Peter Dale Scott (born 11 January 1929) is a Canadian-born poet, academic, and former diplomat. A son of the Canadian poet and constitutional lawyer F. R. Scott and painter Marian Dale Scott, he is best known for his critiques of deep politics and

American foreign policy The officially stated goals of the foreign policy of the United States of America, including all the bureaus and offices in the United States Department of State, as mentioned in the ''Foreign Policy Agenda'' of the Department of State, are ...

since the era of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and ...

. Notably, he was a signatory in 1968 of the "

Writers and Editors War Tax Protest Tax resistance, the practice of refusing to pay taxes that are considered unjust, has probably existed ever since rulers began imposing taxes on their subjects. It has been suggested that tax resistance played a significant role in the collapse of ...

" pledge, in which participants vowed to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War. Although trained as a political scientist, Scott holds an atypical academic appointment as a poet-scholar in an English department.

Academic and diplomatic career

After receiving undergraduate degrees in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some s ...

(first-class honours) and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

(second-class honours) from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University ...

in 1949, he studied at the

Institut d'Etudes Politiques An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

(France, 1949) and

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...

(1950-1952) before receiving a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in political science from McGill (with a dissertation on the social and political philosophy of

T.S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biog ...

) in 1955. He briefly taught in McGill's political science department and spent four years (1957–1961) with the Canadian diplomatic service before joining the speech department of the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

as a lecturer in 1961. He was subsequently promoted to assistant professor of speech (1962), associate professor of English (1968), and professor of English (1980); since his nominal retirement in 1994, he has served as professor emeritus of English.

Literary works

In terms of poetry, he is best known for his book-length

epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

''Coming to Jakarta'' (subtitled "a poem about terror"), which describes in measured, prosodically regular verse the 1965 crisis in Indonesia that resulted in the Indonesian Civil War and the deaths of as many as half a million people, in which he believed the CIA to have played a role. Scott is far from a stridently political poet, working always to connect the polemical to the personal. In ''Coming to Jakarta'' he writes: :To have learnt from terror
to see oneself
as part of the enemy :can be a reassurance In the context of this emotional and psychological side of conflict, Scott alternates between descriptions of his own life—"dressed up in polished / gaiters with a buttonhook"—and the massive violence of his principal subject. Somewhere between confessional and scholarly, his poems often contain citations in the margins. Scott has described the book-length ''Minding the Darkness'' (2000) as his most important poetic work, though he concedes that "Like other long poems by older men. . . it toys dangerously with abstract didactic principles." The work is intended as the culmination of a trilogy (also including ''Listening to the Candle''

992 Year 992 ( CMXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Worldwide * Winter – A superflare from the sun causes an Aurora Borealis, with visibility as fa ...

of which ''Coming to Jakarta'' was the inception. His poetry has been translated into

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

, Serbo-Croatian, and Hungarian.

Contemporary politics

Scott has written about the role of the " deep state" (as opposed to the "public state"). Rejecting the label of "conspiracy theory", he has used the phrase "deep politics" to describe his political concerns. His interest in contemporary history has spilled over into his works of poetry, some of which must contain marginal notes to explain to readers which documents or real-world news events are being referred to. His book, ''The Road to 9/11'' (2007), deals with geopolitical context of events leading to

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

, and argues "how U.S. foreign policy since the 1960s has led to partial or total cover-ups of past domestic criminal acts, including, perhaps, the catastrophe of 9/11." His books ''The Road to 9/11'' and ''American War Machine'' are available in French under the titles ''La Route vers le Nouveau Désordre Mondial'' and ''La Machine de Guerre Américaine''. The latter was reviewed in March 2011 by Bernard Norlain, a retired French five-star

General of the Air Force General of the Air Force (GAF) is a five-star general officer rank and is the highest possible rank in the United States Air Force. General of the Air Force ranks immediately above a general and is equivalent to General of the Army in the U ...

