Susan Rice

Good day, good people.

Retrieving accurate information is almost impossible. This is particularly true if it comes from a government or politician.

You see a stranger, a politician, for what he or she wants you to see. You see a friend for what you want her or him to be. You see yourself, if you are honest, when you look in a mirror for whom you really are.

Arizona Republican Senator John McCain opposes the nomination of Susan Rice, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, for the position of secretary of state. He does not even know her. His qualification for his opinion is: he spent less than two hours in a conversation with Sarah Palin before he selected her, to his ongoing and never-ending embarrassment, as his vice-presidential candidate. Did his desperation and his campaign suggest a woman would help him get elected and that was her only qualification? For it surely was. His poor judgment in the Palin case has come to the forefront again in the Rice case. What is the real reason? He wants John Kerry? Or, is it the continuing announced conspiracy by Republican Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell and his Republican senators to deny the president anything he wants? Are they violating their oath of office? Are they representing their own interests and not those of their employer — all Americans? McCain has forgotten that the president nominates and senators only advise and consent. The president has the right to have whom he wants and McCain knows this. He needs to get over it and get on with it.

For devotees of the English language: Rhabdomancy is a noun. It means fortunetelling by use of sticks or wands.

Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and Kelly Ayotte are opposed to Rice too. They are just three of many delusional men in Congress whom still believe they are living in a patriarchal society and have not progressed into the twentieth or twenty-first century when it comes to women and their rights. Or, was one-black secretary of state enough or was it because Obama is considering her without asking any senator for their opinions?

McCain, his colleagues and Senator Susan Collins of Maine provide specious reasons for their decisions. Whatever unanswered questions Collins and others may have, they know Rice does not have the answers and should not be blamed for something for which she is not responsible. They blame her for providing false information regarding the Benghazi attack in Libya. They know she received the information from the intelligence committee, provided to the public what she was given, did not change the wording and did not intentionally mislead anyone. They also know she is not in charge of security for the State Department. The president said criticism for the Benghazi attack statement given by her should not be leveled at Rice but at him.

Ms. Collins was also upset because the White House had not engaged with Congressional Republicans since the departure of Rahm Emanuel. Sounds like the anti-Obama pouting is still going on among the Republicans because of their ongoing disbelief their horse did not win. If she wants to know why the Republicans did not win, she should look at Willard Mitt Romney and Ann standing side-by-side and remember what they did and said and how, and then she will have the answer. Has she joined the McConnell camp and going to vote against anything the president wants?

Republican Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell had vowed to do whatever to make Obama a one-term president. Now that he has failed at this by quite a substantial margin, it appears he is going to be obstreperous and try to deprive the president of anything he wants to do for the betterment of the American people.

Johnny Carson was the assistant secretary for African Affairs at the time of the Benghazi attack. Should he be blamed for the lack of security and deaths caused by the attack? Why did he not offer the details of the attack considering this was his area of responsibility?

Why was Susan Rice selected and by whom to speak about a fluid situation she knew nothing about? Why did the spokeswoman who briefs the White House Press Corps regularly for the Department of State not provide the information? Why was speculation as to the cause of the attack and who was responsible given publicly before any definitive information was available? Was Rice given the spokeswoman assignment and false information for a political reason? Reminds me of what the Cheney administration did to Secretary of State Colin Powell. They gave him false information knowing it to be false to take to the UN to try and get the Security Council to pass a resolution for war against Iraq.

Condoleezza Rice, the National Security Adviser, during the first term of the Cheney administration agreed to go to war illegally in Iraq. She and the administration knew the intelligence was flawed. There was no proof Iraq had any weapons of mass destruction. Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld and the other members of the cabal knew there was no imminent danger of an attack on the United States. Secretary of State Colin Powell was against going to war. So, the cabal sent him to the United Nations to present misrepresentations to the Security Council to try and get a resolution, because he was the only one in the administration that had any reputation for honesty. He did not know the information the cabal had provided him was false, but the cabal did, and he suffered embarrassment and irreparable damage to his integrity. The United States did not receive a United Nations’ resolution to attack Iraq. Kofi Anan stated the United States went to war illegally.

Then the cabal used rhabdomancy to obtain the cost of the war. They lied to Congress and the American people. They told them the cost would be sixty billion. So why did they proceed to maim, murder and injure our military personnel, the military personnel of Iraq and the civilians? Because Karl Rove told W. he could not be reelected in 2004 without a war. Why have they not been indicted and brought to trial for their crimes?

Brown University’s “Costs of War” report disavowed previous estimates of the Iraq War’s cost as being under $1 trillion, saying the Department of Defense’s direct spending on Iraq totaled at least $757.8 billion, but also highlighting the complementary costs at home, such as interest paid on the funds borrowed to finance the wars and a potential nearly $1 trillion in extra spending to care for veterans returning from combat through 2050.

In a Washington Post article, “The True Cost of the Iraq War: $3 Trillion and Beyond”, Columbia University Economics Professor, Joseph Stiglitz, and Linda Bilmes, a lecturer at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, have also argued that fighting in Iraq have put the cost at well over three trillion dollars.

While Hillary Clinton says Susan Rice has done an outstanding job at the UN, she goes no further. Is this for political reasons? Is Hillary already running for president in 2016? Is she trying to remain neutral in hopes of getting support from those whom are not supporting Rice? Hard to believe Clinton would need their support in the first place, pre-supposing it was available.

Susan Rice, no relation to Condoleezza Rice, is a highly-qualified lady for the position of secretary of state. If nominated by the president she should be confirmed by the Senate. She is a graduate of Stanford and a Rhodes Scholar. Hillary Clinton said she has been an excellent ambassador to the United Nations. Rice was confirmed as UN Ambassador by the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent on 22 January 2009. A post she holds presently.

What is your thought on the contribution you can make to causing the Department of Justice to investigate George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice and the other members of the cabal for murder and war crimes? If indicted, convicted and sentenced to long-prison terms, it may deter future presidents from going to war illegally. There is no statute of limitations for murder.

I hope this article will give you something to consider and discuss. To be successful you must understand other people’s opinions and care about them.

Many have asked me if it is alright to publish my weekly column with attribution on their blog, Facebook, website and/or forward it to another. Yes, you may do either or all. If you do, I thank you for the compliment. All Rights Reserved

Contacting me with comments and constructive criticisms at Daniel McNeet with honesty and pleasantness their constant companions will always be welcomed.

Storm Brewing