Ann Wright
Encyclopedia
Mary Ann Wright is a former United States Army
colonel
and retired official of the U.S. State Department
, 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
. She is most noted for having been one of three State Department officials to publicly resign in direct protest of the March 2003 invasion of Iraq
.
She was a passenger on the Challenger 1, which along with the Mavi Marmara, was part of the Gaza flotilla.
, Arkansas
, in what she referred to as "just a normal childhood." Wright attended the University of Arkansas
, where she earned master's and law degree
s, before entering the U.S. Army.
and later participated in reconstruction efforts after U.S. military actions in Grenada
and Somalia
.
Wright was stationed at Fort Bragg
, North Carolina
, from 1982 to 1984. One of her duties during that time was to draw up contingency plans for invading several countries, one of which was Iraq
. She would later express dismay over what she considered the dismissal of such carefully laid plans in the actual invasion of Iraq in 2003.
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.
within the U.S. State Department. 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
.
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 says that she "held her nose" on multiple occasions, continuing her State Department work despite her own disagreements with the policy.
Colin Powell
on March 19, 2003, the day before the onset of the U.S. 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.
. 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, and by accompanying the southern leg of the Bring Them Home Now bus tour
. She also volunteered at Camp Casey 3, the Veterans For Peace
shelter for Hurricane Katrina
victims in Covington, Louisiana
, during the bus tour.
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.
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 cut off her microphone.
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 Congressmember Dana Rohrabacher
. On September 11, 2007, Wright was arrested, and later convicted, for disrupting a Senate Armed Services Committee
hearing at which general David Petraeus
and Ambassador
to Iraq Ryan Crocker
were testifying.http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/29163
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.
On October 3, 2007, Wright and Code Pink
activist Medea Benjamin
were denied entry to Canada because their names appear on an FBI watchlist
due to arrests related to their anti-war activism.
In December 2008, Wright has recently expressed her dissatisfaction with the current U.S foreign policy toward Palestine.
In 2009 Wright began work as a leading member of the steering committee for the Gaza Freedom March
.
On June 1, 2010 Ann Wright was seen being escorted by Israeli Defense Forces from the attempt to break the blockade of the Gaza strip.
While on tour afterwards, she claimed that she witnessed the "murder [of] nine innocent civilians". However, in an interview with Aaron Lerner of IMRA
, she admitted that she did not actually see the clash between the IDF soldiers and the armed passengers on board the Mavi Marmara. In fact, it was dark outside because it was pre-dawn, and she was admittedly on another ship, the Challenger, which was about 150 yards away from the Marmara.
Wright was one of five activists (Protest at Rep Sherman's office)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.
, who leaked the top-secret Pentagon Papers
in 1971.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
and retired official of the U.S. State Department
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
, known for her outspoken opposition to the Iraq War. She received the State Department Award for Heroism
Award for Heroism
The Award for Heroism is an award of the United States Department of State. It is presented to employees of State, USAID and Marine guards assigned to diplomatic and consular facilities in recognition of acts of courage or outstanding performance under unusually difficult or dangerous...
in 1997, after helping to evacuate several thousand people during the civil war in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
. She is most noted for having been one of three State Department officials to publicly resign in direct protest of the March 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
.
She was a passenger on the Challenger 1, which along with the Mavi Marmara, was part of the Gaza flotilla.
Early life
Wright grew up in BentonvilleBentonville, Arkansas
Bentonville, Arkansas is a city in Northwest Bahamas, and county seat of Benton County, Arkansas, United States The population was 35,301 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers, AR-MO Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, in what she referred to as "just a normal childhood." Wright attended the University of Arkansas
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
, where she earned master's and law degree
Law degree
A Law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers; but while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not themselves confer a license...
s, before entering the U.S. Army.
Military career
Wright earned a Master's Degree in National Security Affairs from the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode IslandNewport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
and later participated in reconstruction efforts after U.S. military actions in Grenada
Grenada
Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...
and Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
.
Wright was stationed at Fort Bragg
Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Fort Bragg is a major United States Army installation, in Cumberland and Hoke counties, North Carolina, U.S., mostly in Fayetteville but also partly in the town of Spring Lake. It was also a census-designated place in the 2010 census and had a population of 39,457. The fort is named for Confederate...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, from 1982 to 1984. One of her duties during that time was to draw up contingency plans for invading several countries, one of which was Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. She would later express dismay over what she considered the dismissal of such carefully laid plans in the actual invasion of Iraq in 2003.