. In all, his books have been translated into French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, and Indonesian. His articles have been translated into 16 languages, including Turkish, Arabic,

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, Chinese, and Japanese. Of Scott's book, ''American War Machine: Deep Politics, the CIA Global Drug Connection, and the Road to Afghanistan'' (2010),

Daniel Ellsberg Daniel Ellsberg (born April 7, 1931) is an American political activist, and former United States military analyst. While employed by the RAND Corporation, Ellsberg precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the ''Pent ...

commented: "I said of Scott's last brilliant take on this subject, ''Drugs, Oil and War'', that 'It makes most academic and journalistic explanations of our past and current interventions read like government propaganda written for children.' Now Scott has written an even better book. Read it!" An aspect of Scott's work that combines both his investigating interests and his poetry is illustrated by ''The Global Drug Meta-Group: Drugs, Managed Violence, and the Russian 9/11''.''The Global Drug Meta-Group: Drugs, Managed Violence, and the Russian 9/11'',

Books

''War Conspiracy''

In 1972,

Bobbs-Merrill Company The Bobbs-Merrill Company was a book publisher located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Company history The company began in 1850 October 3 when Samuel Merrill bought an Indianapolis bookstore and entered the publishing business. After his death in 1 ...

published Scott's ''The War Conspiracy''. The book describes Scott's theories of why the United States went to war in Vietnam. ''Kirkus Reviews'' said ''War Conspiracy'' is "undoubtedly one of the most important overviews to date of the subterranean reaches of the U.S. intelligence machine in Southeast Asia."

''Deep Politics and the Death of JFK''

Scott's ''Deep Politics and the Death of JFK'' was published in 1993

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...

. Promotional reviews of the book were provided by Bruce Cumings,

Gaeton Fonzi Gaeton Fonzi (October 10, 1935 – August 30, 2012) was an American investigative journalist and author known for his work on the assassination of John F. Kennedy. He was a reporter and editor for ''Philadelphia'' magazine from 1959 to 1972, and ...

, and

Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Stone won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as writer of '' Midnight Express'' (1978), and wrote the gangster film remake '' Sc ...

. ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' called the book a " aggeringly well-researched and intelligent overview not only of the

JFK assassination John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

but also of the rise of forces undermining American democracy". The ''Kirkus'' review also described the book as a "kind of Rosetta stone for cracking open the deepest darkness in American politics." ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' said that Scott's "thoughtful, extremely (and sometimes excessively) detailed book promises more than it actually delivers" and that "the 'facts' on which he relies are often the result of other people's not necessarily accurate reporting". According to ''PW'', " e book's most useful feature is a careful discussion of how U.S. Vietnam policy changed abruptly after Kennedy's death." In a 2004 review for ''

The Wilson Quarterly ''The Wilson Quarterly'' is a magazine published by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. The magazine was founded in 1976 by Peter Braestrup and James H. Billington. It is noted for its nonpartisan, non-ideolo ...

'', Max Holland, recipient of a Studies in Intelligence Award from the Central Intelligence Agency, wrote that "''Deep Politics'' is an unreadable compendium of 'may haves' and 'might haves,' non-sequiturs, and McCarthy-style innuendo, with enough documentation to satisfy any paranoid." Shortly thereafter, Holland reiterated similar comments in a second piece written for ''

Reviews in American History ''Reviews in American History'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal established in 1973 and published by the Johns Hopkins University Press. It publishes reviews of new books on the topic of American history, as well as retrospectives on ...

