William H. Blum, political activist, author and freelance journalist, delivered his second lecture to a college crowd since being unofficially blackballed in 2006.
Blum, who was invited by WHUS radio to speak at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, has been a critic of American foreign policy since the late sixties. He started out as an anti-communist working for the State Department but left the department in 1967 for ideological reasons involving the Vietnam War.
"At first it was a humanitarian action that slowly grew into a political awareness and understanding," Blum said.
Blum has since worked to expose the misdeeds of the CIA and government but didn't run into any real trouble until he published "Rogue State: a Guide to the World's Only Superpower," in 2000. Six years later, both his popularity in the media and book sales skyrocketed when Osama bin Laden recommended in a video recording that all Americans read Blum's book.
"People called in and attacked me as if bin Laden and I were friends. The funny thing is we haven't spoken in months," joked Blum.
The lecture focused around what Blum referred to as the "Eight Myths of American foreign policy." Ideas like America being concerned with democracy or actually being involved in a "war on terror," were among the myths Blum mentioned.
"That's what you have to know about U.S. foreign policy, goodness has nothing to do with it," Blum said.
Blum didn't shy away from voicing his discontent with American foreign policy regarding the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, stating that these were driven by a desire for oil and tactical strength in the region instead of humanitarian reasons.
"I'm sorry to sound cynical but American foreign policy has no moral factor built into it," said Blum.
The lively question and answer session following Blum's lecture showed the crowd's interest in these controversial topics. When asked what he would do as president, Blum said that in his first three days in office he would apologize for U.S. actions in the past, cut military spending and make sure that Israel was no longer part of the 50 states that make up the United States - but he figured he would be assassinated by the fourth day.
The crowd was full of discussion after the lecture, and with good cause.
"He went through so many topics in a short time," said Justin Maher, a 7th-semester history major.
Maher, who was waiting in line to ask Blum a final question regarding U.S. policy and trade, said he had heard about the lecture from his roommate.
"How could I miss a lecture from a guy who wrote a book that was recommended by Osama bin Laden's book club?" said Maher.
According to David Haseltine, public affairs director for WHUS radio, this is the first speaker WHUS has brought to UConn this semester.
"It was a chance to give a talented writer a venue to speak," said Haseltine.
Be the first to comment on this article!