SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Stanford Anti-War Alumni, Students Call for Condi War Crimes Probe
During the Vietnam War, Stanford
students succeeded in banning secret military research from campus. Last
weekend, 150 activist alumni and present Stanford students targeted Condoleezza
Rice for authorizing torture and misleading Americans into the illegal Iraq
War.
May 06, 2009
During the Vietnam War, Stanford
students succeeded in banning secret military research from campus. Last
weekend, 150 activist alumni and present Stanford students targeted Condoleezza
Rice for authorizing torture and misleading Americans into the illegal Iraq
War.
Veterans of the Stanford anti-Vietnam War movement had
gathered for a 40th anniversary reunion during the weekend. The gathering
featured panels on foreign policy, the economy, political and social movements,
science and technology, media, energy and the environment, and strategies for
aging activists.
On Sunday, surrounded by alumni and students,
Lenny Siegel and I nailed a petition to the University President's office door.
The petition, circulated by Stanford Say No to War, reads:
"We the
undersigned students, faculty, staff, alumni, and other concerned members of the
Stanford community, believe that high officials of the U.S. Government,
including our former Provost, current Political Science Professor, and Hoover
Institution Senior Fellow, Condoleezza Rice, should be held accountable for any
serious violations of the Law (included ratified treaties, statutes, and/or the
U.S. Constitution) through investigation and, if the facts warrant, prosecution,
by appropriate legal authorities."
I stated, "By nailing this
petition to the door of the President's office, we are telling Stanford that the
university should not have war criminals on its faculty. There is prima facie
evidence that Rice approved torture and misled the country into the Iraq War.
Stanford has an obligation to investigate those charges."
After the
petition nailing, I cited the law and evidence of Condoleezza Rice's
responsibility for war crimes - including torture - and for selling the illegal
Iraq War:
As National Security Advisor, Rice authorized waterboarding in July
2002, according to a newly released report of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Less than two months later, she hyped the impending U.S. invasion of Iraq, saying,
"We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud." Her ominous warning was
part of the Bush administration's campaign to sell the Iraq war, in
spite of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency's assurances that Saddam
Hussein did not possess nuclear weapons.
A week before the nailing
of the petition, Rice made some Nixonian admissions in response to questions from Stanford students during a campus dinner
designed to burnish Rice's image on campus.
In October
1968, Stanford anti-war activists had nailed a document to the door of the
trustees' office which demanded that Stanford "halt all military and economic
projects concerned with Southeast Asia."
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Marjorie Cohn
Marjorie Cohn is professor emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, dean of the People’s Academy of International Law and past president of the National Lawyers Guild. She sits on the national advisory boards of Assange Defense and Veterans For Peace. A member of the bureau of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, she is the U.S. representative to the continental advisory council of the Association of American Jurists. Her books include Drones and Targeted Killing: Legal, Moral and Geopolitical Issues.
During the Vietnam War, Stanford
students succeeded in banning secret military research from campus. Last
weekend, 150 activist alumni and present Stanford students targeted Condoleezza
Rice for authorizing torture and misleading Americans into the illegal Iraq
War.
Veterans of the Stanford anti-Vietnam War movement had
gathered for a 40th anniversary reunion during the weekend. The gathering
featured panels on foreign policy, the economy, political and social movements,
science and technology, media, energy and the environment, and strategies for
aging activists.
On Sunday, surrounded by alumni and students,
Lenny Siegel and I nailed a petition to the University President's office door.
The petition, circulated by Stanford Say No to War, reads:
"We the
undersigned students, faculty, staff, alumni, and other concerned members of the
Stanford community, believe that high officials of the U.S. Government,
including our former Provost, current Political Science Professor, and Hoover
Institution Senior Fellow, Condoleezza Rice, should be held accountable for any
serious violations of the Law (included ratified treaties, statutes, and/or the
U.S. Constitution) through investigation and, if the facts warrant, prosecution,
by appropriate legal authorities."
I stated, "By nailing this
petition to the door of the President's office, we are telling Stanford that the
university should not have war criminals on its faculty. There is prima facie
evidence that Rice approved torture and misled the country into the Iraq War.
Stanford has an obligation to investigate those charges."
After the
petition nailing, I cited the law and evidence of Condoleezza Rice's
responsibility for war crimes - including torture - and for selling the illegal
Iraq War:
As National Security Advisor, Rice authorized waterboarding in July
2002, according to a newly released report of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Less than two months later, she hyped the impending U.S. invasion of Iraq, saying,
"We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud." Her ominous warning was
part of the Bush administration's campaign to sell the Iraq war, in
spite of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency's assurances that Saddam
Hussein did not possess nuclear weapons.
A week before the nailing
of the petition, Rice made some Nixonian admissions in response to questions from Stanford students during a campus dinner
designed to burnish Rice's image on campus.
In October
1968, Stanford anti-war activists had nailed a document to the door of the
trustees' office which demanded that Stanford "halt all military and economic
projects concerned with Southeast Asia."
Marjorie Cohn
Marjorie Cohn is professor emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, dean of the People’s Academy of International Law and past president of the National Lawyers Guild. She sits on the national advisory boards of Assange Defense and Veterans For Peace. A member of the bureau of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, she is the U.S. representative to the continental advisory council of the Association of American Jurists. Her books include Drones and Targeted Killing: Legal, Moral and Geopolitical Issues.
During the Vietnam War, Stanford
students succeeded in banning secret military research from campus. Last
weekend, 150 activist alumni and present Stanford students targeted Condoleezza
Rice for authorizing torture and misleading Americans into the illegal Iraq
War.
Veterans of the Stanford anti-Vietnam War movement had
gathered for a 40th anniversary reunion during the weekend. The gathering
featured panels on foreign policy, the economy, political and social movements,
science and technology, media, energy and the environment, and strategies for
aging activists.
On Sunday, surrounded by alumni and students,
Lenny Siegel and I nailed a petition to the University President's office door.
The petition, circulated by Stanford Say No to War, reads:
"We the
undersigned students, faculty, staff, alumni, and other concerned members of the
Stanford community, believe that high officials of the U.S. Government,
including our former Provost, current Political Science Professor, and Hoover
Institution Senior Fellow, Condoleezza Rice, should be held accountable for any
serious violations of the Law (included ratified treaties, statutes, and/or the
U.S. Constitution) through investigation and, if the facts warrant, prosecution,
by appropriate legal authorities."
I stated, "By nailing this
petition to the door of the President's office, we are telling Stanford that the
university should not have war criminals on its faculty. There is prima facie
evidence that Rice approved torture and misled the country into the Iraq War.
Stanford has an obligation to investigate those charges."
After the
petition nailing, I cited the law and evidence of Condoleezza Rice's
responsibility for war crimes - including torture - and for selling the illegal
Iraq War:
As National Security Advisor, Rice authorized waterboarding in July
2002, according to a newly released report of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Less than two months later, she hyped the impending U.S. invasion of Iraq, saying,
"We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud." Her ominous warning was
part of the Bush administration's campaign to sell the Iraq war, in
spite of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency's assurances that Saddam
Hussein did not possess nuclear weapons.
A week before the nailing
of the petition, Rice made some Nixonian admissions in response to questions from Stanford students during a campus dinner
designed to burnish Rice's image on campus.
In October
1968, Stanford anti-war activists had nailed a document to the door of the
trustees' office which demanded that Stanford "halt all military and economic
projects concerned with Southeast Asia."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy