Condi Rice Rates Obama's US Troop Withrawal Strategy As Disastrous...Stanford Student Video

(Stanford Unv. Students question Condi Rice about the Bush Admin's use of Enhanced Interrogation Techniques on Terrorist Detainees imprisoned at Gitmo.)



(A fourth grader asked former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice about interrogation methods during the Bush administration. Rachel Maddow is joined by NBC News chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell.)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Condoleezza Rice: "If You Want Another Terrorist Attack In The U.S., Abandon Afghanistan"

Those in Congress who would like to see the U.S. begin to pull out of Afghanistan don't have a supporter in former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

In a new interview with Fortune Magazine, Rice offered extremely sharp criticism of the idea of withdrawal and painted the consequences of this course of action with an almost Cheneyesque bluntness.

"The last time we left Afghanistan, and we abandoned Pakistan," she said, "that territory became the very territory on which Al Qaeda trained and attacked us on September 11th. So our national security interests are very much tied up in not letting Afghanistan fail again and become a safe haven for terrorists.

"It's that simple," she declared, "if you want another terrorist attack in the U.S., abandon Afghanistan."

As the Washington Post reported Monday, Pres. Obama is rethinking all aspects of the U.S. strategy in the Afghanistan in light of the disputed presidential election, an increase in U.S. casualties and waning public support here in America.

In the interview, Rice did acknowledge the recent election as a setback. But she argued that our own experience with democracy proved that it takes time to get things right: "Our democracy wasn't so perfect at the beginning either," she said, citing her own family's experience in the pre-Civil Rights era.

Rice's comments come at a time when the talk of the threat of a possible terrorist attack in the U.S. has re-emerged following a series of arrests in Denver and New York related to an alleged bomb plot. "Counter Terrorism officials have issued security bulletins to police around the nation about terrorists' desire to attack stadiums, entertainment complexes and hotels," the AP reported today.




View Larger Map

Sources: Huffington Post, Fortune, Washington Post, AP, CNN, MSNBC, Rachel Maddow Show, Stanford Unv., Youtube, Google Maps

When Addressing "Torture Gate" President Obama Must Fairly Apply Rule of Law

Dr. Condoleeza Rice recently discussed America's right to Torture Prisoners of War with a group of bold Stanford University students.

While its true those students did ask some challenging questions, I must admit as usual Condi held her own.

Check out some of her statements:

"The president instructed us that nothing we would do would be outside of our obligations, legal obligations under the Convention Against Torture."

"I didn't authorize anything. I conveyed the authorization of the administration to the agency, that they had policy authorization, subject to the Justice Department's clearance. That's what I did."

"Foreign Policy is full of tough choices."

"The United States was told, we were told, nothing that violates our obligations under the Convention Against Torture, and so by definition, if it was authorized by the president, it did not violate our obligations under the Convention Against Torture."

Does any of this sound familiar? I can sum it up in one word: Nixon!

Do I still think that some members of former George W. Bush's Administration should be subpoenaed and prosecuted for Human Rights violations?

Yes, however.......Only if the U.S. Dept. of Justice also chooses to prosecute Employers who knowingly and intentionally hire Illegal Immigrants. These workers were then exploited or abused. Some until they died prematurely.

Yes, only if the United States Dept. of Justice also agrees to prosecute crooked District Attorneys and Law Enforcement Officers who intentionally tampered with cases or "padded" cases with trumped up Federal charges, for the sole purpose of imprisoning thousands of African-American/Hispanic young men and women.

Yes, only if the United States Dept. of Justice also decides to conduct an investigation into how School District Superintendents nation wide used the No Child Left Behind Act as Stare Decisis for Re-Segregating America's Public Schools.

Yes, only if the United States Dept. of Justice will also prosecute all those responsible for intentionally steering Toxic Mortgages and Car Loans into the hands of numerous unqualified buyers who couldn't repay them, therefore contributing to the Meltdown of our Economy.

Yes, only if the United States Dept. of Justice seeks to look into how thousands of Law Enforcement Agency Dept Heads and District Attorneys across the country, chose NOT to investigate or prosecute citizens who intentionally committed Hate Crimes even when the evidence slapped them in the face!

Yes, only if the United States Dept. of Justice chooses to hold State Attorney Generals and State Legislators nationwide accountable for NOT establishing and enforcing Fair, Equitable Tax Laws.

In addition that also includes holding those same State Attorney Generals/ State Legislators accountable for intentionally withholding Unemployment Benefits from citizens legally and rightfully entitled to them, for no just cause other than Corporate Loopholes or Corporate Incentives.

Yes, only if the United States Dept. of Justice will allow Congress to subpoena Health Care Plan Provider CEOs just as they summoned Banking/ Car Industry CEOs, for the purpose of them explaining to Congressional Members why their companies charged such exorbitant fees when processing claims and why millions of eligible claims were denied. Especially claims for Mental Health Care treatment and Medicare for the Elderly.

Yes, only if the United States Dept. of Justice will subpoena thousands of DSS Directors from all 50 states to testify before Congress regarding:

a) Keeping Foster Children in the system until the age of 18 just to help bring in more Federal money for thirsty state budgets.

b) Encouraging/ Allowing Teens and Low-Income, Single Mothers to continue birthing baby after baby after baby, again for the sole purpose of bringing in more Federal money.

c) Allowing "Deadbeat Dads" to not pay Child Support due to Teen Mothers and Low-Income Women with Children (who by the way received Welfare Checks provided from Federal funding), refusing to cooperate with Child Support Enforcement agencies regarding the whereabouts of those lazy "sperm donors".

d) Continuing to dole out Welfare Checks, Food Stamps, Medicaid, Child Care Assistance and Free Housing to Teen Mothers or Low-Income Women with Children, even when they were NOT attending School or Working.

e) For allowing millions of Children/ Youth to die each year by training and ordering Social Workers to ignore blatant, clear signs of Child Abuse/ Child Neglect.

With all due respect to President Obama's Administration, the Rule of Law can't be used for Political purposes.

That is NOT why the U.S. Constitution and Geneva Convention Treaty were drafted.

In order to create a substantive legal standard for improving the lives of all Human Beings, the Rule of Law must be fairly and equally applied.

If the United States Dept. of Justice takes necessary steps in conducting thorough investigations proceeding with prosecutions of individuals who have committed the actions I mentioned above, then and only then will I agree that some members of former President George W. Bush's administration should be bought before a court of law for authorizing acts of Torture.

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann and guest dissects Condi's discussion on "Torture Gate" with Stanford University students.





Nixon: "If the President does it, that means its not illegal".




View Larger Map

Sources: Young Turks, Huffington Post, Stanford University, Whitehouse.gov, Healthreform.gov, Ed.gov, Speaker.gov, MSNBC, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Think Progress, ABA, Black's Law Dictionary, Rutgers Law Record, Newsobserver, NC Dept. of Public Education, NC Dept. of Health & Human Services, Biz Journals, NCGA, Youtube, Google Maps