ACLU of Santa Cruz County, CA

Former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson—the husband of outed CIA operative Valerie Plame—will be among the featured speakers at "The War on Terror: A Credible Threat," a day-long teach-in that will take place on Monday, April 24 at the UCSC quarry.

Running from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., the event will feature a lineup of nationally known speakers for a day of reflection on U.S. international politics and university life. Guest speakers will include U.S. House of Representatives members Barbara Lee and Sam Farr; prominent law professors from across the nation; Santa Cruz mayor Cynthia Matthews; and senior members of the UCSC faculty. UCSC Chancellor Denice D. Denton is also expected to attend the event and speak briefly. Admission is free and open to both the campus and the general public.

The teach-in is designed to address the growing concern over warrantless searches of U.S. citizens, confirmed reports of torture in U.S.-controlled prisons, violations of U.S. Constitutional and international law in the conduct of the war on terror, and the deteriorating situations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the rest of the Middle East. Of particular concern is the growing violence against women in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the way in which communities of color are targeted for aggressive military recruiting in high schools. The teach-in was initiated by Faculty Against War—a group of 25 senior UCSC faculty members—and a coalition of campus student organizations, including Students Against War (SAW).

"As educators, we feel an obligation to respond, and so we have chosen to respond with education," noted UCSC Politics Professor Michael Urban, who spoke on behalf of Faculty Against War. 

The idea for the event grew out of outrage at the Pentagon's spying on anti-war activities by students and a recent report in which students demonstrating against military recruiters at UCSC were characterized as being a "credible threat" to national security. Chancellor Denton, Senator Barbara Boxer, and Congressman Farr recently challenged that designation, and it was subsequently removed from the Pentagon's database.

Joseph Wilson is now at the center of a major controversy involving the White House, the CIA, and the war in Iraq. His report on the lack of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, along with his criticism of the Bush Administration's invasion plans, led to dismissal from his post as a senior U.S. diplomat. In addition, evidence now shows that Wilson's wife, CIA operative Valerie Plame, was illegally outed by high-level White House officials as further revenge for Wilson's outspoken opposition to the war. The author of The Politics of Truth, Wilson will address these issues at the UCSC teach-in.