Ann Wright

Last updated
Ann Wright
NLN Ann Wright.jpg
Wright in November 2011
Birth nameMary Ann Wright
Born1947 (age 76–77)
AllegianceFlag of the United States.svg  United States
Service/branchFlag of the United States Army.svg  United States Army
Rank US-O6 insignia.svg Colonel
Battles/wars Sierra Leone Civil War

Mary Ann Wright (born 1947) is a retired United States Army colonel and retired U.S. State Department official, known for her outspoken opposition to the Iraq War. She received the State Department Award for Heroism in 1997, after helping to evacuate several thousand people during the civil war in Sierra Leone. [1]

Contents

Wright is one of three State Department officials to publicly resign in direct protest of the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. [2] [3] Wright was also a passenger on the Challenger 1, which along with the Mavi Marmara , was part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. As of 2024, she is a member of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity.

Early life and education

Wright grew up in Bentonville, Arkansas, in what she referred to as "just a normal childhood". She attended the University of Arkansas, where she was recruited in the U.S. Army. [3] Wright earned a master's degree from the Naval War College and a J.D. degree from the University of Arkansas while working the U.S. Army. [3] [4]

Career

Wright protesting outside of the White House with Code Pink in July 2006 DanielEllsberg.THF.WH.WDC.3jul06.jpg
Wright protesting outside of the White House with Code Pink in July 2006
From left to right: Megan Rice, Wright, and Candace Ross in 2008 Megan Ann Candace.jpg
From left to right: Megan Rice, Wright, and Candace Ross in 2008

Wright participated in reconstruction efforts after U.S. military actions in Grenada and Somalia.

Wright went on to serve 13 years in active duty in the U.S. Army, and 16 years in the Army Reserves, rising to the rank of colonel. She was placed in the Retired Ready Reserve, meaning the President could call her back to active duty in a time of need.

U.S. State Department

In 1987, Wright went to work for the Foreign Service within the U.S. State Department. [5] Over the course of her State Department career, Wright served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. embassies in Afghanistan (which she helped open following the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, an assignment she volunteered for), Sierra Leone (an embassy which she helped close and then reopen again), Micronesia and Mongolia, and also served at U.S. embassies in Uzbekistan, which she helped open, Kyrgyzstan, Grenada, and Nicaragua. [6]

Wright's eventual resignation was not the first time she had spoken out against policy. In an interview, Wright said that she spoke out against United Nations bombing tactics waged in Somalia in the effort to kill rebel leader Mohamed Farrah Aidid. Wright also said that she repeatedly disagreed with policy on multiple occasions but continued her work at the State Department. [7]

Resignation

Wright submitted her resignation letter to then U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on March 19, 2003, the day before the onset of the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. Her letter was published on the internet the following day.

In her resignation letter, Wright listed four reasons she could no longer work for the U.S. government under the Bush administration:

Wright was the third of three State Department officials to retire from service in protest in the month prior to the invasion of Iraq, the other two being Brady Kiesling and John H. Brown. Wright says that she did not know the other two, and had not read their resignation letters at the time she submitted her own.

Peace activism

Since her retirement from the State Department, Wright has become a prominent figure in the movement opposed to the occupation of Iraq. She has attended many conferences and given numerous lectures on her political views and on her experiences before and after her resignation.

Wright has worked with anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan on several occasions, most notably by helping organize the Camp Casey demonstration outside George W. Bush's Crawford, Texas, ranch in August 2005, [8] and by accompanying the southern leg of the Bring Them Home Now bus tour. She also volunteered at Camp Casey 3, started by Desert storm Veteran Dennis Kyne and Veterans for Peace days after Hurricane Katrina She marched with Sheehan in 2006 with the Women Say No to War campaign, which was meant to deliver a petition with over 60,000 signatures of citizens against the war. [9]

Wright has willingly been arrested while taking part in anti-war demonstrations, the first such arrest occurring in front of the White House on September 26, 2005. She has said in interviews that she does not remove the arrest bracelets attached to her wrists upon the processing of her arrest, but rather collects them.

On October 19, 2005, Wright interrupted a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, shouting at Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, "Stop the war! Stop the killing!" Wright was uneventfully escorted out of the hearing room.

