Dissent: Voices of Conscience

Description

During the run-up to war in Iraq, Army Colonel (Ret.) and diplomat Ann Wright resigned her State Department post in protest. Wright, who had spent 19 years in the military and 16 years in diplomatic service, was one among dozens of govern-ment insiders and active-duty military personnel who spoke out, resigned, leaked documents, or refused to deploy in protest of government actions they felt were illegal. In Dissent: Voices of Conscience, Ann Wright and Susan Dixon tell the stories of these men and women, who risked careers, reputations, and even freedom out of loyalty to the Constitution and the rule of law.

Ann Wright grew up in Bentonville, Arkansas, and attended the University of Arkansas, where she received a master's and a law degree. She also has a master's degree in national security affairs from the U.S. Naval War College. After college, she spent thirteen years in the U.S. Army and sixteen additional years in the Army Reserves, retiring as a Colonel. She is airborne-qualified. In 1987, Col.Wright joined the Foreign Service and served as U.S. Deputy Ambassador in Sierra Leone, Micronesia, Afghanistan, and Mongolia. She received the State Department's Award for Heroism for her actions during the evacuation of 2,500 people from the civil war in Sierra Leone, the largest evacuation since Saigon. She was on the first State Department team to go to Afghanistan and helped reopen the Embassy there in December 2001. Her other overseas assignments include Somalia, Kyrgyzstan, Grenada, Micronesia, and Nicaragua. On March 19, 2003, the eve of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Ann Wright cabled a letter of resignation to Secretary of State Colin Powell, stating that without the authorization of the UN Security Council, the invasion and occupation of a Muslim, Arab, oil-rich country would be a a violation of international law. Since then, she has been writing and speaking out for peace. She fasted for a month, picketed at the US prison at Guantanamo, Cuba, served as a juror in Bush impeachment hearings, traveled to Iran as a citizen diplomat, and has been arrested numerous times for peaceful, nonviolent protest of Bush's policies, particularly the war on Iraq. She has been on delegations to Iran and was in Gaza three times in 2009, following the Israeli attack on Gaza that killed 1,440 and wounded 5,000. She was an organizer for the Gaza Freedom March that brought 1,350 persons from 44 countries to Cairo, Egypt, in solidarity with the people of Gaza. She was on the May, 2010 Gaza flotilla that was attacked by the Israeli military and was an organizer for the US Boat to Gaza, The Audacity of Hope, in the 2011 Gaza flotilla. She lives in Honolulu.

"When the actions of government become dangerous to the security of the nation, it takes a special courage for men and women inside the government to speak out. If we care about keeping democracy alive, we must welcome this book. --Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the U.S. This ... illuminating and remarkably impressive ... book should be leaked into the government. ... This book could awaken ... officials to withdraw their complicity and ... tell the truth to [the public]. This country will not escape further human, legal, and moral catastrophes, or preserve itself as a democratic, constitutional republic, if that does not happen. If you're at all like me, you will have a whole set of new heroes when you finish reading this. ...Dissent: Voices of Conscience could change your life. --from the Foreword, by Daniel Ellsberg Voices of conscience are usually smothered in spin. That the stories of these heroes are recorded here gives me great hope and shows that it is still possible to do the right thing. --Ray McGovern, Retired CIA Analyst and Presidential Briefer for George H. W. Bush As a soldier and a diplomat, Ann Wright always placed her country, its direction, and its welfare at the top of her priority list. She is, without question, one of the most honest and ethical individuals I have been privileged to know. I salute Ann Wright and the powerful voices of truth heard in Dissent. --Brigadier General (Ret.) Pat Foote, Former Commanding General, Fort Belvoir, Virginia Ann Wright is not one to be silenced. --Ms. Magazine Ann Wright is an American hero. She has shown immense bravery and resolve in her quest for peace. For her energy and commitment to peace, justice, and strengthening democratic principles, Ann Wright has earned the first annual Truthout Freedom and Democracy Award. - Victoria Harper, Truthout Truthout has traveled the country covering the anti-war movement, and wherever we go, Ann Wright is there providing steady leadership. We recently announced that Ann was one of three recipients of our first annual Freedom and Democracy Award. I'm sure I will see her soon. Wherever there is an important event calling for peace, Ann Wright will be there, leading by example. --Scott Galindez, Truthout