Dissent: Voices of Conscience [Paperback]

Ann Wright (Author), Susan Dixon (Author), Daniel Ellsberg (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2008

During the run-up to war in Iraq, Army Colonel (Ret.) and diplomat Ann Wright resigned her State Department post in protest. Wright, who had spent 19 years in the military and 16 years in diplomatic service, was one among dozens of govern-ment insiders and active-duty military personnel who spoke out, resigned, leaked documents, or refused to deploy in protest of government actions they felt were illegal. In Dissent: Voices of Conscience, Ann Wright and Susan Dixon tell the stories of these men and women, who risked careers, reputations, and even freedom out of loyalty to the Constitution and the rule of law.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

The publication date of Dissent: Voices of Conscience is January 15, 2008. It was delayed due, in part, by the lengthy process of clearance by the Department of State.

From the Author

From the Foreword by Daniel Ellsberg:This ... illuminating and remarkably impressive ... book should be leaked into the government. ... This book could awaken ... officials to withdraw their complicity and ... tell the truth to [the public]. This country will not escape further human, legal, and moral catastrophes, or preserve itself as a democratic, constitutional republic, if that does not happen. If you're at all like me, you will have a whole set of new heroes when you finish reading this. ...Dissent: Voices of Conscience could change your life.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 278 pages
• Publisher: Koa Books; 1 edition (January 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977333841
• ISBN-13: 978-0977333844
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,080,659 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

90 of 95 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Bringing the Truth to Light, May 7, 2008

By 

Edwin C. Pauzer (New York City) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Dissent: Voices of Conscience (Paperback)

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President or that we are to stand by the President right or wrong is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."

Theodore Roosevelt, May 7, 1918.

"Dissent: Voices of Conscience" is about people who have witnessed first hand the deceit and deception on the part of the Bush administration and how they carefully crafted intelligence to fit their plan to invade Iraq. For those who don't know, they were planning to do so from before Inauguration Day 2001. September 11th gave them all the excuse they needed to hatch the plan.

The voices were people in our government who were privy to illegal and immoral acts that were being committed in violation of our Constitutional rights, and in the name of security. They were FBI agents, justice department attorneys, diplomats, and active duty military who witnessed the tortures, the propaganda, and the eavesdropping on American citizens for political purposes rather than for national security. There is also an extensive list of generals and admirals who have spoken out against our policies, and have written Congress and the President.

What really surprised me was what I didn't know because the "mainstream-drive-by-left-leaning" press did not report it here, or else they gave it very little play. It was the outright collusion of British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and Australian Prime Minister, John Howard who was censured by the Australian Senate in October 2003, for misleading the public in justifying sending troops off to war with one senator even accusing Howard of unprecedented deceit. Numerous diplomats in Her Majesty's government spoke out, leaked information, resigned, or were arrested for following their consciences. These revelations almost brought down the Blair government, and Howard was defeated in the next election. Even the Danish prime minister, who was one of the first to volunteer his forces, denied intelligence information to his Parliament which would not have supported their participation.

One of the more disgusting revelations of this book was our silence over the barbarism that is occurring in Uzbekistan against its citizens by their brutal leader, Karimov. The U.S. while all for bringing democracy to Iraq turned a blind eye to the tortures that were occurring in that country so long as we had an air base for our operations. It didn't matter even when two people were actually boiled to death. We only spoke out about the human rights abuses AFTER that government honored a new agreement with Russia's Vladimir Putin who insisted that the US base and our operations be closed.

We also learn what kind of people these people really were. They weren't radicals, malcontents, or non-conformists. These were people who really believed in the system and its ideals. When the system was perverted by their superiors, they faced a moral dilemma. Most them were forced to resign or retire, or were demoted or transferred, in spite of statutory protections for whistle blowers that were ignored. Katherine Gunn, a translator for the British government leaked to the press that our government was eavesdropping on members of the U.N. Security Council to attempt to pressure them to go along with a U.S. sponsored resolution against Iraq. She readily admitted what she did. She was fired and arrested. The U.S. wanted her tried. The day of the trial, her Majesty's government dropped all charges. Her barrister made it clear that he would spill the beans on everything. The stories of Colleen Rowley (FBI agent, Minneapolis office), and Sible Edmonds (FBI translator) were particularly powerful and poignant.

Much of the book is a brief story about these voices of conscience, which was usually followed by their letters of resignation or whistle-blowing. While some of the letters were quite interesting, I began to pass by many of them. I was and still am in a moral quandary when I read about officers and enlisted who deserted or refused to deploy or fight because of policy. (Neither group gets to decide that). Nevertheless, the book is surprising in the new information I learned, and what people of conscience sacrificed to right wrongs and injustice, and bring the truth to light.


May 7, 2008--ninety years later.


It is 257 days and a wake-up until the Bush tyranny is over.


Additional References:

Cook, Robin, "The Point of Departure: Why One of Britain's Leading Politicians Resigned over Tony Blair's Decision to Go to War in Iraq."

Willmshurst, Elizabeth, "Rules of Engagement. Newspaper article in "The Guardian.

Short, Clare, "An Honorable Deception?: New Labour, Iraq and the Misuse of Power."

Carne, Ross, "Independent Diplomat: Dispatches from an Unaccountable Elite."

"The Butler Inquiry."

Murray, Craig, "Murder in Samarkand." 2006 in the United Kingdom

"Axis of Deceit: The Story of the Intelligence Officer Who Risked All to Tell the Truth About WMD and Iraq."

Alford, C. Fred, "Whistleblowers: Broken Lives and Organizational Power."

Radack, Jesselyn, "The Canary in the Coalmine: Blowing the Whistle in the Case of `American Taliban' John Walker Lindh." Self-published, 2006

Edmonds, Sibel, www.JustACitizen.org. This lady was a translator for the FBI. She was fired in 2002 after she blew the whistle on the lack of proper supervision of supervisors and shoddy translation. She has been featured on "60 Minutes."

Zinni, Anthony, General (Ret.), "Battle Ready."

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Road to Iraq from the Inside, January 31, 2008

By 

Madge Walls (Wilsonville, Oregon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dissent: Voices of Conscience (Paperback)

Rarely do we get an insider's look at a controversial historic event from so many different angles while the event is still going on. Ann Wright and Susan Dixon present the viewpoints of government insiders and active-duty military personnel, all with attribution, on the Iraq War. This is an angry book, rightly so, when you learn what the contributors have to say. And the role of British Prime Minister (at the time) Tony Blair surprised me. Democracy requires openness in government and military affaris. "Dissent" is a welcome effort in that direction.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Essential Work, March 1, 2008

By 

Wilson M. Powell (Pacific, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dissent: Voices of Conscience (Paperback)

Ann Wright and Susan Dixon have turned up the volume on the voices of dissent, according them the credibility and urgency denied them by mainstream media.

This is an essential work. The citizens who put their careers and reputations on the line to inform a nation, a world, of the facts surrounding the most important decisions of our lifetimes, not only need to be honored, but listened to. And any citizen worthy of the claim needs to read and reflect on the selflessness that prompted these men and women to act completely outside their zones of comforts and personal interest.

The book is imminently readable, accessible, supportable. It is a primer on good citizenship as well as an eye-opening revelation of the inner workings of self-interest in government.

Wilson (Woody) Powell