Meet The (White) Man Who Inspired Wright's Controversial Sermon

Meet the man who inspired Reverend Jeremiah Wright's now famous tirade about America's foreign policy inciting the terrorist attacks of September 11.

His name is Ambassador Edward Peck. And he is a retired, white, career U.S. diplomat who served 32-years in the U.S. Foreign Service and was chief of the U.S. mission to Iraq under Jimmy Carter -- hardly the black-rage image with which Wright has been stigmatized.

In fact, when Wright took the pulpit to give his post-9/11 address -- which has since become boiled down to a five second sound bite about "America's chickens coming home to roost" -- he prefaced his remarks as a "faith footnote," an indication that he was deviating from his sermon.

"I heard Ambassador Peck on an interview yesterday," Wright declared. "He was on Fox News. This is a white man and he was upsetting the Fox News commentators to no end. He pointed out, a white man, an ambassador, that what Malcolm X said when he got silenced by Elijah Muhammad was in fact true: America's chickens are coming home to roost."

Wright then went on to list more than a few U.S. foreign policy endeavors that, by the tone of his voice and manner of his expression, he viewed as more or less deplorable. This included, as has been demonstrated in the endless loop of clips from his sermon, bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki and nuking "far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon and we never batted an eye."

"Violence begets violence," Wright said, "hatred begets hatred, and terrorism begets terrorism."

And then he concluded by putting the comments on Peck's shoulders: "A white ambassador said that yall, not a black militant, not a reverend who preaches about racism, an ambassador whose eyes are wide open and is trying to get us to wake up and move away from this dangerous precipice... the ambassador said that the people we have wounded don't have the military capability we have, but they do have individuals who are willing to die and take thousands with them... let me stop my faith footnote right there."

Watch the video (the relevant material starts around the 3:00 mark):

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So it seems that while Wright did believe American held some responsibility for 9/11, his views, which have been described as radically outside the political mainstream, were actually influenced by a career foreign policy official.

Who is Peck? The ambassador, who has offered controversial criticism of Israeli policy in the West Bank but also warned against the Iraq War, was lecturing on a cruise ship and was unavailable for comment. But officials at Peck's former organization, the Council for the National Interest, a non-profit group that advocates reducing Israel's influence on U.S. Middle East policy, offered descriptions of the man.

"Peck is very outspoken," said Eugene Bird, who now heads CNI. "He is also very good at making phrases that have a resonance with the American people. When he came off of that Fox News, a few days later he said they would never invite me back again."

And what, exactly, did Peck say in that Fox News interview that inspired Wright's words?

Here are some quotes from an appearance the Ambassador made on the network on October 11, 2001, which may or may not have been the segment Wright was referring to. On the show, Peck said he thought it was illogical to tie Saddam Hussein to the terrorist attacks on 9/11, and that while the then-Iraqi leader had "some very sound and logical reasons not to like [the United States]," he and Osama bin Laden had no other ties.

From there, Peck went on to ascribe motives for what prompted the 9/11 attacks. "Stopping the economic embargo and bombings of Iraq," he said, "things to which Osama bin Laden has alluded as the kinds of things he doesn't like. He doesn't think it's appropriate for the United States to be doing, from his perspective, all the terrible things that he sees us as having been doing, the same way Saddam Hussein feels. So from that perspective, they have a commonality of interests. But they also have a deeply divergent view of the role of Islam in government, which would be a problem."

Comments

[ConservativesRCowards]

Wright was *never* preaching hate of America or of white people.

He *was* preaching exactly what is in the scriptures.

Through all of this fuss, all of this noise, all of this trash that has come from the right... still, not ONE person amongst them can address the hateful statements made by all of their "Family Values" preachers, nor better yet - can any of them explain why they have ANYTHING at all to do with the Reverend Sun Myung Moon and how he sets the tone for the religious right in the first place... he DID save Jerry Fallwell's school from going under back in the eighties.

