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William Blum

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William Blum
Author William Blum
Blum in 2007
BornWilliam Henry Blum
(1933-03-06)March 6, 1933
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
DiedDecember 9, 2018(2018-12-09) (aged 85)
Arlington, Virginia, U.S.
OccupationJournalist, author, U.S. foreign policy critic
GenrePolitical journalism, history
Notable works
Website
williamblum.org

William Henry Blum (/bluːm/;[1] March 6, 1933 – December 9, 2018) was an American author and journalist and a critic of United States foreign policy.[2]

Early life

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Blum was born at Beth Moses Hospital (now part of Maimonides Medical Center) in Brooklyn,[3] to Ruth (née Katz) and Isidore Blum, who were Polish Jewish immigrants. His father was a machinist. He was a graduate of Erasmus Hall High School and gained a degree in accountancy in 1955 from the City College School of Business and Civic Administration, which later became Baruch College of the City University of New York.[1][4] Blum worked as a computer programmer for IBM and later the U.S. State Department. He had the ambition of becoming a foreign service officer to, as he explained, "take part in the great anti-Communist crusade" but was later disillusioned by the Vietnam War. Blum became involved in anti–Vietnam War activism and was pressured to resign his government post in 1967.[1] By then he had already taken part in anti-war protests and become a founder and editor of the Washington Free Press, an alternative bi-weekly newspaper.[1]

Journalism

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Blum worked as freelance journalist in the United States, Europe and South America. In 1972–1973, Blum worked as a journalist in Chile where he reported on the Allende government's "socialist experiment" before the U.S backed coup and the regime of Augusto Pinochet. In the mid-1970s, he worked in London with ex-CIA officer Philip Agee and his associates "on their project of exposing CIA personnel and their misdeeds".[5] He supported himself with his writing and speaking engagements on college campuses.[6] One of Blum's stories on Iraq was listed by Project Censored as one of "The Top Ten Censored Stories of 1998"[7]

In his books and online columns, Blum devoted substantial attention to CIA interventions and assassination plots. Noam Chomsky has called Blum's book Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II, "far and away the best book on the topic."[8] Blum supported Ralph Nader's presidential campaigns.[9] He circulated a monthly newsletter by email called "The Anti-Empire Report".[10][11] Blum described his life's mission as: "If not ending, at least slowing down the American Empire. At least injuring the beast. It's causing so much suffering around the world."[6]

In an interview with C-SPAN in 2006, Blum stated: "Speaking about U.S. foreign policy, which is my specialty, the authors I would most recommend would be Michael Parenti and Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman and Howard Zinn and Alexander Cockburn."[12] According to Blum, left-wing publications such as The Nation declined to publish his work because they considered him too much of a fanatic.[4]

Osama bin Laden statement

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In early 2006, Blum briefly became the subject of widespread media attention when Osama bin Laden issued a public statement in which he quoted Blum and recommended that all Americans read Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower. As a result of the mention, sales of his book greatly increased.[4] "I was quite surprised and even shocked and amused when I found out what he'd said," Blum commented. "I was glad. I knew it would help the book's sales and I was not bothered by who it was coming from. If he shares with me a deep dislike for certain aspects of US foreign policy, then I'm not going to spurn any endorsement of the book by him. I think it's good that he shares those views and I'm not turned off by that."[13] On the Bin Laden endorsement, Blum stated, "This is almost as good as being an Oprah book."[6] In an interview on MSNBC Countdown, he said: "Basically it's US foreign policy which creates anti-American terrorists. It's the things we do to the world. It's not, as the White House tells us, that they hate our freedom and democracy. That's just propaganda."[14]

In a May 22, 2006, article entitled "Come Out of the White House With Your Hands Up", Blum wrote: "Since the bin Laden recommendation, January 19, I have not been offered a single speaking engagement on any campus. . . . This despite January–May normally being the most active period for me and other campus speakers."[15]

Death

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Blum died on December 9, 2018, in Arlington, Virginia, from kidney failure at the age of 85 following a fall in his apartment two months earlier.[1][16]

Works

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Articles

Books

  • The CIA: A Forgotten History. Zed Books (1986). ISBN 0-86232-480-7.
  • Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II. Common Courage Press (1995). ISBN 1-56751-052-3.
  • Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower. Common Courage Press (2000). ISBN 1-56751-194-5.
  • West-Bloc Dissident: A Cold War Memoir. Soft Skull Press (2002). ISBN 1-56751-306-9.
  • Freeing the World to Death: Essays on the American Empire. Common Courage Press (2004). ISBN 1567513069.
  • America's Deadliest Export: Democracy - The Truth About US Foreign Policy and Everything Else. Zed Books (2013). ISBN 1-78032-445-6.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Roberts, Sam (December 12, 2018). "William Blum, U.S. Policy Critic Cited by bin Laden, Dies at 85". The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  2. ^ McCann, G.; Ó hAdhmaill, F. (2020). International Human Rights, Social Policy and Global Development: Critical Perspectives. Policy Press. p. 146. ISBN 978-1-4473-4922-8. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  3. ^ Agee, Chris (December 17, 2018). "William Blum (6 Mar 1933 – 9 Dec 2018), Renowned U.S. Foreign Policy Critic, Dead at 85". Transcend Media Service. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c Langer, Emily (December 13, 2018). "William Blum, policy critic of U.S. praised by Osama bin Laden, dies at 85". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 14, 2018. even left-wing publications such as the Nation declined to publish his works, Mr. Blum said, because they judged him too fanatical.
  5. ^ Bill Blum's ZSpace Page Archived May 31, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Z Magazine online, accessed May 31, 2008.
  6. ^ a b c Montgomery, David (January 21, 2006). "The Author Who Got A Big Boost From bin Laden". The Washington Post. pp. C01.
  7. ^ Peter Phillips and Project Censored, Censored 2001: 25 Years of Censored News and the Top Censored Stories of the Year, New York: Seven Stories Press, 2001. p. 245. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  8. ^ Falcone, Daniel (January 4, 2014). "Our Leaders Do Not Mean Well". Truthout.
  9. ^ Blum, William On Liberals, Phil Agee, and the 9-11 Truth Movement, Dissident Voice, January 14, 2008. Accessed May 31, 2008.
  10. ^ The Anti-Empire Report, williamblum.org. Online copies of issues of "The Anti-Empire Report". Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  11. ^ Killing Hope, killinghope.org. Online copies of early issues of "The Anti-Empire Report". Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  12. ^ William Blum in the Media Whirlwind, pressaction.com. "Transcript of Blum’s Jan. 28, 2006 appearance on C-Span." Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  13. ^ "Bin Laden plug boosts book sales". Sydney Morning Herald. Reuters. January 21, 2006.
  14. ^ Oliver, Mark (January 23, 2006). "Osama bin Laden recommends". The Guardian. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  15. ^ Blum, William, "Come Out of the White House with Your Hands Up!", informationclearinghouse.info. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  16. ^ Chris Agee and Louis Wolf, William Blum, Renowned U.S. Foreign Policy Critic, Dead at 85, covertactionmagazine.com. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
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