Wednesday, January 19, 2005

A Friend Calls Condi a Liar

From the radio show On Point, an interview about Rice Confirmation Hearings.

Scroll to about 36 minutes in, and the host (Warren Olney) is speaking with Larry Diamond.
HOST: How do you see Condoleeza Rice's integrity?

LARRY DIAMOND: Well let me say a couple of things. Number one, she's been a friend and I'm not gonna challenge her integrity directly in this way and therefore I can't speak entirely objectively. There are ties of affection. I'll say only two other things.

Number one, I think there is indications from what Greg Thielmann has said and what's been brought out that she's not been truthful and candid. That's point number one. Number two, these issues were raised when she was provost of Stanford University.

HOST: In what context?

DIAMOND: There were groups -- student groups and faculty groups -- who felt that she did not deal with them truthfully

Third, I want to say, listen if you want a standard for untruthfullness and absolute deceit in a secretary of State, you know, look at Henry Kissinger. It's not like she would be the first secretary of state who has brazenly lied in the conduct of her job. So, my feeling is that I'm not excusing it. I think what's being brought out I can't clarify one way or another. I find it troubling. But when you look at the options we have for Republican Secretary of State under George Bush, frankly I will tell you I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard it was going to be her and not some of the possible alternatives.
So, she's on par with Kissinger for mendacity. She's lied for years in other jobs. But she's not as batshit crazy as the absolute worst person Bush could have nominated.

Some endorsement, friend!

Anyone have any ideas what he's talking about regarding her days as Provost of Stanford?

There's a lot more insight into Condi in that program -- I recommend a listen.

A few notes: This program was aired Tuesday, January 18. I transcribed this and transcription errors are mine only. Larry Diamond is a fellow at the conservative think tank the Hoover Institution. Initially pro-war, he went to Iraq after the invation and wrote a much-noted essay titled What Went Wrong In Iraq?

1 comment:

riffle said...

He stated that these charges had been leveled at Condi by student groups and faculty groups at Stanford. Get this: he got all his degrees at Stanford and was (and is) still affiliated with that university, dolt. I'd say he knows a few things that went on there.

It's not a lie just because you assert it's a lie. Particularly when your sentences don't parse.

The guy's at a conservative think tank, and was pro-Iraq war -- at least until he went to work there and found out how Bush and Co. had botched it.

And his "clarify" comment is removed from his "Stanford" comment and seems to be in response to other facts that have come out about Condi recently. Not about the Stanford stuff, even though you'd like to obfuscate.

He knows Condi, he's at a conservative think tank, and he believes she's a a liar. Tough for you to swallow, I can understand. Too bad.

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