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Col. Ann Wright, just back from Pakistan, returns to talk about a wide range of issues.Col. Ann Wright, retired from the Army and State Department, is an activist on many important fronts, which we cover in this in-depth conversation. She has just returned from Pakistan, where Medea Benjamin and an American delegation, including CodePink members, connected with a range of Pakistanis and met with the top US diplomat. Benjamin was on our podcast recently to discuss her new book about unmanned aircraft, and in Pakistan they heard from people who confirm the high levels of innocent civilians killed in drone strikes. We talk about Afghanistan, and Wright, who served there after the American invasion in 2001, explains the differences between the Taliban in Pakistan and the one in Afghanistan. She talks about her latest actions in Gaza, and Obama’s success in keeping Netanyahu from launching an Israeli attack on Iran. Wright was in Cairo during the Egyptian revolution, and has some observations about new president Muhammed Morsi. The Egyptian torturer whose name we could not summon was Omar Suleiman, who died in Cleveland this summer, with little explanation. In the final portion of the interview, we focus on Wright’s important efforts to expose widespread sexual abuse and rape in the US military, including male victims. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) has been working in Congress to get military leaders to focus on this problem, and just returned from Lackland AFB in Texas where a pattern of rape has been exposed. We also talk about General Jeffrey Sinclair of the 82nd Airborne, who was recently charged with multiple sex crimes.
Find out about Ann Wright’s West Coast speaking tour here