Part of winning the public discourse is the thoughtful use of the spoken word. That is his job. He could learn a thing or two from watching Chevy Chase in "Spies Like Us." :)
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."
Powell is a HUGE disapointment.
He was a bland Sec. of State and accomplished nothing.
IN fact his only claim to fame was his FAILURE in cyprus to get a legitimate peace deal going before he exited.
He is useless.
Collie has an odd idea of a "patriot."
I used to give him the benefit of the doubt as well, but no longer. He is worse than a fool. He is a backstabber and I believe he was working to undermine the Administration. He will be a darling of the media and the leftist "elites" for a long, long time.
The first question that popped into my mind.
Yes, who was it?
Colin's problem is that he's always been obsessed about what the opinion shapers think of him. This obsession has caused him to behave dishonorably. For him to now opportunistically kick the administration when it's down-- an administration at war no less-- shows that the preservation of his political and moral viability, an artificial number given to him by the liberal media, is more important than allowing the administration to govern and bring the war to a successful conclusion. I was never crazy about Powell. He was an affirmative action hire in the military and the government-- he is no Patton, MacArthur or Bradley. He isn't a tough man-- his association with the Republican party has always been absurd. He costantly felt the need to upraid the Right for the enjoyment of the Left. Wasn't his first gubmint job in the Carter White House anyway? And during Desert Storm, Stormin Norman was the star, not Colin. Colin was a daily briefer.
|
Once again, I cannot agree with Colin Powell. It ceases to surprise me anymore. I will never forget his chastizement of Israel when it would react to terrorist bombings on it's territory. His criticisms of the Palestinians for instigating violence were almost non-existant.
He seemed to be all too enamoured with the UN also. Nah, no thanks Colin. Your advise is not reasoned in my estimation.
Bush Jr. is now reaping what Bush Sr. has sown in the name of PC.
True on all counts.
Yep, he was a pain in the ass when he was in the military, too. It was his main push that stopped Bush senior from going into Bagdad to finish the job.
"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."
Mo1:"What other challenges ???
Does this fool really think the terrorists aren't a serious issue??"
It's not nearly as serious as WW2. Can you buy egg and milks? Did they cancel the Macy's parade? Is there Gas rationing? Is every able bodied man in the 20's gone? Are we running a deficit of 40% of the GDP? Are we losing thousands of men every week?
The war on terror is serious but we don't need to over-dramatize it - it is serious enoughj on it's on.
You can always depend on Colin Powell to behave in
a craven way.
This is political positioning. Statements like this put Colin Powell in position to be a "Republican" nominee in a Democrat administration.
In other words, Mr. Powell is willing to say anything in furtherance of his own career. But we already knew that...
Scott McClellan made the comment about Murtha/ Moore during a WH press conference.
Probably a moment of unguardedness for McClellan who usually doens't misspeak.
Colin Powell has always been a parasite feeding on the honor, hard work and integrity of the military AND the GOP. Good riddance to him and the misguided idiot benevolence of the GOP towards him and his parasitical kindred.
Part of winning the public discourse is the thoughtful use of the spoken word. That is his job. He could learn a thing or two from watching Chevy Chase in "Spies Like Us." :)
He heh. Don't want to go there, as Collin used to say. But perhaps my comments forced dialog in this area. I just feel Powell was choosen as SoS to find a balance for this administration to hire minorities, feeling due to his position as chairmen of the Joint Chief of Staff, he did have a somewhat balanced view on ME issues, due to the years under GHB. Obviouse it is easy for us to put down individuals, as their true form shows, but not so easy for a POTUS to pick a good candidate in any given post. At least Powell went along with things as his tenor as SoS, to some degree. Sadly the L/MSM made it look like he and Rummy where always at odds, which I think may be a misnomer.
I'll just add. We can remember how Powell was heaped with praise by most all, and as soon as he started to show signs of deviation from the POTUS's policies, things start to get touchy. He sure had a rough time dealing with the French and Germans to name but two distractors. To his credit, at least it appears he tried to stay in line with the POTUS on the key issues concerning Iraq and the ME. So we should not forget he did not have exactly an easy job. While serving he did not cause any apparent disunity in purpose. To that I will give him credit.
Oh silly me for for over dramatizing it
BTW ... You can't compare this WOT to WWII ... it's a different kind of war
IIRC, Powell counseled President Bush 41 to not push forward into Baghdad in the Gulf War.
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.