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Cornel WestBorn June 2, 1953, Cornel Ronald West, is an American philosopher, scholar of African American studies, and political activist. During his career, he has held professorships and fellowships at Harvard University, Yale University, Union Theological Seminary, Princeton University, Dartmouth College, Pepperdine University, and the University of Paris. Recipient of more than 20 honorary degrees and an American Book Award, he is well known for his influential book Race Matters. After switching between People's Party and the Green Party, in October 2023, he announced his affiliation as an independent candidate.
Campaign Website - cornelwest2024.com |
photo source: Union Theological Seminary
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Military Assistance to Ukraine
West is opposed to military assistance to Ukraine. He has expressed concerns over the suffering of Ukrainians and condemned NATO.
Platform regarding "Global Justice," Campaign Website
Cease all war funding and weapons to Ukraine and invest in peacemaking
"As president, I will give Ukraine no other choice but to enter a diplomatic process as part of my commitment to cease all war funding and weapons to Ukraine and instead invest in peacemaking.”
"We are fundamentally committed to the humanity of our brothers and sisters in Ukraine. They are suffering. We want the war to stop. We want diplomatic processes to take place. We know we will be endless and infinite and permanent because we're dealing with an empire that has been committed to permanent War for a long time. That's why 57 cents for every dollar goes to the military side of the federal discretionary budget."
Press release on Campaign Website, July 12, 2023
“NATO is an expanding instrument of U.S. global power that provoked Russia into this war, a proxy war between the American Empire and the Russian Federation that could lead to World War III."
“We need to build up a global peace movement that says 75 years is enough! Without NATO, Europe would build its own security architecture. Without NATO, we in the U.S. would be in a better position to build peaceful relations with China. Without NATO, the world would be a safer place.”
"But instead of seeking a negotiated solution to Russia’s criminal invasion - provoked by NATO expansion and nuclear-capable missiles - NATO’s been shunning peace talks and threatening Russia, violating its 1990 pledge not to move ‘one inch’ to the east. NATO is also pushing the world towards greater militarization at this most perilous moment in history. We need to put our resources into solving the climate crisis that threatens the future of this planet, and abolishing global poverty that devastates the lives of billions of our brothers and sisters worldwide. We need food, not bombs. We need healthcare, not warfare. We need to invest in the climate, not killing.”
Arms to Israel
West has called for an end of military funding to Israel. He has condemned actions by Hamas and Israeli military forces, and identified himself with Palestinian resistance.
Platform regarding "Global Justice," Campaign Website
Cease military funding to the State of Israel
Press release, December 19, 2023
Moreover, until the ICC completes their investigation the U.S. must cease all military aid to the State of Israel - I believe that most U.S. taxpayers don’t want to be associated with funding war crimes, spiritual obscenity, and moral bankruptcy
"...Terrorism is defined by killing innocent people and terrorizing people the Israeli Defense Forces have done it Hamas done it both are immoral in that sense.
...If there were a Palestinian occupation of Jews, if Jews were in Gaza and Palestinians cut off water food electricity bombing and killed 2,300 precious Jewish babies, which side would the American government be on? Which side would the American Press be on? It would been completely different. I try to be morally consistent and say I'm against the Palestinian occupation of Jews because Jews are precious. I'm against an Israeli occupation of Palestinians because Palestinians are precious. But when you flip that other way, all of a sudden it becomes very clear that the Palestinian lives really don't count in the way that Jewish lives do for the American government and that's what I will will never succumb to. Why, because I'm trying to be a decent human being.
I'm going to be critical and I'm going to condemn any group that kills innocent people. Those are war crimes"
Statements on Bad Faith podcast [45:59], October 13, 2023
"...Saying the Israeli Defense Forces never kill one Palestinian deliberately that's so much of a lie. It's just a rationalization of the war crimes committed against Palestinians for 75 years. That's a righteous indignation.
...I'm not a pacifist like Brother Martin King and Desmond Tutu. I believe military combatants can engage in war and property, can be attacked, but not innocent people.
