Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=3-6-03

TYPE=BOOK WORLD

NUMBER=7-37244

TITLE="WHAT NEXT," BY WALTER MOSLEY

BYLINE=NANCY BEARDSLEY

TELEPHONE=619-1107

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

EDITOR=VICKI SWANEY

CONTENT=

(ATTN: PLEASE SEE EDITORS NOTE AT END CONCERNING PROPORTION OF AFRICAN AMERICAN TROOPS IN U.S. MILITARY AND IN COMBAT POSITIONS)

INTRO: A new poll shows that African Americans are more opposed to a U.S. war with Iraq than other major ethnic groups in the United States. The Pew Research Center Survey found forty four percent of African Americans support military action, compared to seventy three percent of white Americans and sixty seven percent of Hispanics. Best selling African American crime writer Walter Mosley is among those who question the need for military action. He recently published a new non-fiction book called "What Next: A Memoir Toward World Peace." VOA's Nancy Beadsley reports:

NARR: Like other people in the United States, African Americans have been listening to President Bush's charge that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction, and that he presents an international threat that justifies going to war. Here's a sampling of how they respond:

TAPE CUT ONE: MONTAGE

VOICE 1: "I don't support the war. I do think we need to take all extreme measures in order to prevent a war, because war affects everyone worldwide."

VOICE 2: "Until he shows the American public there's proof of that, he shouldn't go over the U.N. and the procedures in regards to inspections. I think right now he's alienating a lot of his allies.

VOICE 3:" Whatever needs to be done. If our lives are being threatened, I think we should go in and take care of whatever the problem is."

VOICE 4: "I think there are other ways to resolve things, other than going to war."

NARR: Walter Mosley sees at least two important reasons why African Americans are likely to oppose an invasion of Iraq:

TAPE CUT TWO: MOSLEY

"Why would we want to support a war against people when you feel that number one, in your own country, there are issues facing African Americans which are dire and which this war has nothing to do with. And of course because there's such a disproportionate number of people of color in the army, why would we want to send our own people over there to get killed?"

NARR: Walter Mosley invites anyone to read his book, but "What Next" is really a call to action for African Americans. The author has a view of the World Trade Center from his apartment window, and when the first plane crashed into the tower on September eleventh, he heard the impact. Later he remembered a question he'd once asked his father:

TAPE CUT THREE: MOSLEY

"I asked him were you afraid to go to World War Two? And he said, 'No, I wasn't afraid. I thought it was a war between the Germans and the Americans. But I didn't realize I was an American. I just thought I was a Negro. I figured if the Germans came up to me and said where are the Americans, I'd just point. I'd say the Americans are over there. But the Germans started shooting at me. That's when I realized I was an American.' When I saw those planes crash into the World Trade Center, that's when I realized I was in this conflict with people in the Middle East and other places. And what was my response? My father's response, and a million other people of his time, was the Civil Rights Movement. My response is the inverse of that. There are people around the world who don't have what I have. They don't have running water. They don't have food to eat. I have to make sure those people, mostly people of color, around the world, are treated fairly and well."

NARR: And Walter Mosley believes that's the best way to change the conditions that breed terrorism:

TAPE CUT FOUR: MOSLEY

"Once that's done, the question of terrorism goes out the window. Nobody's going to support it. And the idea that we think we have to fight a war, that's not a winnable battle."

NARR: One of the ironies of the current debate is that U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is an African American who's spoken in favor of the conflict:

TAPE CUT FIVE: COLIN POWELL

"The intelligence case is clear that they have weapons of mass destruction of one kind or another and they are trying develop more and develop those they do not yet have an operational capability for."

NARR: Condoleeza Rice, President Bush's National Security Advisor, is also African American and also supports the war:

TAPE CUT FIVE: RICE

"It is extremely important that the Iraqi people understand that America has always stood not just for power and stability but also for values. And this is a chance for the Iraqi people to liberate themselves of oppression, and it is a chance for the region to see an example of perhaps an Iraq that is on the path to democracy."

NARR: While he disagrees with them, Walter Mosley sees the prominence of those government figureseven their unpopularity in some parts of the worldas a step forward for Black America:

TAPE CUT EIGHT: MOSLEY

"You realize that the Pakistanis see Colin Powell not as a black man, but as an American. And so black people also have to see themselves as Americans. I think George Bush has given more power to black people in the bodies of Condoleeza Rice and Colin Powell than any other President ever has. And I think the impact over the years will probably be pretty good for Black America. But if black America doesn't stand up for itself, doesn't say what they think is right in the world, then that power is useless."

NARR: Walter Mosley urges black Americans to work for peace grass-roots style, by forming discussion groups on current events, by supporting public officials who work for peace, maybe even by running for office themselves. He says African Americans are especially well equipped to understand the fear and hostility on both sides of the terrorist divide:

TAPE CUT NINE: MOSLEY

"We understand hatred and oppression by external groups whom we have to learn how to live with. And what we have to do as a group of people, is we have to identify the principles of unity that bring together the African American communities. It used to be that we had single issues--slavery, apartheid. Now there's all kinds of different people, rich, middle class, poor black people. We have black people from Africa, black people from the Caribbean, black people from America, black people from Europe. All of them see schisms in each other and there are fights. But I think there's a spine of political awareness that brings us all together. And that's what we have to identify."

NARR: Walter Mosley is the author of "What Next: A Memoir Toward World Peace."

(EDITORS NOTE: According to a recent story in USA today, blacks make up about twenty percent of the U.S. military, as compared to twelve percent of the American population. However, they are less likely to be in combat jobs than whites and therefore less likely to be killed or injured. African Americans, for example, make up less than five percent of the force in high risk jobs like Army commandos and Navy and Air force fighter pilots. USA Today suggested that this may be because of lingering discrimination, and also because African Americans join the military to acquire marketable job skills. That means they're less likely to be trained for combat operations.

(OPT. "What Next" was published by Black Classic Press, P.O. Box 13414, Baltimore, Maryland 21203),