Hedges denounces U.S. foreign policy

The U.S. occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan are the “worst foreign policy blunders in American history,” said Senior Fellow at the Nation Institute and keynote speaker of the annual Palestine Center Conference Chris Hedges.

Hedges added that the U.S. occupation of Iraq has created “atrocity producing situations” because of the human nature of those fighting to “lash out” when someone they fight with gets shot or killed.

Hedges said that Israel has separate national lines around the Gaza Strip in order to “create ghettos.” He said that Israel is trying to drive middle-class Christians out of the West Bank.

Hedges claimed that right-wing Christians’ language is “toxic.” He said that if evolution and creationism are given equal time in any educational forum, “We’ve already lost.” He stated that atheists have similar hateful language calling them “secular fundamentalists.” He is concerned that this atheism rhetoric “has seeped into the universities.”

Talking about America’s possible future involvement in the Middle East, Hedges said “If we go to war with Iran, I will no longer pay my income taxes.”

Hedges has spent over two decades as a war correspondent for organizations such as the New York Times. He has reported on American involvements in the Middle East.