Lawrence Wilkerson
Encyclopedia
Lawrence B. "Larry" Wilkerson (15 June 1945 in Gaffney, South Carolina
) is a retired United States Army
Colonel and former chief of staff to United States
Secretary of State
Colin Powell
. Wilkerson has criticized many aspects of the Iraq War, including his own preparation of Powell's presentation to the UN.
and English literature
at Bucknell University
, Wilkerson dropped out in 1966 and volunteered to serve in the Vietnam War
. He told the Washington Post: "I felt an obligation because my dad had fought, and I thought that was kind of your duty."
Wilkerson arrived as an Army officer piloting an OH-6A Cayuse observation helicopter and logged about 1100 combat hours over a year. He flew low and slow through Vietnam, and was involved in one incident in which he says he prevented a war crime by purposely placing his helicopter between a position that was full of civilians, and another helicopter that wanted to launch an attack on the position. He also had many vocal disagreements with his superiors and his own gunner crew over free-fire zone
s, including an incident in which one of his crew shot a wagon that wound up having a little girl inside of it.. He went on to Airborne School
and Ranger School
before receiving his Bachelor of Arts
degree
in English literature and graduate degrees in international relations
and national security
. He attended the Naval War College
in Newport, Rhode Island
and later returned there to teach. He later served as deputy director of the Marine Corps War College
at Quantico
.
Wilkerson spent some years in the United States Navy's
Pacific Command
in South Korea
, Japan
and Hawaii
, where he was well regarded by his superiors. These recommendations led in early 1989 to a successful interview to become the assistant to Colin Powell
, who was then finishing his stint as National Security Advisor
in the Reagan administration and moving to a position in the United States Army Forces Command
at Fort McPherson
. He continued this supporting role as Powell became Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
through the Gulf War
, following Powell into civilian life and then back into public service when President George W. Bush appointed Powell Secretary of State
.
Wilkerson was responsible for a review of information from the Central Intelligence Agency
that was used to prepare Powell for his February 2003 presentation to the United Nations Security Council. His failure to realize that the evidence was faulty has been attributed on the limited time (only one week) that he had to review the data. The subsequent developments led Wilkerson to become disillusioned: "Combine the detainee abuse issue with the ineptitude of post-invasion planning for Iraq, wrap both in this blanket of secretive decision-making...and you get the overall reason for my speaking out."
leading up to and following it. In particular he has denounced the decision-making process of the Bush Administration and Vice President
Dick Cheney
's and Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld
's part in it.
(regarding treatment of POWs) would not apply to "al-Qaeda and al-Qaeda look-alike detainees" and that the February 2002 White House memorandum regarding the "Humane Treatment of Taliban and al Qaeda Detainees" contained a loophole designed to avoid applying the Geneva convention to the detainees. According to Wilkerson, the phrase "the detainees (should) be treated humanely and, to the extent appropriate and consistent with military necessity, in a manner consistent with the principles of Geneva" was a way to appear to play by the rules while in reality, the "military necessities" would always overrule concerns about the plight of the detainees. Wilkerson said that this was result of Cheney and Rumsfeld working in collaboration to undermine the standard decision-making process of the White House (which included his superior, Colin Powell).
, Wilkerson criticized the intelligence community which compiled the Iraq War intelligence.
In a 2006 interview Wilkerson said that the speech Powell made before the United Nations on February 5, 2003—which laid out a case for war with Iraq—included falsehoods of which Powell had never been made aware. He said, "My participation in that presentation at the UN constitutes the lowest point in my professional life. I participated in a hoax
on the American people, the international community and the United Nations Security Council." Wilkerson said in 2011 that his preparing of the presentation was "probably the biggest mistake of my life", he regrets it, and that he regrets not resigning over it.
He stated in the 2006 interview that neither CIA Director George Tenet
nor the CIA analysts that gave Powell information on mobile biological laboratories
explained that there were disputes about the reliability of the informants who had supplied the information—information which was used in the speech.
