Samuel Moyn wrote that Benjamin "liked how the name sounded, and she had heard a feminist interpretation of the Greek tragedy suggesting that Medea had never killed her children and was only blamed for it by patriarchal traditions".

She later returned to the United States and received master's degrees in public health from Columbia University and in economics from The New School.

She later created the Occupation Watch Center in Baghdad (IOWC) to monitor the United States military, and the war's effect on civilian populations.

Through this center, she brought U.S. military family members to see the conditions under which enlisted personnel served, and to speak out against the war, in Congress and at the United Nations, in 2003.

[9] In 2000, Benjamin ran as a Green Party candidate challenging incumbent US Senator from California, Dianne Feinstein.

Benjamin repeatedly interrupted a major speech by President Barack Obama regarding United States policy in the War on Terror at the National Defense University on May 23, 2013.

"[26] On July 21, 2016, Benjamin heckled Donald Trump's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention with a sign that read "Build bridges not walls".

She headed a coalition of consumer, environmental, union and business leaders working for clean and affordable power under public control.

The ensuring Human Rights Principles for US Businesses in China have been endorsed by major companies such as Cisco, Intel, Reebok, Levi Strauss and Mattel.

Benjamin criticized the United States government for passing legislation to send Israel $3 billion in aid, lobbied Congress and sailed on the U.S. Flotilla to Gaza in November 2011.

[36] She also helped to organize an annual gathering in Washington, D.C., with the objective of exposing the "negative influence" of the United States lobby group American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

[citation needed] In January 2018, it was announced that activists from 20 American groups, including Code Pink, were banned from entering Israel because of their support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

[38] In November 2023, Benjamin conducted an ambush interview with US Senator Marco Rubio, and asked him if he would "call for a ceasefire in Gaza."

Along with this, Benjamin also exposed Blackwater Worldwide's illegal activities, including protests at the headquarters of the International Association of War Contractors.

[41] In 2007 as well, she continued to protest weekly outside the Justice Department concerning water boarding and indefinite detention, and called for the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

[42] The event raised controversy when a Reuters News photo showing the protesters (dressed as wounded soldiers), including one identified as Benjamin, were described as "taunting" the children.

[44] On April 30, 2012, Benjamin interrupted a speech on United States counterterrorism strategy given by John Brennan at the Woodrow Wilson Center, to ask about civilians casualties of US drone strikes in Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen.

While in Pakistan she allegedly met with drone victims, family members, lawyers, academics, women's groups, and Pakistani leaders, as well as the U.S.

[46] The delegation made international headlines when they joined a caravan to Waziristan organized by prominent political leader and former Pakistani cricket captain Imran Khan, a staunch opponent of American involvement in Pakistan.

(See CNN video,[47] The New York Times,[48] The Washington Post,[49] Al Jazeera,[50] the BBC, and over 100 major news outlet,[51] 09/28 – October 14, 2012).

These included bringing women from war torn countries such as Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan to the U.S. to speak about their experiences.

Between 2003 and 2010, Benjamin helped organized anti-war mass mobilizations in Washington, D.C., New York City and San Francisco.

[56] Todd Chretien, a member of the International Socialist Organization, responded: Medea Benjamin ... and many other liberal and progressive leaders tell us that a Kerry regime "would be less dangerous" than Bush ...

[60][61] In 2006, Benjamin said that it was a myth that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez had limited freedom of speech and eroded civil rights in Venezuela.

In May 2007, Benjamin appeared as a guest on talk-show host Tucker Carlson's show, which was then part of MSNBC's schedule.

"[62] Carlson responded that a 360-page Venezuelan government-published book accused RCTV of showing lack of respect for authorities and institutions.

interview, Benjamin said she was against "US intervention in Venezuela" which had the potential to "create a civil war leading to tremendous violence".

[63] In April and May 2019 Benjamin was part of an "Embassy Protection Collective" formed by groups that include CodePink, ANSWER Coalition, Poor People's Army, People's Power Assembly, Revolutionary Alliance and Popular Resistance, which occupied the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington.