Friday, June 13:

Army Colonel (Ret.) Ann Wright will speak at two places in Maui County on Friday, June 13:  the Molokai Public Library in Kaunakakai at 12:00 noon and on Maui  at 6:00 pm at Maui Community College, in the Student Lounge, in Kahului. 

In both talks, which are free to the public, she will discuss her work with war resisters in the US and those seeking asylum in Canada.   She will also read from her 2008 book Dissent: Voices of Conscience which she co-authored with UH Manoa instructor Susan Dixon.  The book tells the stories of those in government and military service who have spoken out, resigned, leaked documents, or who refused to deploy to contest government actions they felt were illegal, risking careers, reputations, and even freedom out of loyalty to the US Constitution and rule of law.

During the run-up to war with Iraq, Ann Wright was Deputy Ambassador to Afghanistan. She struggled with the moral dilemma of serving her country while disagreeing vehemently with the administration’s policy. Finally, the night before the invasion, she resigned, writing to Secretary Colin Powell that she felt the war would be a disaster. She had spent 19 years in the military and 16 years in diplomatic service.

Col. Wright travels extensively to speak in support of war resisters.  Recently she was put on a Homeland Security list of "terrorists" due to her arrests for peacefully protesting the Iraq war, and she was not allowed to enter Canada on behalf of US war-resisting soldiers seeking refuge in that country.

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Voices of conscience are usually smothered in spin. That the stories of these heroes are recorded here gives me great hope and shows that it is still possible to do the right thing.

—Ray McGovern, Retired CIA Analyst and Presidential Briefer for George H. W. Bush

As a soldier and a diplomat, Ann Wright always placed her country, its direction, and its welfare at the top of her priority list. She is, without question, one of the most honest and ethical individuals I have been privileged to know. I salute Ann Wright and the powerful voices of truth heard in Dissent.  —Brig. General (Ret.) Pat Foote, Former Commanding General, Fort Belvoir

This remarkably impressive book should be leaked into the government. It could awaken officials to withdraw their complicity and tell the truth.— from the Foreword, by Daniel Ellsberg

Ann Wright is not one to be silenced. — Ms. Magazine