An Objective Look at U.S. Foreign Policy

Events continue to unfold at a quickening pace. Facing an alarming escalation in tensions around the world, we asked Matthew Hoh for his current thoughts. We focus on the realities of the international power struggle unfolding in real time, specifically addressing the role of the U.S. in the tensions and its capacity to reduce them.

We are grateful to Matthew Hoh for sharing his invaluable knowledge and insights. The interview was arranged by John Rachel, Director of the Peace Dividend Project. The Peace Dividend strategy is not a meme or a bumper sticker. It is an end-to-end methodology for challenging the political establishment and removing from power those compromised individuals who work against the interests of the great majority of U.S. citizens. The only hope for our hyper-militarized nation is each and every one of us having a decisive voice in determining the future we want for ourselves and our children.

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Matthew Hoh is currently Associate Director at the Eisenhower Media Network. He has been a Senior Fellow with the Center For International Policy since 2010. Previously he served nearly twelve years with the US military in the United States Marine Corps, as well as the Department of Defense and State Department. In 2009, Matthew resigned in protest from his post in Afghanistan with the State Department over the American escalation of the war. Prior to his assignment in Afghanistan, Matthew took part in the American occupation of Iraq, with a State Department reconstruction and governance team and in 2006-2007 as a Marine Corps company commander. When not deployed, Matthew worked on Afghanistan and Iraq war policy and operations issues at the Pentagon and State Department.

Matthew’s writings have appeared in online and print periodicals such as the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Defense News, the Guardian, the Huffington Post, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post. He has been a guest on hundreds of news programs on radio and television. The Council on Foreign Relations has cited Matthew’s resignation letter from his post in Afghanistan as an Essential Document. In 2010, Matthew was named the Ridenhour Prize Recipient for Truth Telling and, in 2021, he was awarded as a Defender of Liberty by the Committee for the Republic.

Matthew is a member of the Board of Directors for the Institute for Public Accuracy, an Advisory Board Member for the Committee to Defend Julian Assange and Civil Liberties, Expose Facts, North Carolina Committee to Investigate Torture, The Resistance Center for Peace and Justice, Veterans For Peace, and World Beyond War, and he is an Associate Member of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS). He is a 100% disabled veteran and has been certified by North Carolina as a Peer Support Specialist for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder.

Most recently and most admirably, Matt ran this past election cycle for Senate, representing North Carolina. His bid was unsuccessful for the usual reasons, chiefly among them big money in politics. But I suspect there was another decisive factor. Matt ran as a peace candidate and since ‘peace’ has been expunged from the national conversation, voters may have had no idea what he was talking about. The US is now 24/7/365 war and talk about cooperation and diplomacy tends to fall on deaf ears. Yet, his candidacy represented the only possible hope for a future for this country and the rest of the world.
Matthew’s incisive commentary can be found on Twitter, his own website, and at the Eisenhower Media Network.

The post An Objective Look at U.S. Foreign Policy first appeared on Dissident Voice.

This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by John Rachel.