What do "Christians" have to do with a man who claims himself the messiah, and Jesus a failure?

Galatians 1:8

"But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!"

A comparison of Wright over Moon: http://www.gorenfeld.net/john/

Note to on the site the Bush connections with this cult leader.

Explanations from the right?

Anyone?

Thought not.

[zizi]

I think Rev. Wright, his church and congregation should sue the hell out of FOX and any other media outlet that peddled this slanderous/libelous crap for ++++ millions of dollars. Since money is what these media whores understand, they should be punished to feel the pinch.

[thankulord13]

The fact that everyone is upset is because the Rev Wright told the truth and America's chickens did come home to roost and we need to except that! We Americans hate to take responsibility for our actions but we expect the Nazi's to take responsibility, we expected Saddam Hussein to except responsibility, we even expect China to be responsible but we can't do that because we are good and righteous and every one else is evil... So no pun intended but the world is not so black and white... we have done wrong to the world and at some point we need to answer for those injustices and wrongs....

[Jazz42]

Mr Stein.
A great Blog
Unfortunately A portion of the American people are going read into what Reverend Wright said to justify their point of veiw. It is clear that Reverend Wright was repeating what was said by Ambassador Peck saying.
I haven't heard any of the MSM denouncing what Ambassador Peck said on Fox News

[raspberriesO]

This is the one comment by Rev. Wright that I did not take offense at. I was fully aware, following 9/11, that many radical people felt this way about the U.S. They have the right to express it because we are guaranteed that fundamental right to speak our minds.

The problem that I had with Rev. Wright's comment was the timing. While most churches were extending open doors, support, and prayer (I worked in one.) in the days following 9/11, the Rev. Wright chose to put these disconcerting words into his speech/sermon. Regardless of whether this was a "footnote" to his sermon, it was inappropriate on the Sunday following 9/11. Clearly a lack of judgment on the part of Rev. Wright.

[Lisette]

Dear Sam here is the quote and reference:
1963 "November 22 - President John F. Kennedy assassinated in Dallas, Texas.

December 1 - Last speech representing Nation of Islam. Says, in response to reporter’s question, that Kennedy assassination Malcolm X said is case of CIA “chickens coming home to roost.”

That is where this quote came from.

[Lisette]

Dear Sam,
I was around in those days of Malcolm X and what
Malcolm X said was "another CIA chicken come home to roost"
Referring to the assanation of JFK.

[MACS]

.
No One would expect the FAUX NOISE hate mongering talking heads to tell the complete story.
They follow explicitly the TABLOID NEOCON orders of murdock and ailes.
.

[jkghostrider]

Great Work Mr. Stein. Finally, the bigger picture has been provided so everyone can see for themselves that Mr. Wright's comments were not as inflammatory as Faux News would have everyone believe. When listening to the entire clip, it becomes increasingly difficult to find fault with the historical accuracy of Wright's statements. There is nothing malicious or false in the pastor's statements; and, in fact, Mr. Wright was only paraphrasing what Amb. Peck had said on Fox News. Thanks Stein for speaking truth to power.

[sherbug]

Hate begats hate, terrorism begats terrorism. These words seem true to me. Why would we need to improve our standing on the world stage if we were such a loved Country. The American people are taking this personally. We the people have no control of who we the Government go to war with or what country we the Government occupy. Hearing the whole sermon in context, I think it goes right to the heart of our religious beliefs. It is time for self examination, now more than ever. We are throwing a good Presidential candidate under the bus because we are a racist nation of people and don't want to see a black man as President.

Lets more forward. I am so ready to stop hating blacks just because they are black. I appeal to everyone that reads this to take Rev. Wrights advice and do some self-examination and ask God to remove the racism from your hearts.

[ragtopdodge]

REV. WRIGHT IS A TRUE PATRIOT!

He loves this country. He hates violence.

Yet the right-wing media only shows clips of his sermons to distort his views and make him look like a nut.

