Political adviser addresses IU

Freshman Elizabeth Messana talked with two friends in the Whittenberger Auditorium last night as she waited for Larry Diamond to begin speaking. She said people had been making fun of her all day because she was planning to attend the renowned political scientist's lecture.\n"I'm the only person I know that would voluntarily come to this," she said, adding that laziness probably kept her peers away. "Not many of the people at the freshman level realize (the importance of attending events like this)." \nDiamond, the best-selling author of "Squandered Victory: The American Occupation and the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq," preceded the IU India Studies program's two-day conference regarding the state of India's democracy, which begins Thursday. \nHaving returned from Iraq nearly two years ago after serving as senior adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority, Diamond spoke about what he saw as the biggest mistakes in the democratization of Iraq and the lessons that can be learned from India's history.\n"Sooner or later -- it could come this year -- the bottom is going to fall out of this situation," Diamond said. He described the occupation and recent failures to achieve democracy in Iraq as a "breathtaking series of arrogance and blunders that I think will go down in history as colossally misguided ventures in American history."\n"I think he was very bold when he said 'this is the biggest blunder in U.S. history,'" Messana said. "When he said that, my jaw dropped. I don't think I've ever heard that one before, but I was happy he said it."\nDespite a number of statements that Diamond himself called frank, freshman Joe Gibbs said he was impressed by Diamond's ability to present a non-partisan view of issues. Gibbs attended because he was writing a paper for his speech class comparing Diamond's lecture with conservative columnist Ann Coulter's recent speech at the IU Auditorium.\n"He was a lot calmer and sure of himself," Gibbs said. "Ann Coulter is an extremist, and she would not even look at the other person's side, but he looked at every topic he talked about from every angle."\nIU India Studies Program Director Sumit Ganguly said he was happy with the entire event.\n"I was exceptionally pleased with the attendance; I thought the questions were thoughtful and pertinent," Ganguly said. "This was an ideal situation, particularly given the time of year."\nGanguly added that he was impressed that Diamond was able to discuss India's experiences with democracy and spell out its significance or utility in other parts of the world.\nIn his speech, Diamond focused on the problems of forming a democracy in Iraq, pointing out that a variety of lessons can be learned from India. Diamond emphasized the following lessons from India: the importance of having a state before forming a democratic government, the importance of the rule of law, the need for a careful sequence of events and the institutions of social progress already in place in India.\nDiamond proposed American solicitation of help from the United Nations and the European Union as a way to slow the decay into civil war that he considers a strong possibility for the region. Using India as an example, he assured that democracy is not impossible in a complex, multiethnic and multiregional society.\n"When I hear people say, 'It's not possible in Iraq,' it's so socially and historically inaccurate," he said. "It's so frankly racist in its arrogance that it offends me"