Wright served as one of five judges at the January 2006 sessions of the International Commission of Inquiry On Crimes Against Humanity Committed by the Bush Administration. She was also one of three recipients of the first annual Truthout Freedom and Democracy Awards.

Wright was one of three witnesses called to testify at an Article 32 hearing on behalf of U.S. Army Lt. Ehren Watada, who on June 22, 2006 refused to deploy to Iraq with his unit, asserting that the war violates both the United States Constitution and international law.

On April 1, 2007 Wright was cited, along with 38 other anti-nuclear activists, for trespassing at the Nevada Test Site during a Nevada Desert Experience event protesting against the continued development of nuclear weapons by the United States. [10] That evening, Wright appeared on The O'Reilly Factor to discuss the Geneva Conventions and how they applied to Iran in its taking of 15 British hostages. The discussion grew heated, and Wright stated that she had served 29 years in the military. During the course of the exchange, O'Reilly questioned Wright's patriotism and when she pointed out she had served 29 years in the military and O'Reilly had never served at all her microphone was cut off.

On April 17, 2007, Wright attended a hearing of a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee. She was ejected from the hearing room after speaking out of turn in response to comments made by Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher. [11] On September 11, 2007, Wright was arrested, and later convicted, for disrupting a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing at which U.S. general David Petraeus and ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker were testifying. [12]

Wright took part in a September 15, 2007 protest march and die-in on the steps of the United States Capitol Building, organized by the ANSWER Coalition and Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW). She was arrested for stepping over the wall after several IVAW and Veterans for Peace members were arrested. [13]

On October 3, 2007, Wright and Code Pink activist Medea Benjamin were denied entry to Canada because their names appear on an FBI database, called the National Crime Information Center, due to arrests related to their anti-war activism. [14] [15] Wright and Benjamin were told that if they wish to enter Canada in the future, they will have to apply for resident's permits. [15] In regards to the incident, a Canadian MP, Olivia Chow, was "alarmed to learn that Canadian border police are enforcinig rules that have been determined by the FBI and other U.S.-based agencies." [16]

In December 2008, Wright has recently expressed her dissatisfaction with the current U.S foreign policy toward Palestine. [17]

In 2009 Wright began work as a leading member of the steering committee for the Gaza Freedom March. [18]

In August 2014 she was among the signatories of an open letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel by the group Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity in which they urged the Chancellor to be suspicious of U.S. intelligence regarding the alleged invasion of Russia in Eastern Ukraine. [19]

In 2017, Wright was awarded the US Peace Prize by the US Peace Memorial Foundation “for courageous antiwar activism, inspirational peace leadership, and selfless citizen diplomacy.” [20]

On October 31, 2023, Code Pink opposed Israel's bombing of Palestine following the Hamas attacks of October 7. The group repeatedly disrupted Secretary of State Antony Blinken's testimony to a Senate hearing on Israel aid from the United States, with protesters calling for a ceasefire. Several peace activists were arrested, including Wright and activist David Barrows. [21]

Gaza flotilla

On June 3, 2010 Wright was interviewed by Democracy Now! She was on the Challenger 1, and observed the Israeli soldiers rappeling down from helicopters onto the deck of the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara. [22] Her own ship was boarded. "Flash bangs were used. One of our journalists was hit with something of an electric shock. I don’t know that it was a taser." [23] [24]

Wright was one of five activists who offered themselves up for arrest in Rep. Brad Sherman's office after he made a public statement that any American who provides humanitarian aid to Gaza should be prosecuted under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. No arrests were made. [25]

September 11th attacks and the 9/11 Commission report

In a 2007 interview on the Air America Radio network, Wright described the 9/11 Commission Report on the September 11 attacks as "totally inadequate", adding that she does not understand why the US national intelligence and defense operations completely failed and how the Pentagon could be hit on 9/11. [26]

Earlier, in 2004, she signed a letter to Congress, criticizing the 9/11 Commission for serious shortcomings and omissions, which according to the signatories renders the report flawed and casts doubt on the validity of its recommendations. [27]

Writings

In 2008, Koa Books published Dissent: Voices of Conscience, co-authored by Ann Wright and Susan Dixon. [28] Subtitled Government Insiders Speak Out Against the War in Iraq, the work includes a foreword by longtime anti-war activist Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the top-secret Pentagon Papers in 1971.

