Investigative reporter Seymour Hersh shared an insider's view of global and national politics to a capacity crowd in 2650 Humanities Monday during his lecture, \Bush's Washington, Iraq and the Middle East: A Conversation with Pulitzer Prize Winner Seymour Hersh.""
Hersh is an award-winning reporter and author of six books, including ""Price of Power: Kissinger in the Nixon White House,"" which won a National Book Critics Circle Award.
Among the many topics he covered, Hersh expressed his strong opinions on U.S. involvement in Iraq.
""It's a war we can't win militarily and it's a war that Bush can't lose politically,"" Hersh said.
He said even though Howard Dean is out of the presidential race, his influence is still felt because without him, few if any of the Democrats would be making the war in Iraq such a large issue. He also stated the capture of Osama bin Laden has only recently gained importance among politicians because they have an election in their near future.
Hersh further criticized the Bush administration when he said, ""I've never been so scared of my government [as I am now].""
Hersh also recognized the interest in this year's presidential election and said it could be the most important election since that of 1932 or even 1896.
By using his personal history and poignant anecdotes, Hersh was able to discuss the difficulties journalists face when they cover people in intelligence.
""People in intelligence can't talk and they know what journalists can do legally,"" Hersh said.
Though the audience was demographically skewed towards an older crowd, those students present valued and respected Hersh's career and experiences.
""It was entertaining and also depressing to hear insider information about the administration. We already knew a lot of the stuff, but to hear it from someone with such credibility scared me even more,"" UW-Madison senior James Yolles said.
Hersh's lecture also gave his fans a chance to meet him in person. UW-Madison juniors Katie Cooney and Emily Loh have followed his writings in the New Yorker.
""It's nice to know that there's some people with power in the media that understand what's going on and are willing to say it like it is,"" Loh said.
