Medea Benjamin & Ann Wright on U.S. Foreign Policy in Trump Administration: What will it be and how will it affect you?

As part of a “Texas Tour,” Medea Benjamin and Ann Wright will speak in Houston.  Medea will draw upon her first-hand knowledge of the Middle East to share her insights, and she’ll introduce her latest book, Kingdom of the Unjust; Behind the U.S.-Saudi Connection.  Ann was recently – once again – captured in international waters and imprisoned by the Israelis while attempting to reach shore on the Women’s Boat to Gaza.  She has also traveled to Japan, Korea, Russia, Germany, Greece, and elsewhere this year and can speak on the human and environmental costs of war and militarism around the globe and the possible effects of a Trump administration’s policies on all of us.

Medea Benjamin is the co-founder of the women-led peace group CODEPINK and the co-founder of the human rights group Global Exchange.  She has been an advocate for social justice for more than 40 years.  Described as “one of America’s most committed — and most effective — fighters for human rights” by New York Newsday, and “one of the high profile leaders of the peace movement” by the Los Angeles Times, she was one of 1,000 exemplary women from 140 countries nominated to receive the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the millions of women who do the essential work of peace worldwide.  She is the author of nine books, including Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control and Kingdom of the Unjust:  Behind the U.S.-Saudi Connection, and her articles appear regularly in outlets such as The Huffington Post, Common Dreams, Alternet, The Other Words, and TeleSUR.

Ann Wright is a 29-year US Army/Army Reserves veteran, a retired United States Army colonel and retired U.S. State Department official, known for her outspoken opposition to the Iraq War. She received the State Department Award for Heroism in 1997, after helping to evacuate several thousand people during the civil war in Sierra Leone. She is most noted for having been one of three State Department officials to publicly resign in direct protest of the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. Wright was also a passenger on the Challenger 1, which along with the Mavi Marmara, was part of the Gaza flotilla. She served in Nicaragua, Grenada, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sierra Leone, Micronesia and Mongolia. In December, 2001 she was on the small team that reopened the US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. She is the co-author of the book “Dissent: Voices of Conscience.” She has written frequently on rape in the military.

A reception and book signing of Medea Benjamin’s book at 6:30 PM will be followed by their presentations at 7 PM, followed by Q & A and book signing.

Photo credit: AP Photo – Charles Dharapak