Stanford Faculty Protest Rumsfeld Selection to Think Tank
Stanford University faculty members are protesting former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s appointment as a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution.
Renowned professor emeritus of psychology Philip Zimbardo, who has publicly blamed Rumsfeld and other Bush Administration officials for the notorious abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, is among a protest petition’s “instigators,” as he put it.
“We think he has distinguished himself for all the wrong things than what the university should stand for and what America should stand for,” Zimbardo said Monday, adding that about 118 people had signed the petition by Sunday, but the number should increase rapidly when the academic quarter begins next week.
The Hoover Institution announced Sept. 7 that Rumsfeld will be a visiting fellow serving on a task force of scholars and experts focused upon issues pertaining to “ideology and terror.”
“Hoover is in a sense independent of Stanford but it’s always linked to Stanford,” Zimbardo said - the conservative public-policy think tank is located on the university’s campus, but the faculty senate has no input on its appointments. “They can have any fascist they want there, and they do… We’ve never protested before but this seems to be egregious.”
The Hoover Institution hadn’t returned calls seeking comment late Monday afternoon.
Rumsfeld resigned as defense secretary in November, a day after frustration with his handling of the Iraq war was cited as a source of voter dissatisfaction contributing to Republicans’ loss of majority control in Congress. By then, some Republican members of Congress had joined with Democrats in urging President George W. Bush to dump Rumsfeld.
Zimbardo, 74, is perhaps best known for his 1971 Stanford prison experiment in which students assigned to be guards in a mock prison in a campus basement quickly became sadistic. At the same time, the students chosen to be prisoners soon showed passivity and depression, quickly leading to dangerous and psychologically harmful situations which forced him to end the experiment.
In 2004 he testified for the defense in the court martial of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ivan Frederick, a guard at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, arguing that the soldier’s sentence should be mitigated because few people can resist the urge to become abusive in such an environment without proper training and supervision. Frederick still received the maximum sentence of eight years in prison. Zimbardo repeatedly and publicly has blamed Rumsfeld and other Bush Administration officials for the Abu Ghraib abuses, most prominently in his book published this year, “The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil.”
On that book’s Web site, Zimbardo says Rumsfeld “created the conditions for troops to commit war crimes and torture by sidelining and disparaging the Geneva Conventions. He did so by approving interrogation techniques that violated the Geneva Conventions as well as the Convention against Torture, and by approving the hiding of detainees from the International Committee of the Red Cross.”
Other former Cabinet members who are fellows or visiting fellows at the Hoover Institution include former Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, 2001-05 under President Bush; former Defense Secretary William Perry, 1994-97 under President Clinton; former Secretary of State George Shultz, 1982-89 under President Reagan; and former Attorney General Ed Meese, 1985-88 under President Reagan. Current Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is a senior fellow now on leave from the Hoover Institution, and retired Army Gen. John Abizaid - who commanded the U.S. Central Command from 2003 through March, with dominion over U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan - is now a visiting fellow.
© 2007 San Jose Mercury News
He’ll fit right in at The American Fascist Institute (Hoover Institution.)
“With a fascist the problem is never how best to present the truth to the public but how best to use the news to deceive the public into giving the fascist and his group more money or more power. ”
Henry A. Wallace
Slaughtering hundreds of thousands of Arabs and torturing several thousand more seems to be a much surer route to a cushy academic appointment than a life of honest research, publication, and other contributions to one’s discipline.
This is yet another outrageous move on the part of the US academy, which has certainly not distinguished itself since 9/11.
Has Zimbardo resigned from the APA over its refusal to condemn the use of psychologists in torture?
I hope some day Rumsfeld will be brought to trial over war crimes and that Zimbardo and others will have a chance to testify against him.
The Hoover Institute could have the distinction of having as a visiting fellow a convicted war criminal.
Looks to me like they’re full of unconvicted war criminals.
We had a serious rat problem in our backyard. Then we tore out the ivy and the rat problem disappeared.
The Ivy League schools (which include Stanford) have always provided refuge for a lot of rats.
Keep in mind that Stanford University was founded by a robber baron and the Hoover Institute has worked hard to perpetuate robber baron values.