Wilkerson also agreed with the interviewer that Cheney's frequent trips to the CIA would have brought "undue influence" on the agency. When asked if Cheney was "the kind of guy who could lean on somebody" he responded, "Absolutely. And be just as quiet and taciturn about it as-- he-- as he leaned on 'em. As he leaned on the Congress recently-- in the-- torture issue."
Wilkerson stood by his earlier description of Cheney and Rumsfeld as having formed a cabal
to hijack the decision-making process: "I'm worried and I would rather have the discussion and debate in the process we've designed than I would a diktat from a dumb strongman... I'd prefer to see the squabble of democracy to the efficiency of dictators."
Newsnight
, January 17, 2007, that an Iranian offer to help stabilise Iraq after the American invasion, was positively received at the State Department, yet turned down by Dick Cheney. The reported offer consisted of help in stabilizing Iraq, cutting ties with Hezbollah and greater transparency in its nuclear program
in return for lifting sanctions and dismantling the Mujahedeen-e Khalq, an organisation working to overthrow the Iranian government. When this offer was made, numerous middle-east experts were warning of the coming shift in power in Iran toward the right-wing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who would assume power shortly thereafter.
, a film that is very critical of the way the occupation of Iraq was handled in the spring of 2003.
. This film won the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival
.
In April 2007, Wilkerson was featured in VPRO
's Tegenlicht Dutch documentary The Israel Lobby. He said that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee
(AIPAC) was highly influential in the Bush Administration's decision to go to war in Iraq. He also cited, as to the extent of their influence, an occasion in which he was threatened with censure when he criticized Israel in a lecture he was giving.
reports that on March 16, 2009, Wilkerson wrote on The Washington Note that he knew from briefings as a Bush administration official that it was soon recognized that some of the captives were innocent.
According to the Associated Press summary, Wilkerson said the Bush administration was willing to continue to detain innocent men who might nevertheless be aware of useful information about the Afghanistan "mosaic":
Wilkerson stated that Guantanamo continues to hold innocent men.
Wilkerson said that he felt compelled to come forward after hearing former Vice President
Dick Cheney
state that President Barack Obama
's plans to close Guantanamo made the public less safe.
Commander
Jeffrey Gordon
, a Guantanamo spokesman, declined to comment on Wilkerson's specific observations. According to an Associated Press paraphrase of Gordon's statement, he said that, "dealing with foreign fighters from a wide variety of countries in a wartime setting was a complex process."
Wilkerson expressed support for Wesley Clark
and Anthony Zinni
. He also endorsed Jim Webb
against incumbent George Allen
in the 2006 U.S. Senate election in Virginia.
Wilkerson is a visiting professor at the College of William & Mary, teaching courses on U.S. national security. He is a Professorial Lecturer in the Honors Program at the George Washington University
, teaching a course named "National Security Decision Making." He and his wife Barbara have two children. His son is an Air Force
navigator while his daughter was in the Army but has since returned to civilian life.
Wilkerson also heads the Colin Powell Leadership Club, a group of MacFarland middle school students in Washington, D.C.
Gaffney, South Carolina
Gaffney is a city in and the county seat of Cherokee County, South Carolina, United States, in the upstate region of South Carolina. Gaffney is also sometimes referred to as the Peach capital of South Carolina. The population was 12,414 at the 2010 census...
) is a retired United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
Colonel and former chief of staff to United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Colin Powell
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
. Wilkerson has criticized many aspects of the Iraq War, including his own preparation of Powell's presentation to the UN.
Education and military service
After three years of studying philosophyPhilosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and English literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
at Bucknell University
Bucknell University
Bucknell University is a private liberal arts university located alongside the West Branch Susquehanna River in the rolling countryside of Central Pennsylvania in the town of Lewisburg, 30 miles southeast of Williamsport and 60 miles north of Harrisburg. The university consists of the College of...
