As a graduate of Miami University, I was shocked and saddened to read online in the Miami alumni news that the Anderson Distinguished Award Lecturer in March will be Condoleezza Rice. By writing this piece, I hope to garner a dialogue, a protest or whatever it takes to inform Miami students of her past
criminal activity.
As former secretary of state and national security adviser under President George W. Bush, not only did she help authorize and aggressively push for an unlawful and preemptive war on Iraq, but she also was one of the chief architects responsible for the torture that took place in Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo and other CIA "black sites."
Read any of the writings of Seymour Hersh, Philippe Sands or Jane Mayer. Or, watch the film American Faust: From Condi to Neo Condi produced by Sebastian Doggart. He is willing to answer any questions from anyone at sebastiandoggart@aol.com. Or, I have oodles of articles to pass on.
It has been well documented that Ms. Rice was one of a half-dozen Bush officials who met as part of the White House "Principals" group led by Dick Cheney and his desire for using the "dark side" methods. Laws and treaties were broken. State-authorized torture devastates our country by corrupting our policies and laws, by rendering treaties irrelevant and by instituting cruelty through implementation of unethical acts.
I actually remember some words spoken at a ceremony the day of my graduation from Miami in 1959. The speaker spoke of how we had now gained knowledge and knowledge is power. He said with this knowledge we can do good or do evil. This was not too many years after World War II and Hitler used his power for evil.
By honoring people who have authorized evil (torture), what are we saying about ourselves, about Miami?
Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter
Read More
How one professor and her classes are preserving Oxford’s Black history
By Sean Scott | March 20, 2024Jazma Sutton, an assistant professor of history, teaches The Black Midwest (HST 350Q) and Black Women in America (HST 450D) classes. In both courses, she has students working with the Smith Library of Regional History and Miami’s archives to document and preserve Black history in Oxford.
Miami faculty members recount Freedom Summer in new documentary
By Luke Macy | February 25, 2022After seven years of work, “Training for Freedom,” a documentary highlighting Oxford’s involvement in the Freedom Summer of 1964, premiered on PBS Western Reserve on Valentine’s Day.
“Documenting the COVID-19 Pandemic”: History in the making
By Alice Momany | August 29, 2021In March 2020, Miami University’s archives launched “Documenting the COVID-19 Pandemic,” a collection focused on life during the COVID-19 pandemic.