I agree; he’ll fit right in. I am growing more and more frustrated with what passes as academia in this country. The right might complain about the prevalence of “liberals” in academia, but the real danger is the proliferation of failed policy wonks who now hold academic posts. In addition to those past and present fellows at Hoover, there is “Let’s Invade Haiti, restore democracy, and blame it on Haitians if we fail” Anthony Lake and “Yes, I think the deaths of 200,000+ Iraqi children is worth it” Madeline Albright. Both of whom are now on Georgetown University’s faculty. In graduate school, I learned that a scholar’s mission is to offer clarity for our human actions through the questioning of things believed to be conventional wisdom. I don’t see how any of these people further that endeavor.
Another Stanford grad…our Secretary of State…Kali!
WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 — A top House Democrat began an inquiry today into accusations that the State Department inspector general repeatedly interfered with investigations into fraud and abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan, including defects in construction of the huge United States embassy in Baghdad, and put loyalty to the Bush administration ahead of his duties to American taxpayers.
Stanford a “Conservative Right Wing” college? I didn’t know that.
To andersdl; Thanks for the humor
“I hope some day Rumsfeld will be brought to trial over war crimes…”
Wouldn’t it be deliciously ironic if Rummy got to find out what “extraoridnary rendition” was first-hand? Heh.
When Condi makes her triumphal return
Rummy will do haiku prior to her recital.
I heard that they only asked Rumsfeld after Manuel Noriega declined their invitation. The only reason the leaders of the Politico/Pharmo/Military Banana Repbulic we live in get away with the mass murder they perpetrate is because we’re too afraid to do anything to stop them. We live in a nation of fat happy sheep being led to slaughter. We get exactly what we deserve. When I was in uniform stateside during the first Gulf War, I was stopped on the street by a young man and asked how I felt about the war. I told him that, as a soldier, my opinion was irellevant, but, as a civillian citizen, his opinion was the only thing that mattered. He told me that he was against the war.
“Then do something about it!!” I yelled, then walked away in disgust. I write, I protest, I persuade, but all of you who do less are just as guilty as Rummy. We all need to do much, much more to make any difference at all.
Members of the Stanford community who would like to add their names to the petition can find it here:
http://www.petitiononline.com/norummy/petition.html
I always refer to him as Donald Aspartame Rumsfeld. Just as a reminder that he lacks any empathy with the human race and its well being.
Steven Cambone resigned in December at the same time Rumsfeld resigned. He took orders from Rumsfeld and he insisted on using illegal methods be used by the military which were signed off by Gonzales and others even though others who knew more about intelligence knew full well that torute does not lead to real believable information.
Condi Rice also made overtures that she wants to return to Stanford and NYTImes reported that an immediate email firestorm errupted saying that Rice we don’t want you. There goes her idea of running for office…..
If Rumsfeld can pass stringent psychological and drug testing administered and interpreted by the labs at Stanford as well as an independent lab, then hire him. If he can’t pass both tests, he should not be considered for an appointment at one of Stanford’s think tanks. Period! This man has done enough damage to our country.
It is quite remarkable the number of fellows and visiting scholars these “think” tanks and institutes of advanced study support and have on the payroll. Remarkable, as “scholarly” institutes, because so few of these fellows actually produce any work. What is the scholarly output of the fellows listed at the end of the article?
Have you read the Project for the new American Century? It is the academic equivalent of a freshman term paper.
There is so little actual analysis done anymore, except by profs who are battling for tenure against dubiously supported regents.
“Academic Floaters”
When they are unable to be flushed they become “Academic Floaters.”
The Hoover Institute, etc. are full of floaters.
It is so disheartening to see the way these trash “analysis” or “position” papers are circulated and used in policy committees. When was the last time you actually believed a senator or representative read the legislation they voted on, even the ones they supposedly drafted. The same often goes for the executive branch secretaries; its shocking to see the utter lack of nuance in understanding often displayed, especially when the so vociferously advocate a certain position.
Time after time, you see a policy strategy(scenario/action/consequences) presented and go unchallenged because few people in the room have any nuanced understanding. This is where the “think” tank papers come in; the person who is able to produce them fastest and in quantity carries the day. This is what you hear; “Well, we have reports that…..” Since no one reads the reports, they have the people from these institutes sit in the room on the sidelines so that when they nod to them, the decider looks in their direction and what do they see? Past officials who play a part in fundraising and hedge fund networking.
Imagine having Baker sit on the sidelines when you nod to him after saying “We have analysis that…..” when earlier that morning the political adviser told the decider that the group Baker sits in on has expressed some interest in relaxing repayment for a national debt they coincidentally bought a chunck of. Some interest in, maybe, perhaps, they could possibly…
More “Academic Floaters” in the think tank.
