WMU Home > WMU News

WMU News

WMU News on Twitter

Retired Army colonel slams Middle East policy

Oct. 20, 2010

KALAMAZOO--A retired Army colonel known for her outspoken opposition to U.S. Middle East foreign policy will speak Wednesday, Oct. 27, at Western Michigan University.

Photo of Retired Army Col. Ann Wright.Retired Col. Ann Wright will deliver the 2010 Winnie Veenstra Peace Lecture at 7:30 p.m. in Room 113 of the Bernhard Center. Her presentation is titled "From Afghanistan to Gaza: Obama's Middle East Policy Crisis."

As war loomed in Iraq, Wright resigned from her U.S. State Department position in protest. She most recently participated in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, attacked by Israel in international waters last spring.

Wright had spoken out against policy before her resignation. She has said that she spoke out against United Nations bombing tactics in Somalia, in the effort to kill rebel leader Mohamed Farrah Aidid. She also says she "held her nose" on multiple occasions, continuing her State Department work despite her disagreements with policy.

Those who attend the talk will learn how Wright's personal journey from soldier to diplomat to peace activist frames her understanding of the foreign policy crisis facing the Obama administration today.

Wright's lecture is sponsored by Kalamazoo Nonviolent Opponents of War (KNOW), WMU Peace Center, Department of Peace (Michigan Sixth District) and the WMU Center for the Study of Ethics in Society.

Share |

Media contact: Mark Schwerin, (269) 387-8400, mark.schwerin@wmich.edu

WMU News
Office of University Relations
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5433 USA
(269) 387-8400
www.wmich.edu/news