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
Ready Reserve
The Ready Reserve is a program maintained by the U.S. Department of Defense to maintain a pool of trained service members that may be recalled to active duty should the need arise. It is composed of service members that are contracted to serve in the Ready Reserve for a specified period of time as...
, meaning the President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
could call her back to active duty in a time of need.
State department career
In 1987, Wright went to work for the Foreign ServiceUnited States Foreign Service
The United States Foreign Service is a component of the United States federal government under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of approximately 11,500 professionals carrying out the foreign policy of the United States and aiding U.S...
within the U.S. State Department. Over the course of her State Department career, Wright served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. embassies in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
(which she helped open following the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, an assignment she volunteered for), Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
(an embassy which she helped close and then reopen again), Micronesia
Micronesia
Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines lie to the west, and Indonesia to the southwest....
and Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
, and also served at U.S. embassies in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
(which she helped open), Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
, Grenada, and Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
.
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
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
bombing tactics waged in Somalia, in the effort to kill rebel leader Mohamed Farrah Aidid
Mohamed Farrah Aidid
General Mohamed Ali Farrah Aidid was a controversial Somali military leader, often described as a warlord. A former general and diplomat, he was the chairman of the United Somali Congress and later led the Somali National Alliance...
. Wright also says that she "held her nose" on multiple occasions, continuing her State Department work despite her own disagreements with the policy.
Resignation
Wright submitted her resignation letter to then U.S. Secretary of StateUnited States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Colin Powell
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
on March 19, 2003, the day before the onset of the U.S. 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
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
administration:
- The decision to invade Iraq without the blessing of the U.N. Security CouncilUnited Nations Security CouncilThe United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
- The "lack of effort" in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process
- The "lack of policy" in regard to North KoreaNorth KoreaThe Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
- The curtailment of civil liberties within the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
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
Brady Kiesling
John Brady Kiesling is a former US diplomat and the author of "Diplomacy Lessons: Realism for an Unloved Superpower" . He was the first of three U.S. foreign service officers to resign, on February 25, 2003, to protest the 2003 invasion of Iraq. His letter of resignation to Secretary of State Colin...
and John H. Brown
John H. Brown
John Brown is a Senior Fellow at USC Center on Public Diplomacy where he regularly publishes the .Brown is currently a Research Associate at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, where he has taught courses about public diplomacy....
. 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 IraqOpposition to the Iraq War
Significant opposition to the Iraq War occurred worldwide, both before and during the initial 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States, United Kingdom, and smaller contingents from other nations, and throughout the subsequent occupation...
. 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
Cindy Sheehan
Cindy Lee Miller 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 anti-war protest at a makeshift camp outside President...
on several occasions, most notably by helping organize the Camp Casey
Camp Casey, Crawford, Texas
Camp Casey was the name given to the encampment of anti-war protesters outside the Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford, Texas during US President George W...
demonstration outside George W. Bush's Crawford, Texas
Crawford, Texas
Crawford is a town located in western McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is best known as the home of former President of the United States George W. Bush. He currently resides at the Prairie Chapel Ranch, which is located just outside Crawford, Texas....
, ranch in August 2005, and by accompanying the southern leg of the Bring Them Home Now bus tour
Bring Them Home Now Tour
The Bring Them Home Now Tour was a rolling anti-war protest against the Iraq War, beginning in Crawford, Texas, travelling three routes across the country and culminating in a rally in Washington, D.C. in September 2005...
. She also volunteered at Camp Casey 3, the Veterans For Peace
Veterans for Peace
Veterans For Peace is a United States organization founded in 1985. Made up of male and female US military veterans of World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and other conflicts, as well as peacetime veterans, the group works to promote alternatives to war.-Foundation:The...
shelter for Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
victims in Covington, Louisiana
Covington, Louisiana
Covington is a city in and the parish seat of St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 8,483 at the 2000 census. It is located at a fork of the Bogue Falaya and the Tchefuncte River....
, during the bus tour.
