Karen Kwiatkowski
Karen Kwiatkowski | |
---|---|
Birth name | Karen Unger |
Born | September 24, 1960 |
Allegiance | United States of America |
Service/ | United States Air Force |
Years of service | 1982–2003 |
Rank | Lieutenant colonel |
Unit | Near East/South Asia and Special Plans |
Other work | A Case Study of the Implementation of the Reagan Doctrine. |
Karen U. Kwiatkowski, née Unger,
While in the Air Force, she wrote two books about U.S. policy towards Africa: African Crisis Response Initiative: Past Present and Future (
Early life
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (March 2021) |
Born Karen Unger, Kwiatkowski was raised in western
Career
Military
Kwiatkowski began her military career in 1982 as a
Writer and commentator
In April 2003 Kwiatkowski began writing a series of articles for the
Her most comprehensive writings on the subject of a corrupting influence of the Pentagon on intelligence analysis leading up to the Iraq War appeared in a series of articles in The American Conservative magazine in December 2003 and in a March 2004 article on Salon.com. In the latter piece ("The New Pentagon Papers") she wrote:
I witnessed neoconservative agenda bearers within OSP usurp measured and carefully considered assessments, and through suppression and distortion of intelligence analysis promulgate what were in fact falsehoods to both Congress and the executive office of the president.
Kwiatkowski described how a clique of officers led by retired Navy Captain Bill Luti, assistant secretary of defense for NESA and former aide to Dick Cheney when the latter was Secretary of Defense, took control of military intelligence and how the "Office of Special Plans" (OSP) grew and eventually turned into a censorship and disinformation organism controlling the NESA.[7]
Following the American Conservative and Salon articles, Kwiatkowski began to receive criticism from several conservative sources that supported
In addition to her writings Kwiatkowski has appeared as a commentator in the documentaries Hijacking Catastrophe, Honor Betrayed, Why We Fight and Superpower.
She has been critical of neoconservatism and has advocated for a non-interventionist foreign policy.[12]
Politics
Kwiatkowski was raised as a Goldwater Republican, and registered Republican from 1981 until 1994. She joined the U.S. Libertarian Party in 1994 and continued that membership until 2011. She was a speaker on military and foreign policy at the party's national convention in 2004.[13] She returned to the Republican Party in 2011, and entered politics with the hope of joining Ron Paul, Justin Amash and others in the House Republican Liberty Caucus. She is endorsed by a past Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, as well as by a range of other fiscal and constitutional conservatives.[citation needed]
A number of Libertarian Party members and supporters have encouraged Kwiatkowski to seek the Party's presidential nomination in the past few election cycles.[14][15] She has thus far declined to do so. On April 15, 2007, Kwiatkowski received the New Hampshire Libertarian Party's 2008 vice-presidential nomination, within a couple of weeks she declined the nomination.[16] In 2007, she announced her support for Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul.[17]
2012 U.S. House of Representatives candidacy
In February 2011, a
On August 18, 2011, Kwiatkowski formally announced her candidacy for the Republican nomination to challenge incumbent Republican U.S. Representative Bob Goodlatte in the June 12, 2012, primary election.[18] She wrote a variety of opinion pieces geared directly to her 2012 House race, and was interviewed by both local and national media. Her campaign slogan was "Less Government, More Prosperity".[citation needed]
On June 12, 2012, Kwiatkowski lost the nomination bid to Goodlatte who won 66.48% of the vote in the Republican 6th district primary election.[19]
Personal life
Kwiatkowski lives with her family in Mount Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and is a farmer and part-time professor. She is married to Hap Kwiatkowski and has four children and seven grandchildren. She is a Christian.[20][21]
Founding member of the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity
Kwiatkowski is a founding member of the
Publications
Books
- Kwiatkowski, Karen (2000). African Crisis Response Initiative (ACRI) past, present, and future?. Peacekeeping Institute, Center for Strategic Leadership, U.S. Army War College.
- Kwiatkowski, Karen (2001). Expeditionary Air Operations in Africa: Challenges and Solutions. ISBN 978-1585661008.
- ISBN 978-1566566599.
Articles and essays
Most of Kwiatkowski's written work is available online.[3]
See also
- Oil Factor
- Hijacking Catastrophe
References
- ^ "Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski". Q-and-a.org. April 2, 2006. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
- ^ "Why We Fight – A Film By Eugene Jarecki". Sonyclassics.com. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
- ^ a b "January – 1970 –". Lewrockwell.com. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
- ^ "McSweeney's Internet Tendency: An Interview with Karen Kwiatkowski: Part 1 of 2". Mcsweeneys.net. Archived from the original on 2011-06-04. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
- ^ "Warning Shots by Karen Kwiatkowski". Lewrockwell.com. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
- ^ Black, Edwin. "The Pentagon Insider Who Spread Rumors that Sounded Anti-Semitic". History News Network. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
- ^ The New Pentagon Papers – A High-Ranking Military Officer Reveals how Defense Department Extremists Suppressed Information and Twisted the Truth to Drive the Country to War, by Karen Kwiatkowski, Salon.com, March 10, 2004 [1]Archived February 26, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ [2] Archived December 5, 2004, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ [3] Archived May 15, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ [4] Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Nathan Callahan / A Letter from Karen Kwiatkowski". Nathancallahan.com. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
- ^ "Karen Kwiatkowski". natsummit.org.
- ^ [5] Archived February 9, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Knapp, Thomas (2006-04-06). "First look 2008: Karen Kwiatkowski | KN@PPSTER". Knappster.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
- ^ "2008 Presidential Election (P2008)". Politics1. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
- ^ "Ballot Access News – New Hampshire Libertarians Will Hold New Nominating Convention". Ballot-access.org. 14 May 2007. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
- ^ [6] Archived December 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Kwiatkowski AnnouncesRun for 6th District Seat". WVIR-TV. August 18, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
- ^ Adams, Mason (June 13, 2012). "Goodlatte easily dispatches challenger in District 6 primary". The Roanoke Times. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
- ^ "Karen Kwiatkowski". Facebook.
- ^ Karen Kwiatkowski (@karen4the6th) | Twitter Retrieved 2018-05-12.
- ^ Andy Worthington (2015-09-15). "28 Veterans of US Intelligence Fight Back Against CIA Claims That the Bush Torture Program Was Useful and Necessary". Archived from the original on 2015-09-28.
External links
- Karen for Congress, official 2012 Congressional campaign site
- Archive of articles by Karen Kwiatkowski on LewRockwell.Com
- Appearances on C-SPAN