter for intelligence, international cooperation, and aggressive policing.

At the very least, we should stop wasting trillions of dollars and thousands of American lives on wars that we have no plan or commitment to win.
Trump was right in 2016: Great powers do not fight endless wars. He is wrong to pretend that he’s bringing the troops home from Afghanistan when all he’s agreed to is to bring them back down to the level they were at when he took office.

Americans are right to want an end to the endless wars. We need a president who has the courage and common sense to end them.
Trump has proven once more that he is not that president.

Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.

Posts by Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.

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Art

Marin County: A Snapshot of California’s Black History Is on Display

The Marin County Office of Education, located at 1111 Las Gallinas Ave in San Rafael, will host the extraordinary exhibit, “The Legacy of Marin City: A California Black History Story (1942-1960),” from Feb. 1 to May 31, 2024. The interactive, historical, and immersive exhibit featuring memorabilia from Black shipyard workers who migrated from the South to the West Coast to work at the Marinship shipyard will provide an enriching experience for students and school staff. Community organizations will also be invited to tour the exhibit.

Published

1 week ago

April 16, 2024

Oakland Post

Early photo of Marin City in the exhibit showing the first department store, barber shop, and liquor store. (Photo by Godfrey Lee)

By Post Staff

The interactive, historical, and immersive exhibit featuring memorabilia from Black shipyard workers who migrated from the South to the West Coast to work at the Marinship shipyard will provide an enriching experience for students and school staff. Community organizations will also be invited to tour the exhibit.

All will have the opportunity to visit and be guided by its curator Felecia Gaston.

The exhibit will include photographs, articles and artifacts about the Black experience in Marin City from 1942 to 1960 from the Felecia Gaston Collection, the Anne T. Kent California Room Collection, The Ruth Marion and Pirkle Jones Collection, The Bancroft Library, and the Daniel Ruark Collection.

It also features contemporary original artwork by Chuck D of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group Public Enemy, clay sculptures by San Francisco-based artist Kaytea Petro, and art pieces made by Marin City youth in collaboration with Lynn Sondag, Associate Professor of Art at Dominican University of California.

The exhibit explores how Marin City residents endured housing inequities over the years and captures the history of plans to remove Black residents from the area after World War II. Throughout, it embodies the spirit of survival and endurance that emboldened the people who made Marin City home.

Felecia Gaston is the author of the commemorative book, ‘A Brand New Start…This is Home: The Story of World War II Marinship and the Legacy of Marin City.’ Thanks to the generous contribution of benefactors, a set of Felecia’s book will be placed in every public elementary, middle, and high school library in Marin.

In addition, educators and librarians at each school will have the opportunity to engage with Felecia in a review of best practices for utilizing the valuable primary sources within the book.

“Our goal is to provide students with the opportunity to learn from these significant and historical contributions to Marin County, California, and the United States,” said John Carroll, Marin County Superintendent of Schools.

“By engaging with Felecia’s book and then visiting the exhibit, students will be able to further connect their knowledge and gain a deeper understanding of this significant historical period,” Carroll continued.

Felecia Gaston adds, “The Marin County Office of Education’s decision to bring the Marin City Historical Traveling Exhibit and publication, ‘A Brand New Start…This is Home’ to young students is intentional and plays a substantial role in the educational world. It is imperative that our community knows the contributions of Marin City Black residents to Marin County. Our youth are best placed to lead this transformation.”

The Marin County Office of Education will host an Open House Reception of the exhibit’s debut on Feb. 1 from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.. All school staff, educators, librarians, and community members are encouraged to attend to preview the exhibit and connect with Felecia Gaston. To contact Gaston, email MarinCityLegacy@marinschools.org

Oakland Post

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Bay Area

New Marin County HHS Director Brings Breadth of Bay Area Experience

On Feb. 20, Dr. Lisa Warhuus, a psychologist with over 25 years of social services experience, will take over as Marin County’s new Director of Health and Human Services. She replaces Dr. Benita McLaren, who retired in December 2023.

Published

3 months ago

January 23, 2024

Oakland Post

(File Photo) On Feb. 20, Dr. Lisa Warhuus will take over as Marin County’s new Director of Health and Human Services.

By Oakland Press Staff

On Feb. 20, Dr. Lisa Warhuus, a psychologist with over 25 years of social services experience, will take over as Marin County’s new Director of Health and Human Services.

She replaces Dr. Benita McLaren, who retired in December 2023.

“We feel very fortunate to have someone with Dr. Warhuus’ skills and ability join our executive team,” said Marin County Executive Matthew Hymel.

“Throughout her career, Dr. Warhuus has demonstrated an ability to bring stakeholders together to effectively address our most complex community challenges,” Hymel continued.

With the County of Marin, Dr. Warhuus will lead a team of over 800 full-time equivalent staff positions and manage an annual budget of $258 million.

Her annual salary will be $288,433 with benefits consistent with those received by other department heads.

Most recently, Warhuus served as the Director of Health, Housing, and Community Services for the City of Berkeley. In that role, she oversaw a budget of more than $100 million and more than 200 employees across various divisions, including Public Health, Mental Health, Environmental Health, Housing and Community Services, and Aging Services.

“It is a true honor to have been selected for this important position. I cannot wait to get to know the incredible community of Marin County and to collaborate with the dedicated team within the Department of Health and Human Services,” said Warhuus.

Before working for the City of Berkeley, Warhuus served as Director of Children and Youth Initiatives at the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency. Before that, she was an Associate Director. In that role, she “managed and cultivated partnerships that helped expand mental health programs in multiple school districts. She also championed culturally responsive health and wellness services that aimed to support vulnerable populations,” according to a Marin County press release.

For Berkeley, “Warhuus was also a vital member of the Senior Executive Team providing counsel to the City Manager, Mayor, City Council, and the public on matters pertaining to health and housing,” the press release continued. “Notably, she played a key role in initiatives such as the City’s response to COVID-19, contributing to the citywide emergency efforts, and spearheading the development of a 24/7 mobile crisis response for individuals facing mental health and/or substance use crises.”

Warhuus earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from UC Berkeley and master’s and doctoral degrees from Aarhus University in Denmark.