Wright has willingly been arrested while taking part in anti-war demonstrations, the first such arrest occurring in front of the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
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
United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It is charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. The Foreign Relations Committee is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid programs as...
hearing, shouting at Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
, "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
Ehren Watada
Ehren K. Watada was a First Lieutenant of the United States Army. He was the first commissioned officer in the US armed forces to refuse to deploy to Iraq, in June, 2006...
, who on June 22, 2006 refused to deploy to Iraq with his unit, asserting that the war violates both the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
and international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
.
On April 1, 2007 Wright was cited, along with 38 other anti-nuclear activists, for trespassing at the Nevada Test Site
Nevada Test Site
The Nevada National Security Site , previously the Nevada Test Site , is a United States Department of Energy reservation located in southeastern Nye County, Nevada, about northwest of the city of Las Vegas...
during a Nevada Desert Experience
Nevada Desert Experience
The Nevada Desert Experience is a name for the movement to stop U.S. nuclear weapons testing that came into use in the middle 1980s. It is also the name of a particular anti-nuclear organization which continues to create public events to question the morality and intelligence of the U.S. nuclear...
event protesting against the continued development of nuclear weapons by the United States.
That evening Wright appeared on The O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor, originally titled The O'Reilly Report from 1996 to 1998 and often called The Factor, is an American talk show on the Fox News Channel hosted by commentator Bill O'Reilly, who often discusses current controversial political issues with guests.The program was the most watched...
to discuss the Geneva Conventions
Geneva Conventions
The Geneva Conventions comprise four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish the standards of international law for the humanitarian treatment of the victims of war...
and how they applied to Iran in its taking of 15 British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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 cut off her microphone.
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 Congressmember Dana Rohrabacher
Dana Rohrabacher
Dana Tyron Rohrabacher is the U.S. Representative for , and previously the 45th and 42nd, serving since 1989. He is a member of the Republican Party...
. On September 11, 2007, Wright was arrested, and later convicted, for disrupting a Senate Armed Services Committee
United States Senate Committee on Armed Services
The Committee on Armed Services is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of the nation's military, including the Department of Defense, military research and development, nuclear energy , benefits for members of the military, the Selective Service System and...
hearing at which general David Petraeus
David Petraeus
David Howell Petraeus is the current Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, sworn in on September 6, 2011. Prior to his assuming the directorship of the CIA, Petraeus was a four-star general serving over 37 years in the United States Army. His last assignments in the Army were as commander...
and Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to Iraq Ryan Crocker
Ryan Crocker
Ryan Clark Crocker is a Career Ambassador within the United States Foreign Service and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He currently is the United States Ambassador to Afghanistan. He was the United States Ambassador to Iraq until 2009; he previously served as the U.S...
were testifying.http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/29163
Wright took part in a September 15, 2007 protest march and die-in
Die-in
A die-in is a form of protest where participants simulate being dead.- Overview :In the simplest form of a die-in, protesters simply lie down on the ground and pretend to be dead, sometimes covering themselves with signs or banners...
on the steps of the United States Capitol Building
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
, organized by the ANSWER Coalition
A.N.S.W.E.R.
Act Now to Stop War and End Racism , also known as International A.N.S.W.E.R. and the ANSWER Coalition, is a United States-based protest umbrella group consisting of many antiwar and civil rights organizations...
and Iraq Veterans Against the War
Iraq Veterans Against the War
Iraq Veterans Against the War is an advocacy group of active-duty United States military personnel, Iraq War veterans, Afghanistan War veterans, and other veterans who have served since the September 11, 2001 attacks who are opposed to the U.S. occupation of Iraq...
(IVAW). She was arrested for stepping over the wall after several IVAW and Veterans for Peace
Veterans for Peace
Veterans For Peace is a United States organization founded in 1985. Made up of male and female US military veterans of World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and other conflicts, as well as peacetime veterans, the group works to promote alternatives to war.-Foundation:The...
members were arrested.
On October 3, 2007, Wright and Code Pink
Code Pink
Code Pink: Women for Peace is an anti-war group that is mainly composed of women. It has regional offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City, and Washington, D.C., and many more chapters in the U.S. as well as several in other countries...
activist Medea Benjamin
Medea Benjamin
Medea Benjamin is an American political activist, best known for co-founding Code Pink and, along with her husband, activist and author Kevin Danaher, fair trade advocacy group Global Exchange...
were denied entry to Canada because their names appear on an FBI watchlist
Watchlist
Watchlist or watch list can have several meanings:*Interpol Terrorism Watch List, a 24 hour, 7 days a week command center and a linkage system to identify terrorist financing lists...
due to arrests related to their anti-war activism.
