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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRutgers University Faculty protest honoring war criminal Condi Rice-Who Never Acknowledged Her Lies
Rutgers University Faculty protest honoring a war criminal with a Doctor of Laws degree
We, the undersigned Rutgers faculty members, are outraged and offended by
the resolution of the Board of Governors to invite former Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice to be the keynote speaker at this year's
Commencement, and to award her an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.
The mission of a University is to promote truth and knowledge, including
historical knowledge. A commencement speaker is supposed to represent a
model of citizenship to graduating students. To have Condoleezza Rice
perform this role at Rutgers betrays both our mission and the trust of our
students. It dishonors the Board and all of us.
As National Security Advisor (2001-2005), Dr. Rice directly participated in
the decision to launch the second Iraq war. She played a leading role in
the campaign of distortions and lies seeking to justify that war,
repeatedly alleging that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, and that
links had been established between al Qaeda and the Saddam Hussein regime.
As Secretary of State (2005-2009), well after these allegations had been
proven false, Dr. Rice never acknowledged that her claims had misled the
country.
Condoleezza Rice was also fully associated with the Bush administration's
torture policy of "enhanced interrogation techniques," such as
waterboarding. Her later statement that she "didn't authorize anything,"
but only "conveyed the authorization of the administration" to the CIA,
merely adds her name to the infamous list of participants in crimes of war
claiming that "they only followed orders."
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http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.politics.marxism.marxmail/176301
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)madaboutharry
(40,216 posts)What a travesty. She was a member of an administration that orchestrated the most disgraceful assault on human rights and the denial of due process since WWII.
The graduating students should boycott the ceremony and demonstrate instead.
LiberalEsto
(22,845 posts)I graduated from Rutgers almost 40 years ago and am gratified to see that there are people raising hell about this.
malthaussen
(17,215 posts)... I couldn't understand why they would be crawling to him, given that they're Scottish and all. But after all, he was the POTUS, and I guess they thought his name would add lustre to their university (as if they needed it).
All part of the ruling class stroking itself. It's a wonder they don't go blind.
-- Mal
Solly Mack
(90,779 posts)there's nothing wrong with honoring them.
People expect private institutions (and others) to do what government refused to do. I guess because the thinking is if government won't act for justice then it is up to others to do so. Except that lets government off the hook.
So while I think it odious that anyone would honor any of them (Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, etc.) I don't think it more odious than the lack of prosecutions.
I support the efforts of the faculty. But it is a sad state of affairs that they even have to speak out against it. (because she should have never been asked because she should be in prison)