, Wilkerson dropped out in 1966 and volunteered to serve in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. He told the Washington Post: "I felt an obligation because my dad had fought, and I thought that was kind of your duty."
Wilkerson arrived as an Army officer piloting an OH-6A Cayuse observation helicopter and logged about 1100 combat hours over a year. He flew low and slow through Vietnam, and was involved in one incident in which he says he prevented a war crime by purposely placing his helicopter between a position that was full of civilians, and another helicopter that wanted to launch an attack on the position. He also had many vocal disagreements with his superiors and his own gunner crew over free-fire zone
Free-fire zone
A free-fire zone in U.S. military parlance is a fire control measure, used for coordination between adjacent combat units. The definition used in the Vietnam war by US troops may be found in field manual FM 6-20:- Free-fire zones in the Vietnam War :...
s, including an incident in which one of his crew shot a wagon that wound up having a little girl inside of it.. He went on to Airborne School
United States Army Airborne School
The United States Army Airborne School — widely known as Jump School — conducts the basic paratrooper training for the United States armed forces. It is operated by the 1st Battalion , 507th Infantry, United States Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia...
and Ranger School
Ranger School
The United States Army Ranger School is an intense 61-day combat leadership course oriented towards small-unit tactics. It has been called the "toughest combat course in the world" and "is the most physically and mentally demanding leadership school the Army has to offer". The course is conducted...
before receiving his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
in English literature and graduate degrees in international relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
and national security
National security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
. He attended the Naval War College
Naval War College
The Naval War College is an education and research institution of the United States Navy that specializes in developing ideas for naval warfare and passing them along to officers of the Navy. The college is located on the grounds of Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island...
in Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
and later returned there to teach. He later served as deputy director of the Marine Corps War College
Marine Corps War College
The Marine Corps War College , is the senior school of the Marine Corps University, providing Joint Professional Military Education to selected United States military officers, civilian Government officials, and international military officers...
at Quantico
Marine Corps Base Quantico
Marine Corps Base Quantico, sometimes abbreviated MCB Quantico, is a major United States Marine Corps training base located near Triangle, Virginia, covering nearly in southern Prince William County, northern Stafford County, and southeastern Fauquier County...
.
Wilkerson spent some years in the United States Navy's
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
Pacific Command
United States Pacific Command
The United States Pacific Command is a Unified Combatant Command of the United States armed forces responsible for the Pacific Ocean area. It is led by the Commander, Pacific Command , who is the supreme military authority for the various branches of the Armed Forces of the United States serving...
in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, where he was well regarded by his superiors. These recommendations led in early 1989 to a successful interview to become the assistant to Colin Powell
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
, who was then finishing his stint as National Security Advisor
National Security Advisor (United States)
The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, commonly referred to as the National Security Advisor , serves as the chief advisor to the President of the United States on national security issues...
in the Reagan administration and moving to a position in the United States Army Forces Command
United States Army Forces Command
United States Army Forces Command is the largest Army Command and the preeminent provider of expeditionary, campaign-capable land forces to Combatant Commanders. Headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, FORSCOM consists of more than 750,000 Active Army, U.S. Army Reserve, and Army National...
at Fort McPherson
Fort McPherson
Fort McPherson was a U.S. Army military base located in East Point, Georgia, on the southwest edge of the City of Atlanta, Ga. It was the headquarters for the U.S. Army Installation Management Command, Southeast Region; the U.S. Army Forces Command; the U.S. Army Reserve Command; the U.S...
. He continued this supporting role as Powell became Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is by law the highest ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces, and is the principal military adviser to the President of the United States, the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council and the Secretary of Defense...
through the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, following Powell into civilian life and then back into public service when President George W. Bush appointed Powell Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
.
