Posted on 11/25/2005 9:58:25 AM PST by Carl/NewsMax
An angry former Secretary of State Colin Powell is blasting the Bush White House for attacking Rep. Jack Murtha, who undermined troop morale and encouraged al Qaida last week with his call for an immediate U.S. pullout from Iraq.
"To attack him the way he was attacked, accusing him of being a Michael Moore, was disgraceful and was not worthy," a Powell told the New York Post's Deborah Orin, who described him as "livid."
"Jack Murtha is great friend of mine," Powell declared. "He's a great patriot.
"I don't agree with his position," the former top Bush diplomat said. "But he has started a debate which is a good debate to have as to how long we should be there."
Hours after Murtha called for an immediate pullout last Thursday, White House press secretary Scott McClellan compared him to Michael Moore. Two days later, however, both President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney went out of their way to describe Murtha as "honorable."
Still, Powell focused instead on the earlier remark, and said nothing about the olive branch offered by Bush and Cheney.
The one-time chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also suggested that the war on terror wasn't quite as serious as other challenges the U.S. has faced.
"We're not facing a world war anymore," Powell told the Post. "We have pretty much convinced the world that democracy is a better system than communism or fascism or totalitarianism."
Hey Willie, that is a great Teddy quote. My shorthand version is to remind myself and everyone that they are all "functionaries."
"At least it is now universally recognized that being compared to Michael Moore is very undesirable"
I love this. Does this mean Michael Mooron won't be invited to the next dem convention to sit on the right hand of Jimmah? I bet if he makes another Bush-bashing, America-bashing move, he will be. Dems never learn.
You didn't bold that line, or three sentences before. How come?
Yes, God forbid we should criticize Murtha and Powell. The thin-skinned knee-jerks are intolerant of anybody who doesn't toe the Murtha/Powell line.
It's every bit as serious as WWII or the Cold War, just that the circumstances and details differ. Think it through: the terrorists have shown that they can slaughter thousands in the largest US city (and they easily might have gotten away with much much more), something neither the Nazis nor the Japanese militarists ever managed to do. There are many ways these terrorists COULD have been far more diabolically effective than they have been so far -- they have made many, many mistakes which have given us a chance to fight back despite the MSM and Euro-twits trying to tie our hands.
Sure, there are ways in which the terrorists don't (yet) have any of the military powers of a major nation-state to call upon, and no one in the world can match the USA on the battlefield or in the air, at sea, etc. Still, these Islamo-fascists have the potential to kill tens of thousands if not millions of US civilians with our wide open borders if/when they get ahold of WMDs.....
The challenges we face are every bit as serious as WWII, even if we do not face the kinds of domestic economic sacrifices that you cite.
Powell has much more time in uniform than my seven and one half years in a U. S. Air Force uniform though I'm getting real tired of him.
And I could have quoted only the one sentence, omitting the rest of the paragraph
or I could've posted the whole paragraph in
There's lots of different ways I could've posted it.
So why do you want to know why I chose to put just the one sentence in bold?
Perhaps just to be a hair-splitting pissant?
Nothing is "Disgraceful" here Powell. It's the truth.
I do believe that Powell always has been a closet Democrat who has been waiting for the right time to slam Bush. It seems it has started with this tirade...
Why do I get the sick feeling it will become necessary to start treating former Secretary of State Colin Powell the same way as we treat former President Jimmuh Carter?
Here, let me start. STFU Colin!
Well, McClellan didn't suck in this instance. He was spot on.
Interesting response, considering the subject quotation.
Ahhhh...the real Colin Powell has finally stood up. He might as well make it official and join the Democrat party.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
Maybe Hillary/Powell ticket in '08
Here's the full context, poly. You're right on target.
PS. Ignore the meaningless name calling.
All small things, easily missed unless you watch closely and are calibrated for such matters. Some have to do with a comment here, a remark there, usually nothing that draws a lot of attention. One had to do with affirmative action (she favors it), several others had to do with Israel, and I recall a couple on the Muslims. Not enough there on a single comment basis (except for the one on affirmative action) to raise the alert flags but, when looked at on a cumulative basis, it definitely raises serious questions.
I know this isn't much, and hardly damning, but I learned long ago to follow my instincts on these kinds of things. So far, what I see tells me Condi is no conservative. And nobody will be happier than me if I have to eat those words. Somehow, I don't think I will be dining on my own words.
You are technically correct, my apologies. The WH only linked Murtha's position to the position of Moore. I try to be more observant of specifics but sometimes, just hearing a statement on the radio or TV and not reviewing the official text, I find myself making the same interpretation as the average American probably does under similar circumstances. The MSM takes advantage of this type of citizen behavior when linking Bush to bad actors. The WH has a record of supporting a strong America. So it is baffling that, in this case, they would use a tactic similar to the MSM and the extreme liberal wing of the Democratic party. [Note that I am not "comparing" the WH to the MSM.]
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.