We need to keep in mind that the Hoover institute is a separate entity from the university. However, the university does gain prestige and funding because of its existence, thus people confuse the institutes conservative politics with that of the university. Its good to know that there are still academecians willing to take a stand against government policies and speak out. Now if only we could do something to make our prison system more humane!!!
MIT has MITRE, and Stanford produced the Stanford Research Institute. These are slushy public-private type entities whose job is to transfer tuition and/or tax subsidized research to the m.i.c. and intel. communities.
Perusing the SRI web site, it’s unclear to me how independent they are from the university in actuality — whether the division since the 70’s is mainly just a paper formality or no.
Last thing we need is this man sitting around a table with like minded folks coming up with decisions that will effect the lives of American citizens. The man should be sitting in a prison awaiting trial for war crimes, not in an air conditioned room making policy decision. Just more examples of how flawed our system really is.
The problem is the right is willing to fight to maintain their previledge, where as the dems and the liberals want to talk.Until we get more reps who are warriors this bullshit will continue to fall on our heads.
I dont see why there is so much outrage. Stanford is the home of the Hoover Institute ! Condi’s alma mater !! Stanford is not some liberal bastion that has a social and political conscience … its a friggin rich private school and yeah they do give out some scholarships to assuage their guilt. Its for the rich, by the rich and of the rich and it only follows that they are tightly coupled with the rich Republicans (and Dems) …
As you know, you fill the tank with the thinkers you have, not the thinkers you might want or wish to have at a later time.
Rumsfeld is not a thinker, for one thing, and the Stanford faculty is a pretty liberal one, though Stanford U may not be. Enough trash has come out of Stanford - Condi springs to mind. Rumsfeld belongs in a locked ward somewhere. Period.
Rumsfeld is a traitor and felon. He is one of the biggest anti-American sickos around today who has infiltrated our government and shamed us all in front of the world. He needs to be off’d, by an American, that would send a very good message, that Americans still stand for justice. Do you really think any court anywhere is going to do anything about him? Never.
Most Americans now ‘think’ Iraq is a mistake. When do we get paid, or at least not have to pay through our arses because of what some idiots ‘thought’?
Many thanks to the poster who mentioned Aspartame & Rumsfield. For those of you who don’t understand the connection try Googling the two. This will lead you to information showing just what kind of an inhumane monster that old ‘Rummy’ is.
At least some of the faculty at Stanford have a sense of what the word ethical means. What’s the matter with the rest of them? Cowards & buffoons I guess.
Probably the best place for him. Better here than contaminating some other, perhaps functional, benevolent even sane, institution.
Keep all the fascists together, we’ll know where they are, what to expect and from which direction.
Just another example of how the definitions of things can change.
“Think tanks” used to be considered the perfect environment for solving problems and creating solutions for the betterment of mankind.
In recent years, they have become sanctuaries for fascists, globalists and war-profiteers. Monasteries for monetarily-inclined megalomaniacs.
Want to expand support in America for the Likud Party in Israel? If you can’t infiltrate and influence an existing “think tank”, form a NEW one…
Want to generate positive public opinion and financial support for a business, nation, race or ethnic group? Infiltrate a “think tank” or form a NEW one…
The results can be devastating if you gather the right group of like-minded fanatics in positions of power and media… a good example would be “The Project for a New American Century”.
Without them, we probably would not be mired up to our necks in Iraq at the moment.
“Think tanks” have become as dangerous if not more dangerous than consolidation of the news media these days.
Rumsfield is an idiot who never got anything right in his whole career. War criminal court would be a better place for him.
Money! Money! Money!
Let’s stop the hypocracy; the majority of students at Stanford are there because of the prestige of graduating from an ivy league university, and of course to greater returns on their investment. STILL, it is a bit much to flaunt the evil that the pursuit of power and money has created: this Rumsfeldt fellow is over the top. WE must never give up on trying to attain our highest, noblest urges, and this appointment is not the way! STudents, protest on!
Please let me know how I can get hold of the protest petition so I can sign it. There is a fundamental conflict between the terms think tank and Rumsfeld.
Isn’t Edwin Meese at some think tank at Stanford too? dlz
Could it be a typo and they’ve selected him for the “stink tank”?
“Reports that say that something hasn’t happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don’t know we don’t know.”
Everything else about Donald is unknowable
‘think tank’ like ‘commander in chief’ are just meaningless titles
Why would Hoover even consider Mr. Rumsfeld?