Dr. Rice's record on Iraq gives me great concern. In her public

Here is a powerful, ancient-style reflection on Carl Levin’s quote:

The Weight of Truth and the Burden of Power

When Carl Levin declared, “Dr. Rice’s record on Iraq gives me great concern. In her public statements she clearly overstated and exaggerated the intelligence concerning Iraq before the war in order to support the President’s decision to initiate military action against Iraq,” he spoke not only of politics, but of the eternal conflict between truth and ambition. His words echo across the ages, warning that when truth is twisted to serve power, the foundations of justice begin to tremble. It is an old lesson, written and rewritten in the blood of nations — that those who speak falsely in moments of great consequence endanger not only lives, but the moral soul of their people.

Levin’s statement arose in the years after the Iraq War, a time when the world questioned the intelligence and motives that led to invasion. In his critique of Dr. Condoleezza Rice, he did not speak from hatred, but from sorrow — sorrow that truth, the most sacred weapon of any government, had been bent to justify destruction. His concern was not merely for policy, but for principle: that leaders must serve truth before they serve rulers. For when truth bows to power, it ceases to be truth, and becomes propaganda.

This wisdom is not new. In ancient times, the Athenian philosopher Socrates was condemned by the city he sought to enlighten, for daring to expose the hypocrisy of those in authority. He warned that lies, spoken by leaders, do not fade with time — they breed ignorance in the hearts of the people, and ignorance, when nourished, grows into tyranny. So too in Levin’s lament we hear that same timeless warning: a free people must not only seek truth but demand it from those who claim to speak in their name.

The exaggeration of intelligence — the bending of facts to fit desire — is among the gravest of human failings. For truth is not a servant to ambition; it is a flame that must be protected even when it reveals what we wish not to see. When leaders distort it, they trade the light of understanding for the shadow of delusion. In every era, history punishes such folly. The wars of the past are filled not only with soldiers and weapons, but with words that deceived, words that sanctified destruction and silenced dissent.

Yet even within this tragedy lies a lesson of hope. For each age produces those who dare to speak when silence is convenient — those like Levin, who remind the world that truth, though wounded, can still rise if defended by courage. His words are a call to vigilance, a reminder that patriotism is not blind obedience but moral clarity. The true servant of the people must question power, not flatter it; must defend integrity, not ambition.

The story of Cassandra, the prophetess of Troy, mirrors this eternal struggle. She foresaw the city’s ruin and cried out the truth, but none believed her. Troy fell not because she lied, but because others refused to listen. So too does Levin’s warning urge us to listen — to measure words not by the authority of the speaker but by the substance of their truth. The danger is not only in those who deceive, but in those who accept deception for the comfort it brings.

Therefore, O seeker of wisdom, remember this: truth is the first casualty of pride. Guard it within yourself and in your leaders. Question every claim that leads to war, for the price of unexamined belief is always paid in human life. Let discernment be your shield, and conscience your compass. For when truth and justice walk together, a nation stands; when they part, its fall is inevitable.

And so, let this teaching endure: the measure of power is not its might, but its honesty. Those who wield authority must speak as caretakers of truth, not as merchants of fear. To twist truth for victory is to win the battle and lose the soul. But to defend truth, even when it costs one’s favor or comfort — that is the highest form of courage, the kind that preserves not only nations, but the dignity of humankind itself.