This Week’s Under-reported News Summary March 11, 2020

Compiled by Bob Nixon

U.S. launches ‘defensive strike” at Taliban
Under Trump, income growth lags in key battleground states
Trump betrayed Oreo union workers

March 11, 2020

The U.S. military launched airstrikes against Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan only hours after President Donald Trump had a phone call with Taliban negotiator Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. After the Trump regime and Taliban signed an agreement in Doha on February 29th , Taliban fighters attacked Afghan Army posts in dozens of provinces. Meanwhile, the Afghan government is refusing to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners, a precondition for future peace talks.

(“U.S. Launches ’Defensive Strike’ at Taliban,” National Public Radio, March 4, 2020; “Taliban Rule Out Taking Part in Afghan Talks Until Prisoners Freed,” Reuters,

March 2, 2020; “‘Thrown Under the Bus’: Some Afghans View U.S.-Taliban Peace Deal With Mix of Disbelief and Anger,” Washington Post, March 7, 2020)

Despite President Trump’s boasting that the nation is enjoying a full employment economy, only two states saw growth in median household income in the last two years. In key battleground states like Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida and Pennsylvania average income growth has fallen.

(“Under Trump, income growth slows across the U.S.,” American Prospect, Feb. 25, 2020)

During the 2016 presidential campaign Donald Trump came to the defense of workers at a giant Oreo cookie plant in Chicago, who faced a major layoff due to the outsourcing of union jobs to Mexico. Layoffs of union workers by Mondelez Foods, formerly Kraft Foods, began in March 2016 at the company’s 60-year-old Chicago facility known for paying workers decent wages and benefits. In return for new investment in the Chicago factory, Mondelez insisted on a 60 percent cut in pay and benefits.

“The Oreo Workers Trump Betrayed,” In These Times, Feb. 18, 2020

This week’s News Summary was narrated by Richard Hill.