Ralph talks to legendary progressive lawyer and former U.S. Attorney General,Ramsey Clark, about the conflicts in the Middle East. And we continue our discussion about the difference between “progressives” and “liberals” and why the distinction is important. Plus more listener questions!
Ramsey Clark is an American lawyer, who was Attorney General of the United States during the Johnson Administration. As Attorney General he was known for his vigorous opposition to the death penalty his aggressive support of civil liberties and civil rights and his dedication in enforcing antitrust provisions. In addition to enforcing school desegregation in the South in the Justice Department under Robert Kennedy, Mr. Clark supervised the drafting of the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act. Since leaving public office Ramsey Clark has led many progressive activism campaigns, including opposition to the War on Terror and he has offered legal defense to controversial figures such as Charles Taylor of Liberia, Slobodan Milosevic, Saddam Hussein and Lyndon LaRouche. He is the founder of The International Action Center, which is committed to building broad-based grassroots actions opposing U.S. wars abroad while fighting racism and economic exploitation of workers at home. He is the author of “The Fire This Time: U.S. War Crimes in the Gulf.” And is the subject of a documentary entitled “Ramsey Clark: A Life of Principal.”
“The most important thing to observe (in Yemen) is the human tragedy that’s not inherent in the circumstances. This is caused by the deliberate action of governments that have goals that don’t give sufficient concern to the wellbeing of the human beings involved. Unless there’s a change in the direction, there’s going to be a continuing human tragedy, a growing human tragedy that will be a stain on our conscience, not to mention the bodies and lives of those that are afflicted.”
Ramsey Clark former US Attorney General and humanitarian lawyer
Ramsey Clark/”Progressive” vs. “Liberal” Redux