SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Blood on Her Hands
Oct 29, 2007
On October 24, Codepink peace activist Desiree Fairooz held up her red paint stained hands to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and shouted "The blood of millions of Iraqis is on your hands!" As Capitol Hill police took her out of the hearing of the House of Representatives' Committee on Foreign Affairs, Fairooz yelled over her shoulder "War criminal! Take her to the Hague!"
Unmoved by the close encounter with a peace activist, Rice seemed to take the red hands "in stride." After Fairooz was taken out of the hearing room and arrested, Rice sat down and calmly began her testimony concerning US policies on Iraq, Iran and Israel-Palestine.
Fairooz, a former teacher and children's librarian from Texas, does not take the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children "in stride." She is passionate in the halls of Congress and in Congressional hearings on her concern for Iraqi women and children. When a recent Heritage Foundation panel on the war in Iraq did not acknowledge the plight of Iraqi women and children in their comments, Desiree climbed onto the stage and strongly reminded the panelists of the cost of war on women and children before she was roughly pushed off the stage and out of the auditorium.
Who should the Capitol police have arrested? Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is among those in the Bush administration responsible for the deaths of 1.2 million Iraqis and the displacement of 4 million more Iraqis during this war, or peace activist Desiree Fairooz?
Who really has "blood on their hands"? Rice or Fairooz?
Ann Wright is a 29 year US Army veteran who retired as a Colonel and a former US diplomat who resigned in March, 2003 in opposition to the war on Iraq. 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. The US Department of State has delayed for over three months publication of her new book "Dissent: Voices of Conscience." It will be published whenever the State Department finishes its search for classified materials.
Why Your Ongoing Support Is Essential
Donald Trump’s attacks on democracy, justice, and a free press are escalating — putting everything we stand for at risk. We believe a better world is possible, but we can’t get there without your support. Common Dreams stands apart. We answer only to you — our readers, activists, and changemakers — not to billionaires or corporations. Our independence allows us to cover the vital stories that others won’t, spotlighting movements for peace, equality, and human rights. Right now, our work faces unprecedented challenges. Misinformation is spreading, journalists are under attack, and financial pressures are mounting. As a reader-supported, nonprofit newsroom, your support is crucial to keep this journalism alive. Whatever you can give — $10, $25, or $100 — helps us stay strong and responsive when the world needs us most. Together, we’ll continue to build the independent, courageous journalism our movement relies on. Thank you for being part of this community. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Ann Wright
Ann Wright is a 29 year US Army/Army Reserves veteran who retired as a Colonel and a former US diplomat who resigned in March 2003 in opposition to the war on Iraq. 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."
On October 24, Codepink peace activist Desiree Fairooz held up her red paint stained hands to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and shouted "The blood of millions of Iraqis is on your hands!" As Capitol Hill police took her out of the hearing of the House of Representatives' Committee on Foreign Affairs, Fairooz yelled over her shoulder "War criminal! Take her to the Hague!"
Unmoved by the close encounter with a peace activist, Rice seemed to take the red hands "in stride." After Fairooz was taken out of the hearing room and arrested, Rice sat down and calmly began her testimony concerning US policies on Iraq, Iran and Israel-Palestine.
Fairooz, a former teacher and children's librarian from Texas, does not take the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children "in stride." She is passionate in the halls of Congress and in Congressional hearings on her concern for Iraqi women and children. When a recent Heritage Foundation panel on the war in Iraq did not acknowledge the plight of Iraqi women and children in their comments, Desiree climbed onto the stage and strongly reminded the panelists of the cost of war on women and children before she was roughly pushed off the stage and out of the auditorium.
Who should the Capitol police have arrested? Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is among those in the Bush administration responsible for the deaths of 1.2 million Iraqis and the displacement of 4 million more Iraqis during this war, or peace activist Desiree Fairooz?
Who really has "blood on their hands"? Rice or Fairooz?
Ann Wright is a 29 year US Army veteran who retired as a Colonel and a former US diplomat who resigned in March, 2003 in opposition to the war on Iraq. 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. The US Department of State has delayed for over three months publication of her new book "Dissent: Voices of Conscience." It will be published whenever the State Department finishes its search for classified materials.
Ann Wright
Ann Wright is a 29 year US Army/Army Reserves veteran who retired as a Colonel and a former US diplomat who resigned in March 2003 in opposition to the war on Iraq. 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."
On October 24, Codepink peace activist Desiree Fairooz held up her red paint stained hands to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and shouted "The blood of millions of Iraqis is on your hands!" As Capitol Hill police took her out of the hearing of the House of Representatives' Committee on Foreign Affairs, Fairooz yelled over her shoulder "War criminal! Take her to the Hague!"
Unmoved by the close encounter with a peace activist, Rice seemed to take the red hands "in stride." After Fairooz was taken out of the hearing room and arrested, Rice sat down and calmly began her testimony concerning US policies on Iraq, Iran and Israel-Palestine.
Fairooz, a former teacher and children's librarian from Texas, does not take the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children "in stride." She is passionate in the halls of Congress and in Congressional hearings on her concern for Iraqi women and children. When a recent Heritage Foundation panel on the war in Iraq did not acknowledge the plight of Iraqi women and children in their comments, Desiree climbed onto the stage and strongly reminded the panelists of the cost of war on women and children before she was roughly pushed off the stage and out of the auditorium.
Who should the Capitol police have arrested? Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is among those in the Bush administration responsible for the deaths of 1.2 million Iraqis and the displacement of 4 million more Iraqis during this war, or peace activist Desiree Fairooz?
Who really has "blood on their hands"? Rice or Fairooz?
Ann Wright is a 29 year US Army veteran who retired as a Colonel and a former US diplomat who resigned in March, 2003 in opposition to the war on Iraq. 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. The US Department of State has delayed for over three months publication of her new book "Dissent: Voices of Conscience." It will be published whenever the State Department finishes its search for classified materials.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.