Quotes

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Corrie</span> American activist and diarist (1979–2003)

Rachel Aliene Corrie was an American nonviolence activist and diarist. She was a member of the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and was active throughout the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories. In 2003, Corrie was in Rafah, a city in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli military was demolishing Palestinian houses at the height of the Second Intifada. While protesting the demolitions as they were being carried out, she was killed by an Israeli armored bulldozer that had crushed her.

The International Solidarity Movement is a Palestinian-led movement focused on assisting the Palestinian cause in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. ISM is dedicated to the use of nonviolent protests and methods only. The organization calls on civilians from around the world to participate in acts of nonviolent protests against the Israeli military in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The ISM participates in the Free Gaza Movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protests against the Iraq War</span> Demonstrations by opponents of the Iraq War

Beginning in late 2002 and continuing after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, large-scale protests against the Iraq War were held in many cities worldwide, often coordinated to occur simultaneously around the world. After the biggest series of demonstrations, on February 15, 2003, New York Times writer Patrick Tyler claimed that they showed that there were two superpowers on the planet: the United States and worldwide public opinion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mairead Maguire</span> Northern Irish peace activist (born 1944)

Mairead Maguire, also known as Mairead Corrigan Maguire and formerly as Mairéad Corrigan, is a peace activist from Northern Ireland. She co-founded, with Betty Williams and Ciaran McKeown, the Women for Peace, which later became the Community for Peace People, an organization dedicated to encouraging a peaceful resolution of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Maguire and Williams were awarded the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cynthia McKinney</span> American politician and activist (born 1955)

Cynthia Ann McKinney is a former American politician. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms in the United States House of Representatives. She was the first African American woman elected to represent Georgia in the House. She left the Democratic Party and ran in 2008 as the presidential nominee of the Green Party. She ran for vice president in 2020 after the Green Party of Alaska formally nominated her and draft-nominated Jesse Ventura for president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medea Benjamin</span> American political activist and author (born 1952)

Medea Benjamin is an American political activist who, along with Jodie Evans and others, co-founded Code Pink. She also co-founded, along with her husband Kevin Danaher, the fair trade advocacy group Global Exchange. Benjamin was the Green Party nominee in the 2000 United States Senate election in California, running under the name Medea Susan Benjamin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cindy Sheehan</span> American antiwar activist

Cindy Lee Sheehan is an American anti-war activist, whose son, U.S. Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, was killed by enemy action during the Iraq War. She attracted national and international media attention in August 2005 for her extended antiwar protest at a makeshift camp outside President George W. Bush's Texas ranch—a stand that drew both passionate support and criticism. Sheehan ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2008. She was a vocal critic of President Barack Obama's foreign policy. Her memoir, Peace Mom: A Mother's Journey Through Heartache to Activism, was published in 2006. In an interview with The Daily Beast in 2017, Sheehan continued to hold her critical views towards George W. Bush, while also criticizing the militarism of Donald Trump.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Code Pink</span> American non-governmental organization

Code Pink: Women for Peace is a left-wing, anti-war organization registered in the United States as a 501(c)(3) organization. It focuses on issues such as drone strikes, the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, Palestinian statehood, the Iran nuclear deal, human rights in Saudi Arabia, and peace on the Korean Peninsula. The organization has regional offices in Los Angeles, California, and Washington, D.C., and several chapters in the U.S. and abroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veterans for Peace</span> American anti-war organization

Veterans for Peace is an organization founded in 1985. Initially made up of US military veterans of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War - later including veterans of the Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War - as well as peacetime veterans and non-veterans, it has since spread overseas and has an active offshoot in the United Kingdom. The group works to promote alternatives to war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huwaida Arraf</span> Palestinian-American lawyer and activist

Huwaida Arraf is a Palestinian American activist and lawyer who co-founded the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a Palestinian-led organization using non-violent protests and international pressure to support Palestinians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ehren Watada</span> Iraq war resister

