THE SAM ADAMS ASSOCIATES FOR INTEGRITY IN INTELLIGENCE
2017 AWARD CEREMONY
PRESS RELEASE AND INVITATION
Who: Seymour Hersh
What: The Annual Sam Adams Award for Integrity in Intelligence to Seymour Hersh
When: 20:00-22:00, 22 September 2017
Where: Recital Hall, American University Katzen Art Center, 4400 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016 at the World Beyond War conference: http://worldbeyondwar.org/nowar2017/
Why: In this era of fake news, post-reality truths, and the possibility of yet more war, we have never been in greater need of those who speak out to challenge the group think, who speak truth to power.
The Sam Adams Award 2017:
This year’s award goes to renowned Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, Seymour Hersh, for his most recent report earlier this year on President Donald Trump’s lie that a Syrian aircraft carried out a “chemical weapons attack” in Syria’s Idlib Province on April 4. This disclosure of a deception by the new President would have been a big deal, at least by the journalistic standards of the past, since Trump openly attacked Syria with 59 cruise missiles on April 6 in ostensible “retaliation.”
Despite his reputation and the importance of the story, Hersh tried in vain to find a US or British outlet that would publish his report, and eventually ended up having to go to the mainstream German newspaper Die Welt to get the results of his investigation published.
The common challenge we all face is getting such information into media outlets that US citizens regularly access. Encouragement comes from Hersh’s example of grit, integrity and tenacity, which have already had a powerful influence on Sam Adams Associates. In sum, this year’s awardee is a wonderfully good fit.
For more background, please see this article by former CIA senior analyst and SAA founder, Ray McGovern.
About the Sam Adams Associates:
The Sam Adams Associates is a global group of diplomatic, military and intelligence professionals and whistleblowers who present an award each year for those who display integrity in intelligence. We selected Hersh last month from a truly impressive roster of truth-tellers, and are enthusiastic at the
prospect of him joining the ranks of the 15 earlier laureates – from FBI Coleen Rowley (2002) to CIA John Kiriakou (2016). Included among those in between are other patriots to integrity: like GCHQ Katharine Gun, UK Ambassador Craig Murray, Col. Larry Wilkerson, Julian Assange, former Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Fingar, NSA Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning, and NSA Bill Binney.