Wilkerson was responsible for a review of information from the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
that was used to prepare Powell for his February 2003 presentation to the United Nations Security Council. His failure to realize that the evidence was faulty has been attributed on the limited time (only one week) that he had to review the data. The subsequent developments led Wilkerson to become disillusioned: "Combine the detainee abuse issue with the ineptitude of post-invasion planning for Iraq, wrap both in this blanket of secretive decision-making...and you get the overall reason for my speaking out."
Post-government statements
Since his retirement from the public sector Wilkerson has on several occasions spoken out against what he perceives as the poor planning and execution of the Iraq War as well as the global politicsGlobal politics
Global politics is the discipline that studies the political and economical patterns of the world. It studies the relationships between cities, nation-states, shell-states, multinational corporations, non-governmental organizations and international organizations.It has been argued that global...
leading up to and following it. In particular he has denounced the decision-making process of the Bush Administration and Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
's and Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld is an American politician and businessman. Rumsfeld served as the 13th Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and as the 21st Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the oldest person to...
's part in it.
Treatment of detainees in Iraq
Wilkerson made comments in November 2005 to the effect that the Vice President had decided that the Third Geneva ConventionThird Geneva Convention
The Third Geneva Convention, relative to the treatment of prisoners of war, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was first adopted in 1929, but was significantly updated in 1949...
(regarding treatment of POWs) would not apply to "al-Qaeda and al-Qaeda look-alike detainees" and that the February 2002 White House memorandum regarding the "Humane Treatment of Taliban and al Qaeda Detainees" contained a loophole designed to avoid applying the Geneva convention to the detainees. According to Wilkerson, the phrase "the detainees (should) be treated humanely and, to the extent appropriate and consistent with military necessity, in a manner consistent with the principles of Geneva" was a way to appear to play by the rules while in reality, the "military necessities" would always overrule concerns about the plight of the detainees. Wilkerson said that this was result of Cheney and Rumsfeld working in collaboration to undermine the standard decision-making process of the White House (which included his superior, Colin Powell).
Iraq war intelligence was "a hoax"
During an October 19, 2005 speech at the New America FoundationNew America Foundation
The New America Foundation is a non-profit public policy institute and think tank with offices in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, CA. It was founded in 1999 by Ted Halstead, Sherle Schwenninger, Michael Lind and Walter Russell Mead....
, Wilkerson criticized the intelligence community which compiled the Iraq War intelligence.
In a 2006 interview Wilkerson said that the speech Powell made before the United Nations on February 5, 2003—which laid out a case for war with Iraq—included falsehoods of which Powell had never been made aware. He said, "My participation in that presentation at the UN constitutes the lowest point in my professional life. I participated in a hoax
Hoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
on the American people, the international community and the United Nations Security Council." Wilkerson said in 2011 that his preparing of the presentation was "probably the biggest mistake of my life", he regrets it, and that he regrets not resigning over it.
He stated in the 2006 interview that neither CIA Director George Tenet
George Tenet
George John Tenet was the Director of Central Intelligence for the United States Central Intelligence Agency, and is Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University....
nor the CIA analysts that gave Powell information on mobile biological laboratories
Mobile weapons laboratory
Mobile weapons laboratories are bioreactors and other processing equipment to manufacture and process biological weapons that can be moved from location to location either by train or vehicle.-Iraqi Mobile weapons laboratories:...
explained that there were disputes about the reliability of the informants who had supplied the information—information which was used in the speech.
Wilkerson also agreed with the interviewer that Cheney's frequent trips to the CIA would have brought "undue influence" on the agency. When asked if Cheney was "the kind of guy who could lean on somebody" he responded, "Absolutely. And be just as quiet and taciturn about it as-- he-- as he leaned on 'em. As he leaned on the Congress recently-- in the-- torture issue."
