2008 Woodie Awards
Ret. Col.defends dissent
Resigning after 26 years in the armed forces, Wright actively protests U.S. occupation of Iraq
Yvonne Freckmann
Issue date: 3/28/08 Section: News
Colonel (Ret.) Ann Wright, the highest-ranked military officer (one of three) to resign in protest of the War in Iraq and curtailment of civil liberties in the U.S., spoke in Northrup Hall on Wednesday night as the inaugural speaker of the Ruth McLean Bowman Bowers Lecture, part of Women's History Month.
Wright spoke about how whistleblowers, many of them women, suffered the consequences of disobeying orders and revealing numerous failings of lawfulness. She also made clear her view of the war in Iraq as a war crime, an act of aggression neither justified by any legal means, as Iraq posed no immediate threat to the nation, nor sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council.
"I didn't understand why we would divert our resources, both military and economic, from going after Al Qaeda to the oil-rich, Arab Muslim State that had not attacked us."
Just like many people today, Wright joined the military during an unpopular war: the Vietnam War, upon graduating college. She joined not because she "wanted to kill anyone," but to garner the benefits of the GI Bill, leadership and management skills, and to escape Arkansas at a time of few career options for women. She stayed in the service, and later the Foreign Service until March 19, 2003 - five years ago last week. She served in the U.S. Army/Army Reserves for 26 years, participating in civil reconstruction projects after military operations in Grenada, Panama and Somalia.
It is clear she has always had her own mind. While abroad, she reported on people who had been violently opposed to their government.
"Now I'm using those observations because it's happening in our country," Wright said.
To further inform others about the breaches of civil liberties and national and international laws witnessed by whistleblowers, Wright and Susan Dixon wrote Dissent: Voices of Conscience, now in its second printing since the first two months ago.
Handing out pink "THIS is what a FEMINIST looks like buttons." Ankita Rakhe, chair of the Women's History Month Committee, welcomed students, alumni and University officials and employees. Rakhe helped choose the speaker, which had to fit the criteria of being active in the political scene, and involved with the topic "Women and Politics". The speaker could be male, such as a feminist and advocate of women's rights, but the majority of lecturers brought to campus are males, Rakhe said, and the committee felt it was important that the speaker be female.
Wright spoke about how whistleblowers, many of them women, suffered the consequences of disobeying orders and revealing numerous failings of lawfulness. She also made clear her view of the war in Iraq as a war crime, an act of aggression neither justified by any legal means, as Iraq posed no immediate threat to the nation, nor sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council.
"I didn't understand why we would divert our resources, both military and economic, from going after Al Qaeda to the oil-rich, Arab Muslim State that had not attacked us."
Just like many people today, Wright joined the military during an unpopular war: the Vietnam War, upon graduating college. She joined not because she "wanted to kill anyone," but to garner the benefits of the GI Bill, leadership and management skills, and to escape Arkansas at a time of few career options for women. She stayed in the service, and later the Foreign Service until March 19, 2003 - five years ago last week. She served in the U.S. Army/Army Reserves for 26 years, participating in civil reconstruction projects after military operations in Grenada, Panama and Somalia.
It is clear she has always had her own mind. While abroad, she reported on people who had been violently opposed to their government.
"Now I'm using those observations because it's happening in our country," Wright said.
To further inform others about the breaches of civil liberties and national and international laws witnessed by whistleblowers, Wright and Susan Dixon wrote Dissent: Voices of Conscience, now in its second printing since the first two months ago.
Handing out pink "THIS is what a FEMINIST looks like buttons." Ankita Rakhe, chair of the Women's History Month Committee, welcomed students, alumni and University officials and employees. Rakhe helped choose the speaker, which had to fit the criteria of being active in the political scene, and involved with the topic "Women and Politics". The speaker could be male, such as a feminist and advocate of women's rights, but the majority of lecturers brought to campus are males, Rakhe said, and the committee felt it was important that the speaker be female.
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