William Blum
Encyclopedia
William Blum is an American
author, historian, and critic of United States foreign policy
. He studied accounting in college. Later he had a low-level computer-related position at the United States Department of State
in the mid-1960s. Initially an anti-communist with dreams of becoming a foreign service officer
, he said he became disillusioned by the Vietnam War
. He lives in Long Beach, New York
.
in which was revealed the names and addresses of more than 200 employees of the Agency. He has worked as freelance journalist in the United States
, Europe
and South America
. From 1972 to 1973 Blum worked as a journalist in Chile
, where he reported on the Allende
government's "socialist experiment". In the mid-1970s, he worked in London
with ex-CIA agent Philip Agee
and his associates "on their project of exposing CIA personnel and their misdeeds". He supports himself with his writing and speaking engagements on college campuses.
In his writing, Blum devotes substantial attention to CIA
interventions and assassination plots. He has supported Ralph Nader
's presidential campaigns. He currently circulates a monthly newsletter by email called "The Anti-Empire Report". Blum has described his life's mission as: "If not ending, at least slowing down the American Empire. At least injuring the beast. It's causing so much suffering around the world."
issued a public statement
in which he quoted Blum and recommended that all Americans read Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower
. As a result of the mention sales of his book skyrocketed.
"I was quite surprised and even shocked and amused when I found out what he'd said," Blum said. "I was glad. I knew it would help the book's sales and I was not bothered by who it was coming from. If he shares with me a deep dislike for the certain aspects of US foreign policy, then I'm not going to spurn any endorsement of the book by him. I think it's good that he shares those views and I'm not turned off by that." On the Bin Laden endorsement Blum stated "This is almost as good as being an Oprah book."
and Washington DC. as "an understandable retaliation against US foreign policy." However, he has also written that there are "serious contradictions and apparent lies in the Official Government Version" of the September 11 attacks and that the New York skyscrapers apparently "collapsed essentially because of a controlled demolition". Blum has suggested elements of the US government "let it happen" using the events as a justification for the war on terror
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author, historian, and critic of United States foreign policy
Foreign relations of the United States
The United States has formal diplomatic relations with most nations. The United States federal statutes relating to foreign relations can be found in Title 22 of the United States Code.-Pacific:-Americas:-Caribbean:...
. He studied accounting in college. Later he had a low-level computer-related position at the United States Department of State
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...
in the mid-1960s. Initially an anti-communist with dreams of becoming a foreign service officer
Foreign Service Officer
A Foreign Service Officer is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. As diplomats, Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U.S. embassies, consulates, and other diplomatic...
, he said he became disillusioned by the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. He lives in Long Beach, New York
Long Beach, New York
Long Beach is a city in Nassau County, New York. Just south of Long Island, it is located on Long Beach Barrier Island, which is the westernmost of the outer barrier islands off Long Island's South Shore. As of the United States 2010 Census, the city population was 33,275...
.
Journalism
He left the Department in 1967. He then became one of the founders and editors of the Washington Free Press, the first "alternative" newspaper in the capital. In 1969, he wrote and published an exposé of the CIACentral Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
in which was revealed the names and addresses of more than 200 employees of the Agency. He has worked as freelance journalist in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. From 1972 to 1973 Blum worked as a journalist in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, where he reported on the Allende
Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
government's "socialist experiment". In the mid-1970s, he worked in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with ex-CIA agent Philip Agee
Philip Agee
Philip Burnett Franklin Agee was a Central Intelligence Agency case officer and writer, best known as author of the 1975 book, Inside the Company: CIA Diary, detailing his experiences in the CIA. Agee joined the CIA in 1957, and over the following decade had postings in Washington, D.C., Ecuador,...
and his associates "on their project of exposing CIA personnel and their misdeeds". He supports himself with his writing and speaking engagements on college campuses.
In his writing, Blum devotes substantial attention to CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
interventions and assassination plots. He has supported Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....
's presidential campaigns. He currently circulates a monthly newsletter by email called "The Anti-Empire Report". Blum has described his life's mission as: "If not ending, at least slowing down the American Empire. At least injuring the beast. It's causing so much suffering around the world."
Osama bin Laden statement
In early 2006, Blum briefly became the subject of widespread media attention when Osama bin LadenOsama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
issued a public statement
19 January 2006 Osama bin Laden tape
An audio tape recording of a speech believed to be by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was released on January 19, 2006. The release of the tape came shortly after United States Central Intelligence Agency's airstrike of Damadola in Pakistan, an attack that reportedly led to the deaths of Midhat...
in which he quoted Blum and recommended that all Americans read Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower
Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower
Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower is a book by William Blum first published in 2000. The 3rd revision updates events covered in the book to the year 2005. It examines and criticizes United States foreign policy during and following the Cold War. The book's first chapter is...
. As a result of the mention sales of his book skyrocketed.
"I was quite surprised and even shocked and amused when I found out what he'd said," Blum said. "I was glad. I knew it would help the book's sales and I was not bothered by who it was coming from. If he shares with me a deep dislike for the certain aspects of US foreign policy, then I'm not going to spurn any endorsement of the book by him. I think it's good that he shares those views and I'm not turned off by that." On the Bin Laden endorsement Blum stated "This is almost as good as being an Oprah book."
Statements on 9/11
Blum has described the September 11th, 2001 attacks on New YorkNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Washington DC. as "an understandable retaliation against US foreign policy." However, he has also written that there are "serious contradictions and apparent lies in the Official Government Version" of the September 11 attacks and that the New York skyscrapers apparently "collapsed essentially because of a controlled demolition". Blum has suggested elements of the US government "let it happen" using the events as a justification for the war on terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
.
Books
- 1986: The CIA: A Forgotten History (Zed BooksZed BooksZed Books is an independent non-fiction book publishing company based in London.Founded in 1977 under the name Zed Press, Zed publishes academic books covering areas such as politics, economics, gender studies, development studies, and the environment....
) ISBN 0-86232-480-7 - 2000: Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only SuperpowerRogue State: A Guide to the World's Only SuperpowerRogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower is a book by William Blum first published in 2000. The 3rd revision updates events covered in the book to the year 2005. It examines and criticizes United States foreign policy during and following the Cold War. The book's first chapter is...
(Common Courage Press) ISBN 1-56751-194-5 - 2002: West-Bloc Dissident: A Cold War Memoir (Soft Skull Press) ISBN 1-56751-306-9
- 2003: Killing HopeKilling HopeKilling Hope: U.S. Military and C.I.A. Interventions since World War II is a history book on covert CIA operations and U.S. military interventions during the second half of the 20th century. It was written by former State Department employee William Blum...
: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II, revised edition (Common Courage Press) ISBN 1-56751-252-6 - 2004: Freeing the World to Death: Essays on the American Empire (Common Courage Press)
External links
William Blum's Homepage, Anti-empire reports- William Blum's articles in Foreign Policy Journal.
- William Blum's articles in Z CommunicationsZ CommunicationsZ Communications is a radical left-wing media group founded in 1986 by Michael Albert and Lydia Sargent. It advocates participatory socialism as a replacement for capitalism. Its publications include Z Magazine, ZNet, Z Media, and Z Video.Z Communications is based outside Woods Hole, Massachusetts...
. - William Blum's articles at the Centre for Research on Globalization.
- William Blum's articles at Third World Traveler. An interview with Blum from Liverpool's 'Nerve' magazine Transcript of William Blum’s Jan. 28, 2006 appearance on C-Span's call-in show Washington Journal
- Myth and Denial in the War on Terrorism--Why do terrorists hate the USA?