Wilkerson stood by his earlier description of Cheney and Rumsfeld as having formed a cabal
Cabal
A cabal is a group of people united in some close design together, usually to promote their private views and/or interests in a church, state, or other community, often by intrigue...
to hijack the decision-making process: "I'm worried and I would rather have the discussion and debate in the process we've designed than I would a diktat from a dumb strongman... I'd prefer to see the squabble of democracy to the efficiency of dictators."
An Iranian overture, 2003
Wilkerson said in an interview on BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Newsnight
Newsnight
Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....
, January 17, 2007, that an Iranian offer to help stabilise Iraq after the American invasion, was positively received at the State Department, yet turned down by Dick Cheney. The reported offer consisted of help in stabilizing Iraq, cutting ties with Hezbollah and greater transparency in its nuclear program
Nuclear program of Iran
The nuclear program of Iran was launched in the 1950s with the help of the United States as part of the Atoms for Peace program. The support, encouragement and participation of the United States and Western European governments in Iran's nuclear program continued until the 1979 Iranian Revolution...
in return for lifting sanctions and dismantling the Mujahedeen-e Khalq, an organisation working to overthrow the Iranian government. When this offer was made, numerous middle-east experts were warning of the coming shift in power in Iran toward the right-wing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who would assume power shortly thereafter.
Lack of congressional oversight
Wilkerson is one of the people interviewed in the 2007 documentary film No End in SightNo End in Sight
No End in Sight is a 2007 documentary film about the American occupation of Iraq. The film marks the directorial debut of Academy Award winning documentary film producer Charles H. Ferguson. The film premiered January 22, 2007 at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. The film opened in limited release...
, a film that is very critical of the way the occupation of Iraq was handled in the spring of 2003.
Proposes impeachment
".... You compare Bill Clinton's peccadilloes for which he was impeached to George Bush's high crimes and misdemeanors or Dick Cheney's high crimes and misdemeanors, and I think they pale in significance."Commentary on the documentary "Why We Fight"
Wilkerson did a full-length audio commentary for the documentary Why We FightWhy We Fight (2005 film)
Why We Fight, directed by Eugene Jarecki, is a 2006 documentary film about the military–industrial complex. The title refers to the World War II-era eponymous propaganda movies commissioned by the U.S...
. This film won the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
.
In April 2007, Wilkerson was featured in VPRO
VPRO
The VPRO was established in the Netherlands in 1926 as a religious broadcasting organization. Falling under the Protestant pillar, it represented the Liberal Protestant current...
's Tegenlicht Dutch documentary The Israel Lobby. He said that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee
American Israel Public Affairs Committee
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is a lobbying group that advocates pro-Israel policies to the Congress and Executive Branch of the United States...
(AIPAC) was highly influential in the Bush Administration's decision to go to war in Iraq. He also cited, as to the extent of their influence, an occasion in which he was threatened with censure when he criticized Israel in a lecture he was giving.
Guantanamo continues to hold innocent men
The Associated PressAssociated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
reports that on March 16, 2009, Wilkerson wrote on The Washington Note that he knew from briefings as a Bush administration official that it was soon recognized that some of the captives were innocent.
According to the Associated Press summary, Wilkerson said the Bush administration was willing to continue to detain innocent men who might nevertheless be aware of useful information about the Afghanistan "mosaic":
|
Wilkerson stated that Guantanamo continues to hold innocent men.
Wilkerson said that he felt compelled to come forward after hearing former Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
state that President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's plans to close Guantanamo made the public less safe.
Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
Jeffrey Gordon
Jeffrey D. Gordon
Jeffrey D. Gordon is a communications consultant to several conservative Washington, DC-based think tanks. Gordon is also a contributing columnist to Fox News, AOL News, the Washington Times and other media outlets. Previously, he was a Commander in the United States Navy.-Naval career:He was...
, a Guantanamo spokesman, declined to comment on Wilkerson's specific observations. According to an Associated Press paraphrase of Gordon's statement, he said that, "dealing with foreign fighters from a wide variety of countries in a wartime setting was a complex process."
Politics and Personal Life
In September 2006 in a conference callConference call
A conference call is a telephone call in which the calling party wishes to have more than one called party listen in to the audio portion of the call. The conference calls may be designed to allow the called party to participate during the call, or the call may be set up so that the called party...
Wilkerson expressed support for Wesley Clark
Wesley Clark
Wesley Kanne Clark, Sr., is a retired general of the United States Army. Graduating as valedictorian of the class of 1966 at West Point, he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford where he obtained a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, and later graduated from the...
and Anthony Zinni
Anthony Zinni
Anthony Charles Zinni is a retired four-star General in the United States Marine Corps and a former Commander in Chief of U.S. Central Command...
. He also endorsed Jim Webb
Jim Webb
James Henry "Jim" Webb, Jr. is the senior United States Senator from Virginia. He is also an author and a former Secretary of the Navy. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
against incumbent George Allen
George Allen (U.S. politician)
George Felix Allen is a former United States Senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the son of former NFL head coach George Allen. Allen served Virginia in the state legislature, as the 67th Governor, and in both bodies of the U.S. Congress, winning election to the Senate in 2000...
in the 2006 U.S. Senate election in Virginia.
Wilkerson is a visiting professor at the College of William & Mary, teaching courses on U.S. national security. He is a Professorial Lecturer in the Honors Program at the George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
, teaching a course named "National Security Decision Making." He and his wife Barbara have two children. His son is an Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
navigator while his daughter was in the Army but has since returned to civilian life.
Wilkerson also heads the Colin Powell Leadership Club, a group of MacFarland middle school students in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
External links
- Department of State Biography: Lawrence B. Wilkerson, November 28, 2003.
- SourceWatch profile of Lawrence Wilkerson
- "Colonel Finally Saw Whites of Their Eyes", Dana MilbankDana Milbank-Biography:He is a graduate of Yale University, where he was a member of Trumbull College, the Progressive Party of the Yale Political Union and the secret society Skull and Bones. He is a graduate of Sanford H. Calhoun High School in Merrick, New York...
, The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, 20 October 2005 - "War is Not About Truth, Justice and the American Way", interview with The Real News
- Transcript of Wilkerson's speech at the New America Foundation, Washington Note Archives, October 19, 2005.
- Lawrence Wilkerson. "The White House Cabal", Los Angeles Times, October 25, 2005.
- Transcript of Wilkerson interview, BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Today programToday programmeToday is BBC Radio 4's long-running early morning news and current affairs programme, now broadcast from 6.00 am to 9.00 am Monday to Friday, and 7.00 am to 9.00 am on Saturdays. It is also the most popular programme on Radio 4 and one of the BBC's most popular programmes across its radio networks...
, 29 November 2005 - Interview with Lawrence Wilkerson: "A Leaderless, Directionless Superpower", Der SpiegelDer SpiegelDer Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...
, December 6, 2005 - "Breaking Ranks", The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, 19 January 2006 - Transcript of Wilkerson Interview, PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
NOW (series), "Iraq Pre-War Intelligence," February 3, 2006. "... I'd prefer to see the squabble of democracy to the efficiency of dictators." - "They Have Stolen My Party and I Want it Back", blog piece, The Washington Note, 22 March 2006
- http://thinkprogress.org/2006/06/26/wilkerson-vp/
- Official website of the "Why We Fight" documentary from 2005. The DVD released on June 27, 2005, includes a commentary by Col. Wilkerson.
- Interview where Colonel Wilkerson gives examples of Cheney and Rumsfeld's influence., National Public Radio, November 3, 2005.
- Top U.S. officials working for Israel, Antiwar.comAntiwar.comAntiwar.com is a website devoted to opposing aggressive war, imperialism, and assaults on freedom associated with both. The editors describe their politics as libertarian. Their stated motiviation is, "to show how the imperialistic tendencies of the American government lead to a loss of civil...
, 4 July 2010.