Powell Defends War, Says He Expected WMD [Powell Bashes Democrats!!!!]

Yahoo News ^ | February 11, 2004 | BARRY SCHWEID

[Howlin]

WASHINGTON - Under attack by House Democrats, Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) said Wednesday he was surprised U.N. and American inspectors did not find storehouses of hidden weapons in Iraq (news - web sites).

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Latest headlines:

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But Powell told the International Relations Committee that "we presented what we believed the truth to be at the time."

Powell testified that President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s apparent intent to develop and use weapons, his record of gassing his own people and his defiance of the United Nations (news - web sites) all were — and remain — valid reasons for going to war to overthrow him.

He said President Bush (news - web sites) and he had relied on intelligence provided by CIA (news - web sites) Director George Tenet, and the only serious question raised about the analysis since the war was whether Iraq had storehouses of weapons of mass destruction.

"I don't think anyone in America should think that President Bush cooked the books," Powell said.

"The reason we told you there were stockpiles there was because we believed it to be true," Powell said. "We were surprised when they did not turn up."

But Reps. Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y., Robert Melendez, D-N.J., Rep. Robert I Wexler, D-Fla., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, challenged Powell about the administration's case, suggesting it may have been misleading from the outset.

"Truth is the first casualty of war," Ackerman said. "I would contend truth was murdered before a shot was fired."

"We went into this war under false premises," Melendez said.

Wexler told Powell he considered him to be "the credible voice in the administration."

"When you reached the conclusion that Iraq represented a clear and present danger to the United States, that meant a lot to me," Wexler said. "But the facts suggest there was a part of the story that was not true."

Powell fielded the assertions calmly, defending the president's judgment and his own.

But when Brown contrasted Powell's military experience to Bush's record with the National Guard, saying the president "may have been AWOL" from duty, Powell exploded.

"First of all, Mr. Brown, I won't dignify your comments about the president because you don't know what you are talking about," Powell snapped.

"I'm sorry I don't know what you mean, Mr. Secretary," Brown replied.

"You made reference to the president," Powell shot back.

Brown then repeated his understanding that Bush may have been AWOL from guard duty.

"Mr. Brown, let's not go there," Powell retorted. "Let's not go there in this hearing. If you want to have a political fight on this matter, that is very controversial, and I think it is being dealt with by the White House, fine, but let's not go there."

Powell then went on to defend the Bush administration's assertions on Iraq's prewar weaponry. "We didn't make it up," Powell said. "It was information that reflected the views of analysts in all the various agencies."

But the dispute with Brown did not end.

"Are you shaking your head for something, young man?," Powell asked when he noticed an aide to Brown apparently disagreeing.

"I seldom come to a meeting when I'm talking to a congressman and I have people aligned behind you giving editorial comment by headshakes," Powell said.

Brown, defending his assistant, said "I think people have opinions."

Eager to move on, the committee chairman, Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., observed that "we're on a very emotional subject," but "we've been doing swimmingly until now."

[Alissa]

Sherrod Brown is from Ohio.

[Howlin]

You'd think we wouldn't be surprised anymore, wouldn't you?

[mystery-ak]

darn it I missed it...in the kitchen paying bills....shucks.

[EllaMinnow]

Robert Wexler

[Peach]

The left have lost their minds. They don't know when and where to raise issues. No sense of appropriateness. I guess it comes from supporting a president who believed oral sex in the oval office wasn't sex and who questioned the meaning of the word "is".

[McGavin999]

Don't you just love it? The wimps of this country are challanging the warriors and have no idea that they're in serious trouble here.

[Come And Take It]

"First of all, Mr. Brown, I won't dignify your comments about the president because you don't know what you are talking about," Powell snapped.

Powell was on the NBC news and he looked really POed at Mr. Brown.

[Howlin]

He's a complete jackass.

[Solson]

This whole National Guard issue was brought up first and foremost by the Kerry campaign as an attempt to insulate Kerry from the onslaught of criticism over Kerry's post service antics. But it won't work.

The more the press and Kerry and the DNC make this an issue, the more it becomes a non-issue and at the same time opens up Kerry to multi-faceted attacks on his activities.

But, when Congressmen start to input political crap into a supposed serious hearing on the Iraqi war, look out. Not only with folks like Powell defend this President to the hilt, the general public will see this for exactly what it is.

[ntnychik]

Powell PING!

[Armedanddangerous]

The Brown family is extremely interesting. His brother, Charlie Brown, was Attorney General in West Virginia in the mid 1980s. He was always in trouble with someone for something, and left office under a cloud around 1988 or so. I can't remember exactly for what or why, but I will.

Sherrod was a state elected official in Ohio, and if memory serves, was in trouble for something that caused him not to run for re-election.

Hardly a person who needs to be lecturing anyone.

I think Gen Powell showed a great deal of restraint today, compared to what I might have said.

Wexler and Powell are both scumbags.

[jwalsh07]

LOL, this pipsqueak woody?

Sounds like General Powell wanted to take him behind the barracks and whip his non military arse.

[Dog]

I commented on another thread .....that the DEMS always over reach......they just did.......and will pay for this little exercise.

I have been wondering when they would do this......and Brown is the poster boy.

[woodyinscc]

I saw this also, and I brought it up on another thread.
I googled Sharrod Brown, and he has never served in the military. These rats line up in the morning for their talking points, like the DNC is the one who pays their salary.!

[EllaMinnow]

Four of the biggest asshats in Washington egging each other on to diss OUR President and Secretary Powell.

Powell is 654,789,432,011,788 times the man any of them can ever hope to be.

[paul51]

"I seldom come to a meeting when I'm talking to a congressman and I have people aligned behind you giving editorial comment by headshakes," Powell said.

You can always count on these losers to behave like amateurs. I'm glad Powell stood up for the Pres.

[Tuxedo]

Sorry to say but that jackass Sherrod Rodham Brown is my congresscritter. He is a total tool. Sometimes makes Dennis Kucinich look like a conservative. His voice is gravelly from smoking too many cigs. He, along with his buddy Tom Sawyer were Clintoon rubber stamps for 8 years.

[gipper81]

Deciding Where to Draw the Lines

[Howlin]

Ackerman is on Hardball right now, supporting gay marriage.

[mylife]

The Shameles Bastards are about to be choked with their own accusations. Colin showed restraint and basically placed them on notice! Dont got there! Your gonna regret it!