Posted on 03/31/2005 10:53:43 AM PST by areafiftyone
FORMER US secretary of state Colin Powell claims he is "furious and angry" about being misinformed over Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and has criticised George W.Bush and Donald Rumsfeld for their clumsy rhetoric in the lead-up to the war.
In a candid magazine interview, Mr Powell hinted that his infamous testimony to the UN Security Council in February 2003, when he built the case for the coalition invasion of Iraq, left him a political lame duck.
"Hundreds of millions followed it on television," Mr Powell said of his testimony. "I will always be the one who presented it.
"I have to live with that."
Mr Powell told Germany's Stern magazine that before appearing at the UN he had spent four days with the Central Intelligence Agency inspecting every photograph and word.
"The CIA believed there were weapons of mass destruction," Mr Powell said. "The President believed it. I believed it.
"Still, it was wrong. I did not know this at the time."
In his February 5, 2003, testimony to the UN, Mr Powell used the phrase "weapons of mass destruction" 18 times and concluded: "Leaving Saddam Hussein in possession of weapons of mass destruction for a few more months or years is not an option, not in a post-September 11 world." Mr Powell, who announced his resignation in November after Mr Bush won a second term as President, has said previously that his testimony was "not solid".
But the Stern interview is his most candid yet, also extending his criticism to Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who angered Europeans when he used the phrase "old Europe" as trans-Atlantic tensions rose over Iraq.
"We were sometimes too loud, too direct, perhaps we made too much noise," Mr Powell said. "That certainly shocked the Europeans sometimes -- words like 'Old Europe'."
He said that the rhetoric of Mr Rumsfeld "contributed to pitting European public opinion against us".
And Mr Bush came in for criticism too, with Mr Powell saying he "presented some positions in a perhaps overstated way, but that's how changes begin, just look at the Middle East," referring to what appears to be some democratic momentum in the region.
But Mr Powell stressed that, despite mild criticism, he had left the White House on good terms with the President and spoke of a warm relationship with him.
"We are friends," he said.
Despite the fallout from the WMD farce, Mr Powell, 68, claimed he never considered resigning.
He stressed that he had no presidential ambitions and appeared determined to present his legacy as the voice of moderation in the Bush White House.
He added that despite the problems facing US troops in Iraq now, it was better that Saddam Hussein was no longer in power.
"Yes, the insurgency is much bigger than we anticipated. But I'm glad that Saddam is in jail," he said.
Mr Powell stepped down as secretary of state in January, replaced by Condoleezza Rice.
"And Mr Bush came in for criticism too, with Mr Powell saying he "presented some positions in a perhaps overstated way, but that's how changes begin, just look at the Middle East," referring to what appears to be some democratic momentum in the region."
That doesn't sound like criticism, it sounds like support.
What a mistake to place a political general in the position as Secretary of State.
He is almost as much a disaster as the Klintons' Albright.
Heretofore known as Abu Powell!
Gee did any of the morons castigating Powell on this thread actually read the article? Obviously not. I didn't read a whiff of criticism of Bush or Rumsfield by Powell in the article.
Read the author's reference to "clumsy rhetoric" in the first line of the article, and you should have a clear understanding of what angle the writer's coming from.
So...if this is how "changes begin" was Bush wrong in overstating?
A formerly oppressed people are free now. Oh, they're bickering as they try to get their government together, but those are natural growing pains. At least they are putting a government together. They'll make it work eventually. This is all new to them.
Any invasion that results in freedom for people who were lacking that is a good cause.
As for WMD...don't be too sure they don't exist.
Furious AND angry?
Oooooh!
Dubya made the mistake of keeping ol' Colon around much too long.
Who describes Rumsfields comments as "rhetoric," Powell? No the writer of the article. You guys need to learn how to read a Der Spiegel propaganda piece.
This is like knock knock anybody there, so was it Powell that sent Wilson to Africa to find "yellowcake"??????
That's like Mike Tyson calling a reporter "a scared coward"
Read it quite well. Powell should be more carefull. True, this article is swill, but Powell should know better than giving an interview to these slimes...
Colin Powell was born in New York City on April 5, 1937. The son of Jamaican immigrants, Powell was raised in the South Bronx. He was educated in the New York City public schools, and at City College of New York (CCNY). He participated in ROTC at CCNY and received a commission as an Army second lieutenant upon graduation. He subsequently received a Master of Business Administration degree from George Washington University.
Powell served two tours of duty in Vietnam, and as a battalion commander in Korea. He later commanded the 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and V Corps, United States Army in Europe, and was Commander in Chief of Forces Command, headquartered at Fort McPherson, Georgia. General Powell was the 12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1, 1989 until September 30, 1993, serving under both President George H.W. Bush and President Bill Clinton.
General Powell has been the recipient of numerous U.S. military decorations, including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Bronze Star Medal., and the Purple Heart.
I'm no big fan of Powell but I suspect he has more qualities/merits in his smallest fart than you could muster up in a lifetime.
BTW, I repeat: And this interview helps the situation, and your country, how, Mr. Powell?
Powell seems to have said this about Bush.
The article really doesn't support the headline.
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Not even close.
Read Post 27. The story on the WMDs is not over yet. What we didn't find in Iraq we may well find in Syria one day. If so, Powell will eventually be "exonerated" and if he was smart he would make that bet and keep his mouth shut on the subject. He is making himself look the fool when, in fact, at the time of his U.N. presentation, he held the same opinion vis a vis Iraq's WMDs as did virtually every intelligence service that was watching the Iraqis.
Powell was a good soldier for Bush but you never got the feeling that his heart was really in it. He is dove by nature and not the guy to put at the State Department when you are trying to win a war.
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