Letter: Obama's election could bring peace
Alberto N. Jones
Palm Coast
Publication Date: 11/24/08
Editor: The election of Barack Obama to the Presidency of the United States of America, have created an unprecedented outpouring of good will, hope and expectation, that a friendlier, kinder and peaceful world may be possible.
On Jan. 21, 2009, among the many pressing issues demanding Obama's complete and undivided attention are the monstrous housing crisis, the worldwide economic meltdown, severe unemployment, energy and healthcare crisis, the Middle East conflict, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the simmering tensions in Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Venezuela, Bolivia, Guantanamo Bay Cuba and much more.
The one that can be solved easily would be the immediate closure by decree of the infamous detention center in Cuba. It has senselessly and irreversibly tarnished the image of our nation through repeated allegations of to a close. In order to bring this sad episode to closure, the 105 years illegal occupation of 45 square miles of Cuban territory turned into the United States Naval Base in Guantanamo, must be negotiated by a high-ranking, bi-lateral commission, returned intact to its legal owner, address all outstanding payments and decontaminate its soil, superficial and underground waters, with tons of toxic waste originating from years of bombing and strafing practice raids.
This sprawling facility could be converted into a gigantic international research, medical and pharmaceutical tropical medicine center, the world's largest environmental research and development institute, a center for peace and human development, a huge judicial rehabilitation center, charged with restoring the broken lives of tens of thousands prisoners rotting hopelessly in jails.
To finance that, set aside the funds that are budgeted for one month of the war in Iraq, and reparations funds that may be applied against every country and business entity in the world, that benefited in any way from 500 years of slave trade and slavery.
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1 comment:
It's a fascinating proposal, and I'm delighted to see that the letter was published.
However, I suspect that most black Americans would not be pleased at a proposal to extract reparations for the centuries of slavery ... and use those funds to finance an unrelated issue, instead of helping those who suffer from the legacy of slavery today.
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