'' and criticized the University of California Press' editorial committee for approving the publication of the book: "This peer approval by a major university press illustrates the boundless and utter disbelief in the

Warren Report The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established by President Lyndon B. Johnson through on November 29, 1963, to investigate the assassination of United States Pr ...

that exists even in the highest reaches of the academy, and it also reveals the gross inattention given to the subject by serious historians." Scott responded with a letter to the editor stating: "I was disappointed to see those who have published me attacked vigorously for doing so by a major historical journal. I continue to believe that it is the job of the academy to open minds, not to close them." In 2013, former ''

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

'' editor-in-chief

David Talbot David Talbot (born September 22, 1951) is an American journalist, author, activist and independent historian. Talbot is known for his books about the "hidden history" of U.S. power and the liberal movements to change America, as well as his p ...

included ''Deep Politics'' in his list of top seven "best books on the subject", describing the work as a "masterpiece, a meticulously detailed examination of the deep network of power that underlies the events in Dallas.... filled with provocative insights about how the upper circles of U.S. power actually operate."

Bibliography

Political books

* ''The War Conspiracy: JFK, 911, and the Deep Politics of War''. New York:

Bobbs-Merrill The Bobbs-Merrill Company was a book publisher located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Company history The company began in 1850 October 3 when Samuel Merrill bought an Indianapolis bookstore and entered the publishing business. After his death in 1 ...

(1972). . . * ''The Assassinations: Dallas and Beyond—A Guide to Cover-Ups and Investigations''. New York:

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

(1976). . . *''Crime and Cover-Up: The CIA, the Mafia, and the Dallas-Watergate Connection'' (1977). . * ''The Iran-Contra Connection: Secret Teams and Covert Operations in Reagan Era''. Boston:

South End Press South End Press was a non-profit book publisher run on a model of participatory economics. It was founded in 1977 by Michael Albert, Lydia Sargent, Juliet Schor, among others, in Boston's South End. It published books written by political acti ...

(1987). . .
''Cocaine Politics: Drugs, Armies, and the CIA in Central America''
with Jonathan Marshall. Berkeley, Calif.:

(1991). . *''Deep Politics and the Death of JFK''. Berkeley, Calif.:

(1993). . *''Deep Politics II: The New Revelations in U.S. Government Files, 1994-1995: Essays on Oswald, Mexico, and Cuba''. JFK Lancer Publications (1995). . *''Oswald, Mexico, and Deep Politics: Revelations from CIA Records on the Assassination of JFK''. New York:

Skyhorse Publishing Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. is an American independent book publishing company founded in 2006 and headquartered in New York City, with a satellite office in Brattleboro, Vermont. History The current president and publisher is founder Tony Ly ...

(1995). .
''Drugs, Oil, and War: The United States in Afghanistan, Colombia, and Indochina''
Lanham, MD:

Rowman & Littlefield Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an independent publishing house founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns the book distributing comp ...

(2003). . *''The Road to 9/11: Wealth, Empire and the Future of America''. Berkeley, Calif.:

(2007).
Glossary.
*''American War Machine: Deep Politics, the CIA Global Drug Connection, and the Road to Afghanistan''. Lanham, MD:

(2010). . *''The American Deep State: Wall Street, Big Oil, and the Attack on U.S. Democracy''. Lanham, MD:

(2014). . * iarchive:dallas-63-the-first-deep-stat-peter-dale-scott_20210214''Dallas '63: The First Deep State Revolt Against The White House'' (Forbidden Bookshelf Series). New York: Open Road Media (2015). *''Poetry and Terror: Politics and Poetics in Coming to Jakarta'', with Freeman Ng. Lanham, MD:

Lexington Books Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an independent publishing house founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns the book distributing compa ...

(Sep. 2018). . Book contributions
Introduction
to ''Accessories After the Fact: The Warren Commission, the Authorities & the Report on the JFK Assassination'', by Sylvia Meagher (1976). . *

Introduction Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...

to ''The Great Heroin Coup: Drugs, Intelligence, & International Fascism'', by Henrik Krüger. Boston, Mass.:

(1980). Edited by Jonathan Marshall. Translated by Jerry Meldon. . ** Originally published in Danish as ''Smukke Serge og Heroinen''.
"The U.S. Establishment and Al Qaeda".
In: ''Haditha Ethics — From Iraq to Iran?'', pp. 26-39.

Political articles

* "Vietnam: The Importance of January." ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper th ...

