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| THE BUSH ADMINISTRATIONS WAR CRIMES |
From my birth place:
After faculty at two branches of Rutgers University in New Jersey called on the University administration to rescind an agreement with Condoleezza Rice to speak at its commencement this year, calling her a “war criminal,” Rice has withdrawn from the engagement.
Faculty on both the Newark and New Brunswick campuses pointed to Rice’s role in the Bush Administration’s efforts to persuade the nation of the supposed need to invade Iraq, and to her role in trying to justify the use of torture, they asserted that she is not a fit speaker for the University’s commencement ceremony.
The New Brunswick resolution stated that, as a public institution of higher education, the University had a responsibility to inform students about historical events, not pretend they never happened.
The faculty at the Rutgers campus in Camden voted not to join the protest.
In response, the President of the University stated that they had received even letters from high school students arguing for both sides, some threatening to withdraw applications if the University failed to, or did, withdraw the invitation. He characterized the debate as a free exchange of ideas in the context of civil discourse in keeping with the traditions of great universities.
Rice’s contract with Rutgers provided for $35,000 payment and an honorary doctorate as her compensation for her address.
In withdrawing from the agreement, Rice was gracious. She wrote,
“I am honored to have served my country. I have defended America’s belief in free speech and the exchange of ideas. These values are essential to the health of our democracy. But that is not what is at issue here. As a Professor for thirty years at Stanford University and as its former Provost and Chief Academic Officer, I understand and embrace the purpose of the commencement ceremony and I am simply unwilling to detract from it in any way.”
Rice served as National Security Advisor and Secretary of State in the administration of George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009. She was the first African American woman to hold both positions. She was also the first woman and first African American to serve as Provost at Stanford University, a position she took in 1993 after twelve years as a professor of political science there.
Because of her positions in the Bush Administration, she is closely linked to his catastrophic foreign policy.
Some 50 students held a sit-in at the University’s main administration building to protest Rice as commencement speaker. Faculty planned a teach-in to facilitate discussion of the controversy.
The University President, responding to Rice’s withdrawal, said the University stood behind the invitation, but respected her decision.
This is only the beginning, as I have a feeling history will not be kind to anyone from the "liars club".
NFTOS
Editor-In-Chief
Roger West