Ehren Keoni Watada is a former first lieutenant of the United States Army, best known as the first commissioned officer in the US armed forces to refuse to deploy to Iraq. In June 2006, Watada refused to deploy for his unit's assigned rotation to Operation Iraqi Freedom, saying he believed the war to be illegal and that, under the doctrine of command responsibility, it would make him party to war crimes. At the time, he was assigned to duty with the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, part of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, as a fire support officer. He was brought before a court-martial in 2007 which ended in a mistrial; the Army subsequently discharged him under "Other-Than-Honorable-Conditions" (OTH) in 2009. An OTH discharge is the least favorable type of administrative discharge from the Army, and is reserved for a "pattern of behavior that constitutes a significant departure from the conduct expected of Soldiers of the Army."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caoimhe Butterly</span> Irish activist

Caoimhe Butterly is an Irish human rights campaigner, educator, film-maker and therapist who has spent over twenty years working in humanitarian and social justice contexts in Haiti, Guatemala, Mexico, Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon and with refugee communities in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arab–Israeli conflict</span> Geopolitical conflict in the Middle East and North Africa

The Arab–Israeli conflict is the phenomenon involving political tension, military conflicts, and other disputes between various Arab countries and Israel, which escalated during the 20th century. The roots of the Arab–Israeli conflict have been attributed to the support by Arab League member countries for the Palestinians, a fellow League member, in the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict; this in turn has been attributed to the simultaneous rise of Zionism and Arab nationalism towards the end of the 19th century, though the two national movements had not clashed until the 1920s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathy Kelly</span> American peace activist, pacifist and author

Kathy Kelly is an American peace activist, pacifist and author, one of the founding members of Voices in the Wilderness, and, until the campaign closed in 2020, a co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence. As part of peace team work in several countries, she has traveled to Iraq twenty-six times, notably remaining in combat zones during the early days of both US–Iraq wars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hedy Epstein</span> American political activist(1924 - 2016)

Hedy Epstein was a German-born Jewish-American political activist and Holocaust survivor known for her support of the Palestinian cause through the International Solidarity Movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eve Tetaz</span> American activist (1931–2023)

Eve Leona Tetaz was an American public school teacher and peace and justice activist from Washington, D.C. She was arrested 11 times in 2007 for nonviolent civil resistance during protests against the war and occupation of Iraq. Tetaz was arrested approximately a dozen times between 2008 and early 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peace movement</span> Social movement against a particular war or wars

A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world peace. Some of the methods used to achieve these goals include advocacy of pacifism, nonviolent resistance, diplomacy, boycotts, peace camps, ethical consumerism, supporting anti-war political candidates, supporting legislation to remove profits from government contracts to the military–industrial complex, banning guns, creating tools for open government and transparency, direct democracy, supporting whistleblowers who expose war crimes or conspiracies to create wars, demonstrations, and political lobbying. The political cooperative is an example of an organization which seeks to merge all peace-movement and green organizations; they may have diverse goals, but have the common ideal of peace and humane sustainability. A concern of some peace activists is the challenge of attaining peace when those against peace often use violence as their means of communication and empowerment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-war movement</span> Social movement opposed to a nations status of armed conflict

An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict. The term anti-war can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts, or to anti-war books, paintings, and other works of art. Some activists distinguish between anti-war movements and peace movements. Anti-war activists work through protest and other grassroots means to attempt to pressure a government to put an end to a particular war or conflict or to prevent it in advance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stop the War Coalition</span> British anti-war group

The Stop the War Coalition (StWC), informally known simply as Stop the War, is a British group that campaigns against the United Kingdom's involvement in military conflicts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Courage to Resist</span> American anti-war organization (e. 2003)

Courage to Resist (CTR) is an organization in the San Francisco, CA area and beyond formed during the early part of the Iraq War which began in 2003. CTR's mission is to support U.S military war resisters, including helping them with legal fees such as well-known resisters Chelsea Manning and Reality Winner. In 2018, CTR began encouraging soldiers to resist at detention camps and other immigrant operations of the U.S. military. CTR's principle slogans are “Supporting the troops who refuse to fight!” and "Towards a World Without War!" They support those “who face consequences for acting on conscience, in opposition to illegal wars, occupations, [and] the policies of empire”.

References

  1. ↑ "Nation Conversations: Ret. Col. Ann Wright on Israel's Raid". The Nation . June 9, 2010. Archived from the original on June 19, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
  2. ↑ Rushworth, Katherine (3 October 2010). "The Truth For To Tell" . Syracuse Post Standard. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2015– via Newspaper Archive.
  3. 1 2 3 Mehren, Elizabeth (20 January 2006). "She's on Activist Duty Now". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  4. ↑ Tehranian, Majid; Clements, Kevin P., eds. (2005). America and the World: The Double Bind. London: Transaction Publishers. p. 178. ISBN   1412804604.
  5. ↑ Hulburt, Dory (24 May 2012). "Another Side to War" . Taos News. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2015– via Newspaper Archive.
  6. ↑ Felice, William F. (2009). How Do I Save My Honor?: War, Moral Integrity, and Principled Resignation. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. pp. 104–112. ISBN   9780742566668.
  7. ↑ Benjamin, Medea; Evans, Jodie, eds. (2005). Stop the Next War Now: Effective Responses to Violence and Terrorism. Maui, Hawai'i: Inner Ocean Publishing, Inc. pp.  21–22. ISBN   1930722494.
  8. ↑ "Deserter: Anti-War Activists Testify on Behalf of Soldier" . Colorado Springs Gazette. 23 August 2008. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2015– via Newspaper Archive.
  9. ↑ "Peace Activist Cindy Sheehan, 3 Others Arrested Outside U.S. Mission to the U.N." . Logansport Pharos Tribune. 7 March 2006. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2015– via Newspaper Archive.
  10. ↑ "Martin Sheen among anti-nuclear protesters cited at Nevada Test Site". Las Vegas Sun. 2007. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved April 6, 2007.
  11. ↑ "Rep. Rohrabacher: 'I Hope It's Your Families That Suffer' From A Terrorist Attack". Think Progress.com. 2007. Archived from the original on 25 April 2007. Retrieved April 24, 2007.
  12. ↑ "Col. Ann Wright in Jail". War is a Crime. Archived from the original on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  13. ↑ Video on YouTube
  14. ↑ CBC News – U.S. peace activists barred from entry into Canada [ permanent dead link ]
  15. 1 2 Gorham, Beth (2 October 2007). "U.S. Anti-War Activists Denounce Refusal at Border" . Winnipeg Free Press. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2015– via Newspaper Archive.
  16. ↑ Gorham, Beth (5 October 2007). "Prohibiting Peace Protesters Sets Dangerous Precedent" . Lethbridge Herald. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2015– via Newspaper Archive.
  17. ↑ Activists Picket Obama Compound in Hawaii 44 washingtonpost.com [ dead link ]
  18. ↑ Gaza protest planned on Cast Lead anniversary 05-12-2009, Andrew Bossone, Al-Masry Al-Youm.
  19. ↑ The State Department Says Russia Is Invading Ukraine—Should We Believe It? Archived March 24, 2015, at the Wayback Machine , The Nation , September 2, 2014
  20. ↑ "Ann Wright Awarded 2017 US Peace Prize". US Peace Memorial Foundation. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  21. ↑ Kerry Breen "Protesters calling for cease-fire in Gaza disrupt Senate hearing over Israel aid as Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks" October 31, 2023. Accessed November 5, 2023.
  22. ↑ Adas, Jane (September 2010). "The True Story of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla" . Report on Middle East Affairs. 29 (7): 46–47. Archived from the original on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  23. ↑ "Flotilla Passengers Huwaida Arraf of Free Gaza Movement and Retired Army Col. Ann Wright Respond to Israeli Claims on Deadly Assault | Democracy Now!". Democracy Now! . Archived from the original on 2016-12-17. Retrieved 2010-05-31.
  24. ↑ "Retired diplomat ed Peck, USS Liberty vet Joe Meadors reach home and speak out; - CafeMom". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
  25. ↑ "Protest at Rep. Sherman's office" Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  26. ↑ "Air America Radio 9/11 Special: Interview with Richard Greene". Air America Radio. September 11, 2007.
  27. ↑ "(1) Introduction". Archived from the original on 2016-04-23. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
  28. ↑ Ann Wright; Susan Dixon (2008). Dissent: Voices of Conscience (1st ed.). Koa Books. ISBN   978-0-9773338-4-4.
  29. ↑ Payday Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.