'', vol. 204, no. 3 (January 16, 1967), pp. 74-77.
"Air America: Flying the U.S. Into Laos."
'' Ramparts'' (February 1970).
"Tying up loose end in Dallas."
''Pacific Sun'' (September 12-18, 1975), pp. 12, 14.

Pacific News Service Pacific News Service (PNS) was an American nonprofit alternative news media organization. PNS ceased operations in 2017. The organization was located in Berkeley, California. History PNS was founded in 1969 by historian and sociologist F ...

.
"From Dallas to Watergate: The Longest Cover-Up."
'' Ramparts'' (November 1973).
"Was Oswald One of Castros Terrorists?: The Oswald-Castro Connection."
''

Los Angeles Free Press The ''Los Angeles Free Press'', also called the "''Freep''", is often cited as the first, and certainly was the largest, of the underground newspapers of the 1960s. The ''Freep'' was founded in 1964 by Art Kunkin, who served as its publisher unti ...

'' (June 11, 1976), pp. -47. * "Contragate: Reagan, Foreign Money, and the Contra Deal." ''Crime and Social Justice'', vol. 27/28 (1987), pp. 126-161.
"Noriega: Our Man in Panama."
''

Convergence Convergence may refer to: Arts and media Literature *''Convergence'' (book series), edited by Ruth Nanda Anshen * "Convergence" (comics), two separate story lines published by DC Comics: **A four-part crossover storyline that united the four Wei ...

'', no. 8 (Fall 1991), pp. 5-6.

Christic Institute The Christic Institute was a public interest law firm founded in 1980 by Daniel Sheehan, his wife Sara Nelson, and their partner, William J. Davis, a Jesuit priest, after the successful conclusion of their work on the ''Silkwood'' case. Based on ...

Poetry

*''Fantasy Poets'', No. 6. 1952. *''Prepositions of Jet Travel''. 1981. *''Rumors of No Law: Poems from Berkeley, 1968-1977''. 1981. *''Heart's Field''. 1986. *''Coming to Jakarta: A Poem About Terror''. 1989. *''Listening to the Candle: A Poem on Impulse''. 1992. *''Crossing Borders: Selected Shorter Poems''. 1994. *''Minding the Darkness: A Poem for the Year 2000''. 2000. *''Mosaic Orpheus''. 2009. *''Tilting Point''. 2012. *''Walking on Darkness''. 2016.

Poetry and politics

*''Poetry and Terror: Politics and Poetics in Coming to Jakarta''. 2018.

Interviews

"Spooks, Planes, and Heroin: Keys to Escalation in Indochina."
(June 30, 1072). New York:

WBAI WBAI (99.5 FM) is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station licensed to New York, New York. Its programming is a mixture of political news, talk and opinion from a left-leaning, liberal or progressive viewpoint, and eclectic musi ...

. Interview by Nick Egleson.
"A Conversation with Professor Peter Dale Scott"
(February 1985). England: ''

Lobster Lobsters are a family (Nephropidae, synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs have claws, including the first pair, ...

'', no. 7. pp. 1-12. Edited by Robin Ramsey
Full issue.

Filmography

Video

"Spooks, Planes, and Heroin: Keys to Escalation in Indochina."
(June 30, 1972). Interviewed by Nick Egleson for

. Pacifica Radio Archives.

Notes

External links

*
Official bibliography

Deep politics discussion forum and video channel.

Five poems
at Jacket Magazine
Interview
from

Words Without Borders ''Words Without Borders'' (''WWB'') is an international magazine open to international exchange through translation, publication, and promotion of the world's best writing and authors who are not easily accessible to English-speaking readers. The ...

Interview
from Electric Politics. {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Peter Dale 1929 births Living people American tax resisters 20th-century Canadian poets Canadian male poets Canadian political writers English-language poets Iran–Contra affair Researchers of the assassination of John F. Kennedy University of California, Berkeley alumni University of California, Berkeley faculty