Free to disagree
Retired U.S. Army Colonel and anti-war activist Ann Wright will speak at MSU tonight
by Erica Ronning
Issue date: 3/24/09
Section: Speakers and Presentations
Retired U.S. Army Colonel, U.S. State Department diplomat and anti-war movement spokesperson Ann Wright will present the 2009 Kessel Memorial Lecture at 7:30 p.m. tonight in Minnesota State's Centennial Student Union Ostrander Auditorium.
Wright served for 13 years on active duty and 16 years in the reserves. Part of her 13-year active military work involved special operations in civil affairs which she explained as "plans about how you interact with the civilian population, how you protect the facilities - sewage, water, electrical grids, libraries … it's our obligation under the law of land welfare."
Wright served as a State Department diplomat in countries such as Nicaragua, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Uzbekistan. She also helped reopen the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, Wright resigned from her position in protest of what she considered an illegal war that lacked the sanction of the United Nations Security Council.
"Your job is to implement the policies of an administration … if you strongly disagree with any administration's policies, and wish to speak out, your only option is to resign," Wright stated in an interview on Globalexchange.com. "I understood that and that's one of the reasons I resigned-to give myself the freedom to talk out."
Wright has been arrested at least five times as an anti-war activist. She has been banned from military bases for distributing postcards advertising the film "Sir, No Sir," a documentary about the resistance of military personnel to other unjust wars.
Wright is also co-author of the book "Dissent: Voices of Conscience," written in 2007, which tells the stories of members of the Bush administration and other governments who spoke out about unjust U.S. foreign policies. Copies of the book can be purchased at the lecture for $20.
The annual Kessel Memorial Lecture is held in honor of late MSU political science Professor Abbas Kessel. While at MSU Kessel worked as an advocate for peace, human rights and awareness of energy issues. The Kessel Institute for the Study of Peace and Change (KISPC) and the Department of Political Science and Law enforcement are sponsoring the lecture. All students, faculty, staff and the public are welcome to attend. A short reception will follow the lecture.
Erica Ronning is a Reporter staff writer
Wright served for 13 years on active duty and 16 years in the reserves. Part of her 13-year active military work involved special operations in civil affairs which she explained as "plans about how you interact with the civilian population, how you protect the facilities - sewage, water, electrical grids, libraries … it's our obligation under the law of land welfare."
Wright served as a State Department diplomat in countries such as Nicaragua, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Uzbekistan. She also helped reopen the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, Wright resigned from her position in protest of what she considered an illegal war that lacked the sanction of the United Nations Security Council.
"Your job is to implement the policies of an administration … if you strongly disagree with any administration's policies, and wish to speak out, your only option is to resign," Wright stated in an interview on Globalexchange.com. "I understood that and that's one of the reasons I resigned-to give myself the freedom to talk out."
Wright has been arrested at least five times as an anti-war activist. She has been banned from military bases for distributing postcards advertising the film "Sir, No Sir," a documentary about the resistance of military personnel to other unjust wars.
Wright is also co-author of the book "Dissent: Voices of Conscience," written in 2007, which tells the stories of members of the Bush administration and other governments who spoke out about unjust U.S. foreign policies. Copies of the book can be purchased at the lecture for $20.
The annual Kessel Memorial Lecture is held in honor of late MSU political science Professor Abbas Kessel. While at MSU Kessel worked as an advocate for peace, human rights and awareness of energy issues. The Kessel Institute for the Study of Peace and Change (KISPC) and the Department of Political Science and Law enforcement are sponsoring the lecture. All students, faculty, staff and the public are welcome to attend. A short reception will follow the lecture.
Erica Ronning is a Reporter staff writer
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