Medea Benjamin

Medea Benjamin is the co-founder of CODEPINK and author of Kingdom of the Unjust: Behind the US-Saudi Connection. Her new book is Inside Iran: The Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic.

Green New Deal Advocates Shouldn’t Overlook Militarism

Where is the call for the New Peace Deal that would free up hundreds of billions from the overblown military budget to invest in green infrastructure?

Medea Benjamin
By Medea Benjamin
Military | Pollution

In the spirit of a new year and a new Congress, 2019 may well be our best and last opportunity to steer our ship of state away from the twin planetary perils of environmental chaos and militarism, charting a course toward an earth-affirming 21st century. The environmental crisis was laid bare by the sobering December report of the UN Climate

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15 Years On, the Staggering Death Toll in Iraq Keeps Climbing

As we begin the 16th year of the Iraq war, the American public must come to terms with the scale of the violence and chaos we have unleashed in Iraq.

Medea Benjamin
Nicolas J.S. Davies
By Medea Benjamin
And Nicolas J.S. Davies
Ali Hamza, 8, sits at the graves of his brother, Mohammed, and sister Asinat, who were killed at their school when a suicide car bomb attack near Qabak elementary school in the Shiite Turkomen village of Qabak, Iraq, Oct. 7, 2013. (AP Photo)

March 19 marks 15 years since the U.S.-UK invasion of Iraq in 2003, and the American people have no idea of the enormity of the calamity the invasion unleashed. The U.S. military has refused to keep a tally of Iraqi deaths. General Tommy Franks, the man in charge of the initial invasion, bluntly told reporters, “We don’t do body counts.”

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I Am American, Jewish, and Banned From Israel for My Activism

This month, the Israeli government announced that activists. including Codepink, would be banned from entering Israel due to support for the nonviolent boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement.

Medea Benjamin
By Medea Benjamin
CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin walks with other protesters against the Republican health care bill as they were escorted by the U.S. Capitol Police officers away from the office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., July 17, 2017, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

This month, the Israeli government announced that activists affiliated with 20 organizations, including my organization Codepink, would be banned from entering Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories because of our support for the nonviolent boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement for Palestinian rights. As a Jew, this causes me

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Watch: CODEPINK Founder on Military Industrial Complex & Victims of U.S. Foreign Policy

Medea Benjamin, the co-founder of CODEPINK, talks about the military industrial complex – it’s history and the cultural role it plays in our society, and sheds light on the victims of U.S. foreign policy and how her organization assists them.

Medea Benjamin
By Medea Benjamin
CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin, right and other CODEPINK protestors, a group opposed to U.S. militarism, disrupt the start of the Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing for John Brennan, Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

The Military Industrial Complex In this video, Medea Benjamin, the co-founder of CODEPINK, author and activist, talks about the military industrial complex – it’s history and the cultural role it plays in our society. In addition, Benjamin surfaces the effects that the military industrial complex has on our democracy and security and whether

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Why Is Trump Lunching With A Saudi War Criminal While Yemenis Starve?

As Trump and Prince Salman sat for a photo op, Trump smiled, pointed to the Saudi delegation, and said, “They are nice people.” No, Mr. Trump, they aren’t.

Medea Benjamin
By Medea Benjamin
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Saudi Defense Minister and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Tuesday, March 14, 2017, in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington. (AP/Evan Vucci)

While President Trump sat down for a sumptuous meal at the White House on Tuesday, March 14 with Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, millions of Yemenis are going hungry thanks to Trump’s lunch guest. Prince Salman is only 31 years old, but as the king’s favorite son, he was put in charge of the nation’s two most critical sectors: the

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In Trump’s World, Money Talks & Saudi Arabia Gets A Free Pass

Saudi Arabia’s omittance from the Trump’s Muslim ban does not seem so irrational when the dots are connected between the Kingdom and Donald Trump’s bank account.

Medea Benjamin
By Medea Benjamin
Ivanka Trump, DAMAC CEO Hussain Sajwani, and Donald Trump. (DAMAC Group)

President Trump’s Muslim ban is not only mean-spirited and, hopefully, unconstitutional, but it is irrational because it doesn’t even include the country most responsible for spreading terrorism around the world: Saudi Arabia. The travel restrictions on seven Muslim-majority countries was rationalized as a way to thwart potential terrorists from

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The Execution Of Nimr Al-Nimr: One More Reason To Reevaluate The Toxic US-Saudi Alliance

“Sheikh al-Nimr preached that we should support the oppressed against the oppressor, regardless of religion.”

Medea Benjamin
By Medea Benjamin
One of the hundreds of protests that broke out worldwide against the execution in Saudi Arabia of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr (Abedin Taherkenareh, EPA)

The brutal Saudi execution of Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Al-Nimr has led to protests around the globe, as well as the burning of the Saudi Embassy in Tehran, followed by the Saudi severing of relations with Iran. This exacerbation of Sunni-Shia tensions is the result of the reckless Saudi action against a popular, nonviolent Shia leader. Also reckless

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