Thursday, September 28, 2006

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright tells Kansas that Iraq War is "the greatest disaster"

Speaking at the University of Kansas, Madeleine Albright delivered a scathing critique of President George W. Bush's foreign policy.

Albright served as secretary of state for President Bill Clinton

The Kansas City Star reports:
Want an unflinching opinion of the Iraq war?

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright delivered one Wednesday night, calling it "the greatest disaster in American foreign policy."
...
In a scorching presentation, Albright endorsed a central finding of a just-declassified intelligence report that concluded that the U.S. presence in Iraq was fueling global terrorism.

"I don't think creating more terrorists is going to make us safer," she told a crowd at the Lied Center on the University of Kansas campus. The event was sponsored by the Dole Institute of Politics.
...
On another topic, Albright said the U.S. military was so desperately short of soldiers that America's ability to respond to a sudden new crisis was seriously compromised.

She urged the administration to talk more to the North Koreans, saying the lack of communication invites problems.
The Lawrence Journal-World also covered Albright's speech and has audio of it. Scroll down their page to find the audio feed.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Dear Diane, Pamela & Nancy:

I write this as a note to all 3 of you (and to the readers of your blog) to say KEEP ON SPEAKING OUT!! When I first logged on this morning and after reading the ITM posting from yesterday and today, I almost cried. I felt such despair.

The Bush-Machine Just Keeps Rolling Over America. The assault on our freedoms is daily and continues at all levels of the Federal Government and by the Bush Machine in the “red” states (By the way, isn’t it ironic that Republican controlled states are called “red states” -- Remember when the "commies" were “the Red Menace” and “the Reds” were the enemy?)

From ITM, I followed links to “Writings on the Wall” and then to “Carnival of the Liberals”, etc.. More despair. Is anyone listening? Then wrote to ITM via Nancy about these feelings of despair and about a movement to draft Bill Moyers to throw his hat into the up-coming presidential race (idea came from Molly Ivins’ column, “Bill for President!).

Finally, I was on MSNBC.com and went to The Washington Post link to read about the “Iraq Police Academy Disaster”, an article by Amit R. Paley along with Charles Babington’s article, “House Passes Bill on Detainee Interrogation." Go to The Post and read them in their entirety: http://www.washingtonpost.com

Paley’s article castigates the Parson’s Corporation for shoddy construction that has cost the US-taxpayers $1-billion (the building is a mess -- shit is literally and figuratively dripping on people). Babington’s article details how the House's bill on detainee interrogation “....sets clearer limits on techniques, but denies access to courts for terrorism suspects seeking to challenge their imprisonment.” In reality, with the passage of this bill the Bush-Machine will be able to by-pass The Geneva Conventions. In the past, the USA has always been able to tout the fact we and the
“civilized world” abide by The Geneva Conventions. Guess we'll no longer be part of the civilized world.

NOTE: Basically, The Geneva Conventions (consisting of four treaties plus several protocols) set standards for International Law relating to humanitarian concerns during wartime (the first conventions were adopted in 1864 -- the same time that the Red Cross was formed).

At that point, my despair turned to anger. Another graphic
illustration of corruption and stupidity. Reminds you of the Bush-Machine’s response to Katrina and for that matter, any thing else that matters in America.

We can cry and sink into the pit of despair; or we can get motivated and get activated. Read, Write, Speak Out and VOTE FOR A CHANGE in NOVEMBER. You ladies keep up the Good Fight for the Soul and Honor of America. A heartfelt “Thank You”.