In December 2008, Wright has recently expressed her dissatisfaction with the current U.S foreign policy toward Palestine.
In 2009 Wright began work as a leading member of the steering committee for the Gaza Freedom March
Gaza Freedom March
Gaza Freedom March was a non-violent political march to end the blockade of the Gaza Strip., planned to depart on 31 December from Izbet Abed Rabbo, an area devastated during Operation Cast Lead, and head towards Erez, the crossing point to Israel at the northern end of the Gaza Strip.More than...
.
On June 1, 2010 Ann Wright was seen being escorted by Israeli Defense Forces from the attempt to break the blockade of the Gaza strip.
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 Marmara. 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."While on tour afterwards, she claimed that she witnessed the "murder [of] nine innocent civilians". However, in an interview with Aaron Lerner of IMRA
Imra
Imra was the chief pre-Islamic god of the Hindukush Kafir people. He was worshipped as the god of creation. By his breath, Imra created other gods of Kafir pantheon. Frequent sacrifiices were made to Imra, sometimes for recovery from sickness, seasonable weather, or other material benefits,...
, she admitted that she did not actually see the clash between the IDF soldiers and the armed passengers on board the Mavi Marmara. In fact, it was dark outside because it was pre-dawn, and she was admittedly on another ship, the Challenger, which was about 150 yards away from the Marmara.
Wright was one of five activists (Protest at Rep Sherman's office)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.
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 terrorist 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. Earlier, in 2004, she had signed a Letter to Congress, criticizing the Commission report for serious shortcomings and omissions, which according to the signatories renders the report flawed and casts doubt on the validity of its recommendations.Writings
In 2008, Koa Books published Dissent: Voices of Conscience, co-authored by Ann Wright and Susan Dixon. Subtitled Government Insiders Speak Out Against the War in Iraq, the work includes a forward by longtime anti-war activist Daniel EllsbergDaniel Ellsberg
Daniel Ellsberg, PhD, is a former United States military analyst who, while employed by the RAND Corporation, precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret Pentagon study of U.S. government decision-making in relation to the Vietnam War,...
, who leaked the top-secret Pentagon Papers
Pentagon Papers
The Pentagon Papers, officially titled United States – Vietnam Relations, 1945–1967: A Study Prepared by the Department of Defense, is a United States Department of Defense history of the United States' political-military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967...
in 1971.
Quotes
- “Refusing to participate in military operations that violate international law -- the war of aggression, the use of torture, the use of illegal weapons and purposeful targeting of innocent civilians will save Lt. Watada his sanity and his soul.”
See also
- First Lieutenant Ehren WatadaEhren WatadaEhren K. Watada was a First Lieutenant of the United States Army. He was the first commissioned officer in the US armed forces to refuse to deploy to Iraq, in June, 2006...
- former Active Duty United States Army Officer who is also against the Iraq War.
External links
- Ann Wright's letter of resignation
- Ann Wright interviewed on Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
at Camp Casey, August 19, 2005 - Breaking Through Diplomacy's Glass Ceiling, by Ann Wright
- Statement by Ann Wright Concerning International Commission of Inquiry on Crimes Against Humanity by the Bush Administration
- Ann Wright interviewed in the Hartford Advocate, September 2007
- Tomdispatch Interview: Ann Wright on Service to Country
- Biography for Mary A. (Ann) Wright
- End the War and Impeach Bush - An Interview with Ann Wright
- Article from Revolution Interviewer, #020
- Truthout Freedom and Democracy Awards, 2007
- 39 peace activists arrested at the Nevada Test Site
- Ann Wright's address to Sacramento City College on 10-16-07 MP3 Real Media
- Ann Wright's address at Time Tested Book, Sacramento, CA on 10-17-07 MP3 Real Media
- Mary Ann Wright. Sexual Assault in the U.S. Military: A Pentagon Cover-Up?
- Ann Wright at usmvaw.com