Iraq Is Bad … But What About Urban America?
The war in Iraq has destabilized the Middle East and is putting an untold cost on the backs of American soldiers. But it is not the only war being waged. In 2004, 848 American soldiers were killed in Iraq, according to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count. In that same year, 2,803 Black men between the ages of 15 and 24 were killed by guns in America’s inner cities, according to the Violence Policy Center — more than three times the American death toll in Iraq.
Who is talking about this domestic war? Not many. In his 2007 State of the Union address, President Bush used the word “terror” 22 times. He used the word “Iraq” 35 times. How many times did he mention urban violence? Zero.
The two leading Democratic presidential candidates — U.S. Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama — apparently aren’t so interested either. Neither of their Web sites list gun violence as an issue — even though it is the No. 1 cause of death for young Black men
in America.
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