...The Israeli government has blood on its hands in terms of what they've been doing to Palestinians for so long and then Hamas and Jihad have blood on their hands as a response to the vicious occupation by killing innocent people. That's a moral question but politically we still have to keep the focus on ending the occupation and acknowledging that Palestinian dignity has the same value as any other human dignity.
...I stand with Palestinian resistance. I acknowledge that what Hamas has done is historic because what they've done is said there will be no subsequent talk about Israeli Palestinian issues until the Palestinian predicament is at the center. That's significant that's very important. But that doesn't mean I have to somehow conform myself to the immorality of killing innocent people even as I'm part of Palestinian resistance. Because the killing of innocent people is not the litmus test of being a Palestinian Freedom Fighter."
Tweet on X (formerly Twitter), October 8, 2023
"I would stop the killing of innocent people - be they Palestinians or Israelis - by calling for an end to the vicious U.S.-supported Israeli occupation. This violent resistance to oppression is the desperate language of an occupied people. And as Martin Luther King Jr. reminds us, only a genuine peace with justice can stop the barbarism of war and domination. In this sense, the U.S. government, the Israeli government, and the occupied Hamas forces have blood on their hands. We must fight for the masses of Palestinians and Israelis to live with dignity and security! As I have said for the past fifty years, a precious Palestinian child has the same value as a precious Israeli child!"
Arms to Saudi Arabia
Our research has not indicated a position on this specific topic. Generally, West prescribes non-military solutions and is critical of U.S. military involvement in the Middle East.
"... too many who have already been lost due to U.S. empire building in the Middle East, mainly to protect oil profits of fossil fuel cartels both domestically and globally. We need less iron domes and a more iron-clad diplomatic process that leads to lasting peace and mutual dignity for all people in the Middle East. To this end, as president I would insist that any normalization of relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the State of Israel include immediate steps to liberate Palestinian people from occupation and a wanton cycle of violence that’s killing precious Palestinian and Israeli lives alike.”
Arms to Taiwan
Our research has not indicated a position on this specific topic. Generally, West prescribes non-military solutions and is critical of U.S. military actions that could make Taiwan into a proxy war.
We need to be honest with the people of the world, the U.S. and PRC are currently in a cold war that must be thawed to save lives and a global economy both hanging in the balance. The first step in thawing the current cold war will require a cessation to the myriad proxy wars that use nations like Ukraine, Taiwan, and numerous global south nations from Africa to Southeast Asia, to Latin America as pawns in an arms and resource extraction race. As president I will cease the saber rattling and chest beating that are doing nothing but instigating the PRC with military war games in waterways of Southeast Asia such as the Sea of Japan, Yellow Sea, East China Sea and others.
Military intervention across Mexican border
West is opposed to using U.S. force in Mexico. West's platform calls for a demilitarized border.
If elected, would you request an authorization from Congress to use military force against drug cartels in Mexico?
“Absolutely not. To be clear, asking the Congress for authorization to use military force in Mexico would essentially be asking Congress to approve a military invasion through a declaration of war against Mexico. The so-called war against drugs in the United States has been and continues to be an abject failure. This 50-year war has been used as a rationalization for crimes against humanity, especially those most marginalized by failed drug policies - Black, Brown, Indigenous and poor people, who have been subjected to a racialized and classist mass incarceration pogrom that has needlessly locked up over 400,000 people for non-violent drug-related crimes between 1980 and 1997 alone. A failed domestic drug war should not be an impetus to start a foreign drug war in the sovereign territory of one of our North American partners."
Platform regarding "Immigration Justice," Campaign Website
* Massive investment in transforming immigration policies to create a broad legal pathway for residency that centers compassion, morality, dignity, and ethics
* End crimes against humanity for migrants and their families - no separation of families, no children in cages
* Cut red tape that delays legal pathways to citizenship and permanent residence
* Accountability for the U.S. role in exacerbating the migrant crisis
* Abolish ICE and demilitarize the southern border
* Enforce international and national laws that allow for asylum seekers to enter the country without delay or prejudice
Arms Trade Treaty
Our research has not indicated a position on this topic.