The MSM is a full-on propaganda machine aimed to destroy Obama like what they did to Howard Dean.

[Deaddawg]

Let's be careful not to dumb this issue down, too. Peck is a Patriot, speaking the truth to the idiocy that has been the Bush administration.

What was it Al Franken said?
"If you listen to a lot of conservatives, they'll tell you that the difference between them and us is that conservatives love America and liberals hate America...­. They don't get it. We love America just as much as they do. But in a different Way. You see, they love America the way a 4-year-old loves her Mommy. To a 4-year-old, everything Mommy does is wonderful and anyone who criticizes Mommy is bad.
Liberals love America like grown-ups. Grown-up love means actually understanding what you love, taking the good with the bad, and helping your loved one grow. Love takes attention and work and is the best thing in the world."

[uheardme]

You have to dumb this down for white people because a lot of them (thanks to a lazy media and low quality public education ) think Dr. Wright is a racist America-hater. If you listen to the whole speech, you walk away with a different take.

[johnnyjust]

Quoting Al Franken doesn't gain points in credibility.

[Karmaghedon]

Reverend Jeremiah Wright's words and attitudes matter little to me.

Obama's first book was enough to convince me he is racist.

Another choice between a turd sandwhich and a giant douche...


Joy.

[denisicle]

You say "Obama's first book was enough to convince me he is racist."

My question to you is - - If Obama is White, which he is, and he is Black, which he is, why is he not able to point out flaws in both White and Black cultures?

You need to change your thinking, as we are all just flesh and blood, and what matters, as The Reverend Martin Luthink King, Jr. so eloquently stated, is "the content of our character.­" Senator Obama, in my view, is one of the bravest politicians I have ever seen. To do the thing that is right, as opposed to the thing that is politically safe. Try watching 10 minutes of the sermon of Reverend Wright, and, if you have any sort of mature cognition, you will see that what is being reported on the mainstream news is taken way out of context, as Wright is commenting on what a White Ambassador said on a Fox News interview, about chickens coming home to roost if the United States continues to not care about the innocents that are being killed around the world, and how the US helps fund some of the slaughter, which is true. I know, if you support Bush, that you are used to not thinking, because if you were to actually logic out what is being said as opposed to what is being done, you would know that you have been duped.

[prscnt1]

fried egg sandwich without the yoke?

[TRex86]

Kindergarden with at its finest.

[Nicolaus]

I hope you did read the book. I have just finished it.
For some, it may take sometime before they understand and apply what they have read on their own behavior..­. Although it is difficult, since everyone, as Bill Maher said, feels he is an exception to the "Typical White Man" in America.

Incidentally, insults do not endear you to readers or, as you probably know, make for an argument.

NC

[batgirl71]

Huh? I read Dreams from My Father and I have no clue what you're talking about. Would you care to give specific examples that led you to this analysis?

[dlbdpb]

Why isn't this spashed all over the media ? Our media are more like cheerleaders for their
chosen candidate, or town gossips where the lies and exaggerations are much more
interesting than the truth. Where are all the investigative reporters that will run down the truth
and report it ? These media reporters just read what's put in front of them, right or wrong,
they don't care, they still get paid whether it's the truth or not. Everywhere I go, I hear people
talking about how bad this country has gotten, invading other countries, (while preaching
about bringing Democracy), killing thousands, or standing back and not helping those that truly
need the help, but those countries don't have anything of wealth that we want do they? I was
a huge Clinton fan in the 90's, I liked Hillary until a few weeks ago, but alot of our eyes have
been opened now. I will NOT vote for Hillary, I will vote for Obama or not vote at all.

[TimN]

CNN did a full recap on the Wright hit job - this time putting it into proper context with references to Ambassador Peck. A fascinating interview, among the guests who commented on behalf of Reverend Wright was distinguished orator and activist Oswald Bates.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toGr_dWK8Ow